Slow cooker chicken broth

In the height of soup season, I give thanks for finally figuring out the broth equation. For years I was only a sporadic maker of broth. I knew it was a higher and better thing than the anemic contents you find in the cans and cartons on the supermarket shelves, but it took forever, smelled kind of bad while cooking and made a big mess, so I only tended to do it when I wanted to make chicken soup.

I had basically been following the same method my mother used, cooking a whole bird for two hours with some chopped up onions and salt, only I added of lots of garlic in an attempt to make it a tastier base for soup. The results were only so-so; better than store-bought, but nothing to make me go out of my way to make it.

Once when faced with enough time on my hands after deboning a turkey carcass, I decided to do some research online and in cookbooks to see if I could make a broth with the bones. That led me down a road of continually improving broth. My main failings before: not cooking the broth nearly long enough to result in a concentrated stock, and not including enough flavorants besides chicken.  My broth got better and better with each refinement.

But it didn’t really get easier.

The broth doesn't reach the gelatinous stage until it's been refrigerated.

Then I decided to try it in the slow cooker. I had been worried about how it would turn out, since there would be limited opportunity for the liquids to boil down and become concentrated. But the results were fabulous, and so much easier than the standard stove-top method. No more having to stay close to home for four hours, and the result is wonderfully gelatinous stock with handy packets of cooked chicken to boot.This is now a nearly every-winter-weekend ritual:

Ingredients

This is my starting point:

6 chicken drumsticks or thighs

2 large yellow onions, quartered, with peels left on (this also helps color the broth)

2 celery stalks, cut into two-inch pieces

2 large carrots, cut into two-inch pieces

A handful of herbs: parsley, thyme and/or marjoram are frequent choices, keep the stems on

2 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

8 cups of water or so, enough to cover most of the ingredients but still leave enough room at the top so it doesn’t boil over, about a half-inch

Pretty much the only three givens are enough chicken of some kind to cover the bottom of the pot, the onions and the peppercorns.  From here I branch out to whatever is on hand and otherwise might go to waste: carrot tops, fennel stalks, Swiss chard stems, leek tops (well washed), cauliflower cores. I make sure to add something from each of the basic groups:

1. Chicken parts or leftovers; if I’ve got leftover carcass parts, I add those in, any random pieces leftover that  I didn’t need for a recipe. If I've got time, I roast raw chicken parts first to deepen the flavor.
2. Onion/leeks/scallions
3. Carrots/parsnips/sweet potatoes
4.  Celery/Swiss chard/kale or fennel stems
5.  Herbs. Basically anything of a savory sort; I'd stay away from mint or cilantro or anything that powerful, but most of the other garden variety herbs are fair game. Use a big handful.
6. Spices. Whole cloves or star anise are also worth experimenting with.

What’s not in it: Salt or garlic, both of which used to figure prominently in my broth. I find I don’t miss either. The no-salt choice isn’t health-driven. I just didn’t add it the first time I tried this in the crock pot and found out the broth was flavorful enough on its own, so that lets me control salt more directly at the recipe level.

Method

If you’re using a slow-cooker liner (and I do), line the crock. Put the chicken in the bottom of the pot, enough to cover most of the bottom. Then add onions, carrots, celery, herbs and peppercorns. Tuck things in as best you can, and pour on enough water to cover, at least 6 cups. (Don’t worry if some stray herbs or onion skins peep above the water level; they’ll cook down and get submerged.) Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. I usually opt for the 10-hour range.

Remove the herbs and vegetable chunks to a bowl. Remove the chicken pieces to another bowl, removing the skin and bones when cool enough to handle.  Strain broth through a fine sieve, or line a larger sieve with cheesecloth to get a clear broth. I then put the herbs and vegetable chunks back into the lined crock pot along with the skin and bones and seal it up for the trash. (Since the herbs and vegetables have been cooked with meat, they aren’t good back-yard compost fodder.) Strain any liquid that remains in the bowls in on top of the broth. I store the cooked chicken in freezer packs for future use. Cover and refrigerate broth overnight. Skim off fat and enjoy. Risotto will never be the same again.