I know, it sounds weird…and pompous…”the.definitive”.  PULLL-EEASE. It’s chicken broth, for God’s sake, not world peace.  But, it’s the words that I have written in my book that I consider the “recipe gospel, according to Kim”.  Recipes that I have tried, and tried, and tweaked, and tweaked, and FINALLY per-fec-ted, at least where *I* am concerned.  So, here it is, according to ME:

CHICKEN BROTH:  THE. DEFINITIVE.

Assumption #1:  You have started with my amazing Poached Chicken To Die For Recipe…

Assumption #2: You have put back all of your bones/carcass/badass into the pot of water that you started with.

If neither of these assumptions are true, then just throw a carcass in with a bunch of water, some Better Than Boullion, some peppercorns, an onion and some garlic, and call it a day!

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If the assumptions are true then…

We’re back to our huge pot full of water sans chicken meat, right?  Well, throw those leftover bones, skin, cartilage, etc. back into that water and bring it all to a nice boil.

Throw in a splash of vinegar, doesn’t really matter which kind, although I use Bragg’s Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, this helps leach all the chicken’s SOUL and other good stuff into your broth.  

1 Tbsp. “Better Than Boullion” chicken base (optional, but does add a good flavor).  Whatever you do, please don’t be sacrilegious and add a bouillon cube to this.  It will KILL THE CHICKEN’S SOUL, I swear it.

Salt mixture:  My “go-to” mixture is 1 tbsp. Jane’s Crazy Mixed Up Salt, 1 tbsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, and 1tbsp. celery salt.  But, I have done all, none, and combinations of all three.  Basically, if it tastes like dishwater after cooking for a million hours, it just needs SOME KIND OF SALT.  Please don’t refer me to your cardiologist.  It STILL has less sodium than the crap in the can or the cube.  Also, a note from experience.  You can ALWAYS add more, but can’t take away, so, depending on how much water/broth you have here, you should adjust accordingly.  I use a SHITLOAD of water, and this amount of salt.  Granted, I usually add more when using the broth for cooking, but this is a good start for me.

I bring this magical mixture to a boil, and then simmer for as long as I can stand it.  I leave a lid halfway on the pot, just because I was told that’s how Good Jewish Mothers do it, and I cannot argue with them.  Your broth will cook down a bit, but still leave you with lots to use or store.  After several hours (no LESS than 3-4?), I take the broth off the heat, strain out the chicken and put the pot of broth into the fridge overnight (if I don’t need to use it, or drink it, right away.)  The next morning I take a slotted spoon, or whatever, and take the fat off the top and chuck it.  Now, seriously people, a little.bit.of.fat will NOT kill you, and actually tastes great.  I just don’t like a whole bunch of greasy broth, so I do this extra step. Sometimes there is hardly any fat at all, and sometimes, it’s like a box o’ chocolates.  You never know whatcha gonna get.

That’s IT.  Use it, save it, freeze it, drink it, look at it, worship it, bathe in it.  I don’t care, but KNOW that I am doing all of these things right there with you.  Broth RULES!

So, in keeping with my resolution to post more, I’m going to post a couple of recipes that I use every.single.week.  It’s no secret that I LOVE me some good, homemade chicken broth, and will actually drink it for breakfast like other people drink coffee.  The more I read about it, the more convinced I am that it’s something I want to have around the house full-time, and in large quantities.  But, before I get to THAT recipe, let’s talk about what you can do with the chicken before it becomes broth.  You can make the BEST chicken EVER.  Seriously, I usually loathe anything chicken related (just ask Dave), and experimented with tons of different ways to make it a little more appealing to me.  Well, enter poaching.  This creates a really tender, almost silky-textured result that is perfect for shredding for soups, casseroles, tacos, chicken salad, etc. etc.  I make this so often that I always have a few cups in my freezer for quick usage.  Enough of my blathering…here it is:

Poached Chicken to Die For

1 3-4 pound chicken, preferably organic, although my budget can’t take a $20 hit for one freakin’ chicken, so I just buy “minimally processed” birdies.
1 yellow onion, cut into quarters, I just throw it in the pot, peeling and all
1 head of garlic, smashed, again, I just chuck in the peelings
1 small handful of whole peppercorns
1 small bunch fresh parsley, totally optional, I just happened to have some that I wanted to use up, and it adds more nutrients to the resulting broth, but doesn’t really alter the flavor too much

Throw everything in a really big pot, add as much water as you’d like (but definitely enough to fully submerge the chicken) and bring to a boil.

When the water boils, set your timer for 15 minutes and let that sucka simma.

Cover the pot with a tight lid, turn off the heat, and let the chicken sit for 45 minutes.  (DON’T PEEK!)

After 45 minutes, take it’s temperature to make sure the breast/thigh areas are at least 160 degrees.  The best part about this recipe is that I have made a lot of chickens, all different sizes (but probably not more than a 5 pounder), and they have ALWAYS been at the perfect temperature after 45 minutes.  And, I am a FREAK about making sure meat is cooked, so just take my word for it.

Remove the chicken from the water and allow it to cool. DO NOT chuck your water!  I’ve seen a few recipes that call for throwing your bird into an ice water bath, but I didn’t really notice a difference in the end result, and really?  I’m just too lazy.

Remove meat and shred that sucka for whatever future yumminess you have in mind.  At this point, Cooper is a lucky dog and usually gets those pieces of chicken that I deem “unworthy”.

Save whatever you have left over – bones, cartilage, meat, skin, etc, and throw it back in the pot of water that is still waiting for you.

This 3.5 pound chicken of mine produced 1 1/2 quart-sized Mason jars worth of shredded chicken, and around 8 quarts of broth.  I save both the meat and the broth in these Mason jars that I vacuum seal with my fancy-pants FoodSaver and attachment.  Totally not necessary, but I do like-a me some gadgets, and it does make things last so much longer in the fridge or freezer.

Tomorrow (or the next day, I have commitment issues), I will post the recipe for the best homemade chicken broth EVER!