Concentrated chicken broth

How to make a concentrated chicken broth

The homemade soups are elaborations that never missing in our kitchen. Whether it is meat , vegetables or chicken , every week -or almost- we prepare a good amount.

Then we use it throughout the week to make rice , sauces, soups and more. And we do know that we will not consume it in a few days, we freeze it in ice cube trays or in larger quantities using freezer bags.

It is a luxury to enjoy a bowl of chicken broth on cold days, easy to turn into soup just by adding a handful of noodles or rice and some chopped vegetables.

It is undoubtedly a tasty restorative. Plus, it’s an essential ingredient in many other recipes, and a good homemade broth can make the difference between a rich dish and a yummy dish.

Do not think that preparing broth at home is complicated. Nothing is further from reality. It does not need much attention, apart from the initial defoaming, and the point is basically to put various bones and vegetables in a pot and simmer for a while.

Meanwhile we can take advantage to cook other recipes, read, watch our favorite series, go for a walk or whatever we like.

Preparation of the chicken broth base

1. We wash all the ingredients that we are going to use well, except the peppercorns, the garlic cloves and the onion. These last two have skin and there is no need.
2. We dry the chicken’s back and remove any possible feathers that it may have. We can use a kitchen lighter, a lighter, a blowtorch or similar.
3. Peel the garlic cloves, the onion and the turnip.
4. Chop the vegetables: carrot, onion, leek, celery stick and turnip. The smaller the pieces, the better and more substance the broth will get, although we do not need to cut a brunoisse.
5. We will need to use a large pot in which to deposit all the chicken bones, the ham tips, the veal bone and the chicken back together with the chopped vegetables.
6. We water everything with 4 liters of water, add the peppercorns and the bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Preparation of concentrated chicken broth

1. We lower the heat and let it cook gently, without bubbling. Thus we can remove the impurities that come off the bones with the help of a slotted spoon.
2. This is something that we cannot do when the water is boiling, so you have to be patient to keep it clean.
3. We help ourselves with a deep container with water in which we deposit the removed foam, which also serves to clean the skimmer before returning to the pot to remove more impurities.
4. We raise the heat to medium intensity when there are no more remains to remove and cook for 1 hour and a half.
5. We can lengthen cooking for a more concentrated flavor broth, but 90 minutes is enough.
6. We remove the vegetables and the bones, draining well.
7. Chill the broth before storing in the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours.
8. The fat that the broth may contain solidifies with the cold and is easily removed, which helps to obtain a lighter and cleaner broth.

Although the broth is ready to use, we can cook it over low heat and reduce it, concentrating its flavor . It all depends on the use we want to give it.

You can see all the step by step photos of the concentrated chicken broth recipe   in this album. Do not miss any detail and they will be perfect, come on, repeat over and over again.

Tips for a perfect chicken broth

• Do not throw away the fat that we have removed from the chicken, it can be a good ally to flavor other recipes. Enhancing flavors, a kind of flavor pill that are sold industrially but homemade. You just have to put it in a freezer bag and leave it in the freezer until you need it.
• A tasty chicken broth requires a good amount of bones, which is where most of its flavor comes from.
• To keep the foaming process as short as possible, it is best to wash the bones well before bringing the whole to a boil.
• Be careful with the amount of peppercorns you put in the broth. It is a strong spice that can spoil the result if we pass it on, our recommendation is to use between 5 and 6.
• To give it a touch of extra aroma and flavor, we can add other herbs to the laurel: thyme, rosemary, parsley, etc.
• Although it is not necessary to remove the fat from the broth once it is ready, it is much cleaner and lighter if we do it and, consequently, more pleasant when consuming. The trick of cooling the broth to remove it easily is very good, but you need to have time for it. In case of being short, cool in the freezer.