I absolutely love making this chicken bone broth because it’s so incredibly easy and also so versatile! Don’t be fooled by cooking time of 6 hours because in actual fact preparation takes 10 min and then you just forget about it for 6 hours. I tend to do this usually at the weekend and after spending time cooking in the slow cooker over night in the morning I put into small freezable containers and then take it out as and when I need it.
I usually make Pho (a delicious fragrant soup) but you can use the stock in other soups or just to have on it’s own as a snack with chopped coriander, mint or parsley.
How about the health benefits?
As a child whenever I used to get ill my mum always used to make me chicken soup which according to her it will help me get rid of all the toxins and help me on the path or recovery. Well, is there actually any truth in this? According to laboratory studies the synergistic action of nutrients in chicken bone broth may help fighting inflammation and spreading of infection. So there is some truth behind it but only limited research to really demonstrate it.
This delicious chicken bone broth is cooked with a lot of spices and also with ginger which have some health benefits:
- Ginger fights colds and flu and also protects and heals the gut;
- Cardamom is an effective digestive stimulant and diuretic, boosting the metabolism;
- Cinnamon is a digestive aid that help normalise levels of glucose and triglycerides;
- Star anise has potent antiviral properties;
So with all of this goodness surely it’s a no brainer to give it a go!
Chicken bone broth
Print RecipeIngredients
- 2 chicken carcasses
- 2 onions or 4 shallots
- 1 stalk of lemongrass
- 7.5 cm ginger root
- 6 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Handful of fennel seeds
- Handful of cardamom pods
Instructions
Put the carcasses in a pot with water. Bring to boil and leave for 3 min to ensure the scum is released and your pho will be clear. Throw the water away and rinse the carcasses.
Cut the onions in 2 and put them in a pan (with no oil) along side the spices and ginger (leave the lemongrass out). Gently dry fry these ingredients. This will help the onion to develop more intense flavour and the spices to start releasing the oils, helping to achieve flavour in your stock.
Bash the lemongrass to start releasing the flavour and put all ingredients (chicken carcasses, onion, spices, ginger and lemongrass) in the slow cooker. Cover with water according to the instructions. Turn on low heat if leaving for more than 5 hours or high if leaving for 3-4 hours. The longer you leave the more flavour it develops. After cooking remove any leftover meat from the carcass and put in small plastic tubs and freeze.
Notes
If you don’t have a slow cooker then you can just use a big pot. Half cover with a lid and just check it from time to time to ensure it’s not overflowing.
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