The “Perfect” Chicken Broth: The “Secrets” of This Soup Base

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This chicken soup recipe is sure to become your favorite. Try making a flavorful broth that you can use to make soup, eat as is, or freeze for the future.

Broth is the basis for many dishes. It is sold in stores, but it is much more reliable and cheaper to cook it at home. By the way, you can freeze the broth and use it as needed, when a particular recipe requires it, whether it is the first, stew or sauce. To make the perfect homemade chicken broth, you will need a large saucepan and a few quality basic ingredients. As a result, you will get 2 liters of the best chicken soup you have ever tasted.

You will need:

• A whole raw chicken (or its equivalent, cut into pieces, but always with the skin on)
• Vegetables (peeled carrots and celery, as well as onions)
• Cold water
• Herbs and spices (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, garlic or cloves, pepper and salt in any combination)

Optionally, you can add offal: chicken heart and stomach, but the liver should be discarded or saved for another purpose.

In a large saucepan, place the chicken and cold water so that the sauce covers it. Always start cooking soup with cold water. This will help keep the broth clear, not cloudy. The amount of water used and the length of time it simmers will determine the richness of the broth.

Bring water to a boil over medium heat. Immediately reduce heat to low and skim off foam from top. Add chopped onion, carrot, and celery to pot. Season with salt. If desired, tie parsley stems, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns together to make a sachet and add to pot, or use ground herbs and spices.

Cook the broth over very low heat. Bubbles should just barely rise to the surface at irregular intervals. Continue until the chicken is completely cooked. This will take at least 2 to 5 hours – the longer the broth simmers, the richer it will be. You can make the cooking process longer, but if there is chicken breast in the broth, be sure to remove it from the pot 1 hour after the start of cooking so that the meat does not become dry and retains its texture.

Transfer the chicken from the pot to a rimmed baking sheet or a large bowl. Remove the skin and bones from the meat. Strain the broth through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Next, cook your favorite soup, or if you plan to freeze the broth for later, cool it and pour the broth into freezer-safe containers (leaving at least two centimeters of headroom for expansion), label and freeze the broth. It can be stored for at least three months, and you can also freeze the chicken in a separate container.