Another Chicken and Vegetable Bone Broth

These could be the most colorful ingredients I've ever used when making bone broths. I can't say it's more flavorful, but I don't usually season mine much at the broth making stage, but I know it's packed with good things. I'd rather keep it neutral, in case I give some to my pup, Oliver, and season it when using it in a recipe. Garlic is shown, but since dogs are sensitive to that, I omitted it.

For this bone broth, I used the carcass of an Amish chicken I previously roasted, then froze. I also bought 6 chicken leg-thigh quarters in the rotisserie section of Costco. After freezing the meat in 8oz. packages, I put all the skin, bones, and tendons in my 6 quart pot with the previously frozen chicken, bay leaves and lots of assorted vegetables.

Season it, light or heavy, depending on your preferences and also determined by who will be consuming it. This time I used a little dry parsley, lemon pepper and 4 bay leaves. Add 1/4c white or apple cider vinegar then fill the pot to within an inch of the top. Heat over medium heat initially. When it comes to a low simmer, reduce heat, cover and simmer, at a low bubble for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cool slightly, then scoop out all the solids. I kept the green beans and carrots and celery hearts for a picnic-on-the-floor for Oliver and I 🐶 🧓🏻. Strain the remaining broth through progressively smaller mesh strainers. After several strainings, pour it through a cloth lined strainer to create the purest, clearest bone broth. Chill it for 12 hours.

This broth gelled nicely! Scrape the ssolidified fat off the top. I used it this time, with butter, to make a golden roux to help thicken a soup.

This time I used 6c in a big pot of soup and only had 1 quart remaining. I heated it to just below boiling, then poured it into a clean quart jar and sealed it with a lid and screw on ring. It self-sealed with a loud ..>PING<.. just after taking this picture.

I'll store this in the 'fridge and use it in the next couple months. Making bone broth is a lot of work, but it's worth it for the health benefits. . .Lin

Spatchcocked Chicken and Bone Broth

Clean (wash in warm water and pat dry with a paper towel) a whole, pasture raised chicken. Lay it, breast side down, on the counter and cut away the backbone, cutting on either side and removing it. Flip the chicken over and press down on the breasts until the center cartilage snaps, flattening the chicken.

Put cut side down in a big roasting pan. Drizzle with a good quality, single source, extra virgin olive oil. Season well and roast at 400° for 45-60 minutes, until the skin browns and the fat is snapping. Poke and baste, then reduce heat to 350°.

Continue to poke and baste, baking until a fork inserted into the center of the breast meat pulls out easily. Let cool in the pan until you can pull off the skin and meat from the bones. Refrigerate or freeze the meat in recipe size packages.

Put the skin, tendons and bones back in the roasting pan and cover with 4 quarts of cold filtered water and 2-3T white vinegar. The vinegar is important as it pulls the collagen out of the bones.

Bring to a very low-bubble simmer, cover and cook for 2-3 hours. I keep my bone broth pretty neutral since I often mix some with my dog Oliver's food. I could have added some chopped celery, greens and carrots which are 'dog-friendly' vegetables.

If your bone broth is only for humans, you can also add peppercorns, garlic and onion. I also add bay leaves.

After several hours, scoop out all the solids and throw this away. If you've used only carrots and celery, you can save those to mash up into your dog's food.

Strain this several times, back and forth between two large pots, using finer mesh colanders and strainers until your broth is relatively clear. This time mine looks more like beef bone broth due to the good browning that happened during the first hour the chicken was roasting.

I secured the lid on the 5 quart pot and put it out on my deck overnight to chill. With snow and cold here in northern Minnesota, our below freezing temperatures were perfect for this.

This morning, the fat layer came off easily, and the bone broth underneath was nicely jelled, indicating lots of good healthy collagen. I saved the fat since it's been heated, strained and chilled, it can be used to brown meat or I can melt a little and pour it over Oliver's dry food.

I heated the broth to a low simmer and poured it into clean jars, covered and tightened the lids. These usually seal well, but I keep them refrigerated and use the broth for soup or gravy within a month or so. You can also heat and drink a cup of it instead of tea or coffee. It's mild, so when using it in recipes, you'll need to season it. Better Than Bouillon, Orrington Farms Broth Base, garlic-parsley salt, fresh ground black pepper, or my Rosemary Seasoning* are my go-to choices.

Have fun with your kitchen time! 😊 Happy Cooking! . .Lin

A Spontaneous 'Tortellini en Brodo'

My take on this today became: Ravioli en Brodo...brodo is Italian for broth. 

So far today, I've watched some YouTube food videos as well as the annual CBS Sunday Morning 'Food Edition' show, so I'm not sure who gets credit for this idea. It showed a tortellini shop in Florence, Italy that served only Tortellini en Brodo, which means broth in Italian.

Well, I was hungry!  I knew I had frozen mushroom truffle mini raviolis, and a quart of homemade chicken bone broth, so decided that's what I'd make for breakfast. 2 BIG servings, so maybe it'll be breakfast today as well as an early dinner.  Or breakfast tomorrow?

Bring the broth to a simmer.  Now, at this point, you'd just add the tortellini, simmer another 7 minutes and serve.  Well, you know me. . .While the broth was simmering I checked the fridge. Half a medium purple onion and a left over piece of green pepper. I sautéed those in EVOO, then noticed the last of the 3 tomatoes I blanched-chilled a couple days ago to make them easier to peel. That needs to be used! Then, putting things away, I saw my container of baby kale! A big handful of that chopped - and into the pot! A little of this pepper seasoning, some coarse Celtic sea salt and 1t crushed cilantro that I dried the other day is just right for this!

Bring the broth and vegetables to a simmer, then add the ravioli. Simmer until al dente, remove from the heat, cover and let stand 5-10 minutes before gently stirring and labeling into big, hearty soup bowls.  Top with a sprinkle of fresh grated Parmesan. . .ohhhh. . .my this was really good Any day I wake up knowing I'll be cooking, is a happy day for me! I usually start with an idea, but by the end, I'm often amazed at how much that idea evolved!  Be flexible, look for ingredients that want to join the others in your soup pot.

Be Bold-Be Creative! . .Lin

Smokey Chicken Wild Rice Soup

DAY ONE - BONE BROTH:

This teeny little chicken has been wonderful. I can't believe how much meat was still left after I've used parts and pieces for many dinners and lunches! Then I checked the weight sticker, 2.57# originally 😯 Well, this is the chicken that just kept on giving. . .Amazing to get so much meat off this tiny chicken! And with smoked meat, there's so much flavor, I find myself using WAY less in recipes. As it should be, meat should be a 'side,' not the main thing on your plate.

I love smoked chicken, turkey and fish. I believe the butcher told me these chickens (I bought 3) were Apple wood smoked. It's got a definite sweet-strength to it. Not as woodsy-smokey as hickory, but neither is as good as my all time favorite. Alder wood. I went salmon fishing, for a week, with a group of people years ago. We caught our limit and smoked a lot. After trying several different woods, we loved the smoke from Alder the best.

Today's another loose day, schedule-wise, here at my house, in Minnesota, during the global quarantine. I'm working in the kitchen, and decided to make this 2-day soup. Right now, my whole house is smelling wonderfully, a little like a meat smokehouse! Not overpowering though, just perfect. . .

Bone Broth's in-the-making at the moment!

I took the chicken off the bones and will put that in the soup tomorrow. The skin and bones go into the pot with 1t black Tellecherry peppercorns and 2t of garlic and herb seasoning, and lots of dark green, leafy celery tops. Bring to a fast boil, then turn down the heat to a low simmer, only a few bubbles per minute. Add 3T white vinegar now. This helps pull the collagen out of the bones. That's a good thing! Let it cook like this, covered 4-6 hours, then pour through a colander to catch all the solids. Strain it several more times through progressively finer mesh and end with cheese cloth or

an old kitchen towel. Chill this 8 hours.

I realized it was about 5° colder on my deck than in my refrigerator. Since I'm regularly visited by squirrels, skunks and raccoons, who've all ended up on my deck, I worry about leaving pots out there. I securely rubber band the lids, but that's no deterrent to a hungry, nocturnal 'coon or skunk.

Last night, thinking outside-the-box, I noticed how my cafe' table was constructed.  Hmmm. . . It's now my brand new food chiller! TaaDaaaa! My 5 quart pot fits perfectly!! I suspect a couple of my others will as well.  

DAY TWO - SOUP:

Scrape the solidified fat off the top. You can use this to saute' these soup vegetables, green beans or cauliflower, for a nice smokey flavor, pitch it, or warm it to liquify and drizzle a little on your dogs dry food. That's the option my pups hope for!

The hope is always that the bone broth jells while chilling. Mine did. That's the indicator of truly good bone broth. The more it's jelled, the more collagen in the broth. That's an important component in our diet for healthy bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, hair and nails. Our bodies need it! We produce it pretty well, until we get to a certain age. Then we need to find a way to supplement it. Good bone broth is my favorite way to do that.

In another big pot, saute' your chopped soup vegetables and the rice in some of the smokey chicken fat. It's interesting how form, function and context become part of a procedure. I would never just leave chicken fat in the bone broth, but once that was simmered, strained-filtered, chilled, and heated again, it's perfect for sautéing anything that goes into chicken soup!

½ med.-lg. green cabbage

4 big stalks celery
⅓ lg. red pepper

3 big carrots

1 big onion 

1-1½c wild rice
1-2T rendered chicken fat (shown on the plate with the spoon)

½-1t black pepper
1-2T BTB chicken soup base
1T garlic and herb seasoning

6oz. smoked chicken - chopped

When the onion and celery start sizzling, and become a little translucent, add seasonings and the bone broth a cup or two at a time. Continue adding broth until the vegetables are almost covered. Simmer everything together until the carrots and celery are tender. Add the chicken, remaining broth, stir, heat to and serve.

Mmmm . . . SOUP . . . Lin