Many people (including me) use the terms homemade chicken broth and stock interchangeably. Some folks say they are different, some say they are the same. From what I have read, they are different. (You can read more about that below.)
Don’t forget, this is the same process used for canning turkey broth. So if you’ve got a turkey carcass after a holiday meal… Remember, the day after Thanksgiving is Turkey Broth Day!
This Page Includes:
- Homemade Chicken Broth: Extended, Step-By-Step Directions
- How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth or Stock
- Crockpot Method for Making Homemade Chicken Broth
- Canning Homemade Chicken Broth
- Recipe Card
- {FAQ} Is Chicken Broth & Chicken Stock the Same Thing?
- {Video} Beef Roast in the Crockpot with Home Canned Chicken Broth
Homemade Chicken Broth: Extended, Step-By-Step Directions
Gather your supplies
- large stock pot or pressure canner
- bowls
- large spoons
- sharp knife
- towels and dish cloths
Ingredients:
Chicken pieces: Any chicken parts will do. I prefer to remove the skin but it is not necessary. Approximately 6 pounds will be enough for a batch in my large stock pot. (This is with meat on. If you have bones, you won’t need as much.) I usually get at least 7 quarts out of this.
Vegetables and seasonings are optional. This could include 2-3 stalks of celery (chopped in large chunks), 2 onions (quartered), or 2-3 carrots (chopped in large chunks).
How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth or Stock
The first thing you want to do is cook your chicken and remove the meat if you have not already. If you are using bones leftover from a roast chicken dinner or have you are good to go. Skip down to the options for making your broth from the carcass or bones. Or keep reading for how to cook the chicken easily to prep for broth making.
If you are starting with raw chicken boiling, it is one easy way to cook the chicken to remove it from the bones. Place chicken pieces in a stock pot. Fill with water just to cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables and seasonings if you are going to use them. Lower the heat and simmer until chicken is done. This may be about 1 hour, but it will vary a lot depending on how much chicken and how thick your pieces are.
Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove chicken pieces. Let the chicken pieces cool until you can handle them well enough to remove the meat. Remove the meat from the bones and save for other uses. (It’s great for chicken enchiladas, chicken casseroles, etc.)
Cut or break any large bones into shorter pieces if at all possible. (This might not be the case, and that’s okay.) Be careful not to burn yourself. Return the bones to the stock pot. Don’t be too fanatical about this step. If you are handling a thigh bone that won’t easily break, it is not a big deal. Just toss it back into the pot. The purpose is to allow the water more access to the nutritious marrow in the bones.
Next, you have 3 options to cook the carcass and bones:
- Simmer the carcass or bones on low. The more you simmer, the better. minimum of 4-6 hours (or more)!
- Another option is to use a pressure canner and pressure cook at 10 pounds pressure for 1 hour. Allow canner to release pressure and continue the recipe. This saves a lot of time and brings out more of the nutrition from the bones. It is debatable as far as what this pressure does to the nutrition of the broth. It is much better than that commercial broth full of salt and preservatives.
- The final option and the one I go to more and more…use your Crockpot. I’ll go into detail on this method below.
Crockpot Method for Making Homemade Chicken Broth
If you only have a few bones, this is a great way to make broth. This is the option I go to more and more often. The broth turns out so full of gelatin from the bones that it sets up when you cool it. Super, super healthy!
Place your bones in a Crockpot and cook them overnight. You can even cook them two days if time is busy. Ask me how I know! 🙂 Just keep it hot.
With this method, I’ve even cooked the bones for one day, retrieved the broth, added new water, to the carcass, and cooked the bones again another day. It works.
The only downfall is you are limited to how much you can make at a time. I’ll usually do this and just freeze or use this broth right away as it doesn’t make a full 7 quarts to fill a canner. You can process it in pints to fill a canner more easily. Either way is great.
Preparing the Broth
Remove chicken pieces and vegetables. Discard. Strain broth to remove any small bones and pieces left in the broth. I have a colander that I use. You can use cheesecloth if you want a very clear broth. I don’t mind little bits, so the colander is good for me.
Allow the broth to cool, and then place in the fridge to chill completely. The next morning, there will be a layer of fat floating on top. It is easy to remove that fat with a slotted spoon before storing your broth.
Canning Homemade Chicken Broth
Start by preparing jars and getting water in your canner heating. If you are not familiar with how a pressure canner works, check this page.
Pour hot broth into hot jars. (If desired, add 1 tsp. salt per quart or 1/2 tsp. salt per pint.) Wipe the rims clean, remove any air bubbles, and place on your lids and rings. Leave 1 inch headspace. Process using pressure canning instructions.
Processing Time:
(Remember, always adjust for your altitude using chart below.)
- Pints – process for 20 minutes
- Quarts – process for 25 minutes
Recipe Card
Canning Broth or Stock
Ingredients
- Broth or stock
- Canning salt optional
Instructions
- Start by preparing your jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed. If you are new to using a pressure canner, see this article for full pressure canning instructions. This includes more detailed information and step-by-step instructions on how a pressure canner works.
Hot Pack only
- Bring broth to a boil.
- Pour hot broth into hot jar, leaving 1” headspace.
- Add salt (1 tsp. per quart or 1/2 tsp. per pint) if desired.
- Wipe the rim clean and place on seal and ring.
- Place the jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars.
- Process according to directions below.
Processing
Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation, Wisconsin Extension
Last Updated: 6/30/2021
Homemade Chicken Broth Tips & FAQs
Is Chicken Broth & Chicken Stock the Same Thing?
What’s the difference between stock and broth? Here’s my understanding of the difference:
- Homemade Chicken Stock is made from the bones of a chicken carcass, or less meaty chicken parts. The neck, back, and wings are examples. Or it uses the carcass from a roasted chicken meal. This turns out to be a darker, richer color and flavor.
- Homemade Chicken Broth is made from meatier chicken pieces with the meat on. The meat is removed (saved for casseroles, etc.) and the bones further cooked. It has a lighter color and flavor.
Both homemade chicken broth and stock benefit from adding vegetables to the stock when you cook it. It is not required, but since I’ve started adding those veggies, my broth is soooo much nicer! I highly recommend giving it a try. Easy chicken stock (and yummy too).
Melissa writes in with some extra tips…
“I save the scraps from veggies and use those instead of using fresh, whole veggies. So carrot peels and ends, onion skins and ends, the small pieces of garlic that are too difficult to peel to use, the ends of celery or the leaves when I’m making recipes where those aren’t really practical to use, the stems from thyme and rosemary (I grow both in my garden and basement year round, so I’m always using fresh).
I keep them in a freezer bag in my freezer and when I make beef/chicken/lamb stock I use the scraps. Then I don’t feel bad about throwing them away b/c they would have been thrown away anyway.
For vegetable stock I save all of the above and mushroom stems, leek tops, spinach that’s no longer edible, small pieces of ginger, broccoli and cauliflower ends and asparagus ends. Again, when it’s all done, I would have thrown them away anyway, but this way they add a great flavor to my stocks before they get thrown away!”
Thank you, Melissa. I’d not thought of saving herbs and some of the other veggies you mention.
Beef Roast in the Crockpot with Home Canned Chicken Broth
Related Pages
Homemade Soup with Home Dehydrated Vegetables
How to make homemade soup with home-dehydrated vegetables.
Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe: Safe Home Canning Instructions
Make this homemade chicken soup recipe and know it’s safe for canning!
Canning Chicken Stock FAQs
Creating your own homemade soup recipes with your own food storage is fun and super easy. Satisfying too.
Pin This to Find Later!
Members’ Extra: Access Your Video Tutorial in Your Members Area
Canning school members, click here to log in.
Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation
Page last updated: 5/21/2021
I want to save this to my pintrest?
Hi Sandy, if you hover over the image at the top of the article. A Pinterest button appears. Click that and you can pin away! Thank you for asking! I recently made a change in this and you are not the first to ask. So I really need to make it more available. I’ll work on it. 🙂
Thank you for this! The directions say “Pour hot broth into hot jars”, but is it okay to add the broth to the jars straight from the fridge and then put the jars in the pressure canner? Or do the contents of the jar need to be warm? Total newbie here! Sorry if it’s a silly question!
Not silly at all! The broth must be hot. The processing time is geared for hot broth in hot jars. It is pretty easy to simply heat it up to a boil and fill your jars from there. Keep asking questions! 🙂
Can I keep chicken carcasses in my freezer until I have enough to make a decently sized batch of broth or will that mess with the nutrition/taste?
Yes, Laura, that would be fine. 🙂
-Rachel (Sharon’s assistant)
can i just put the hot broth straight from crock pot into jars for canning?
Technically yes, though you’ll need to strain the broth before you put it into the jars and make sure it’s hot going into them. The primary reason you wouldn’t can it immediately would be that you need to skim off excess fat. If you have a very lean broth, I suppose you wouldn’t need to do this, but that probably isn’t likely for chicken or turkey broth. You can read more about this topic here: https://www.simplycanning.com/canning-chicken-stock/
-Rachel (Sharon’s assistant)
I am able to get a lot of chicken feet, backs, and necks. Using these parts has made for a very thick stock/broth. I find roasting them not only imparts a richer flavor but also helps draw out the marrow. Adding an acid; ACV or lemon juice also helps bring out the minerals and break down the bones. I simmer on low until the bones crumble in my fingers for about 12 or more hours. In some cultures, the bone “paste” is eaten as it still contains minerals. In addition to the bones, when we cook our veggies we cut… Read more »