- 2 pounds chicken parts
- water to cover
- 1 large onion, halved and peel left on
- 3 stalks celery cut into pieces
- 4 carrots, cut into pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 whole peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (optional- depends on application of broth)
- salt to taste
First put your chicken in a suitable pot with a cover (the cover will stay on the whole time).
Cover with water. I actually used bottled. This is going to be the zen of broth, after all!
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for one hour.
Remove meat using tongs and allow to cool for 15 minutes (unless you have heat-proof gloves!)
Tear apart the chicken, put back in the pot, and use heavy scissors (or a hammer, mallet, cleaver) and hack apart the bones. Basically, include all parts of the chicken back into the pot.
I was tempted to reserve the chicken meat but after an hour it is well drained of flavor.
Add the remainder to the pot and more water if necessary. Bring to a boil then simmer away for 3 more hours. Stir occasionally and serve a few tender (cooled) carrot bits to little people.
Turn off heat and let it sit to cool for a bit.
Pour through a sieve into a bowl suitable to stick in the fridge. I pressed hard on a large spoon to extract as much juice as I could.
Once cooled in the fridge, skim off the fat and store in single use portions, in the freezer.
