Roasted Chicken and Veggies --> Bone Broth
ROASTED CHICKEN AND VEGGIES (+ BROTH)
Roasted chicken active time: 20 minutes / Total time: 2 hours
Broth active time 30 minutes / Total time: 12 hours
INGREDIENTS
- ~4-5 lb. whole organic chicken
- Carrots (8 large)
- Celery (1 bunch)
- Yellow onions (2)
- 1 head fresh garlic
- Lemons (2)
- 1/2 stick butter, bring to room-temp
- Bay leaves (2)
- 1 bunch fresh thyme (plus any fresh herbs you’d like for broth - some favorites are oregano, rosemary, sage)
- sea salt + fresh-ground pepper to taste
- Ball/Kerr/Mason jars - pack of 16 or 32-oz. jars for storing broth
* Get a large bowl or tupperware to throw veggie scraps (onion and garlic peels, and ends of carrots and celery). Reserve these for the broth.
* I recommend making this in the afternoon/early evening so that you can have your roasted chicken for dinner. It is great served with rice or egg noodles. Then prep for the broth, which you can leave on the stove or crockpot overnight and/or the following day. Broth can cook from 8-48 hours on the lowest heat setting (you don’t want it boiling). Taste the broth after ~8 hrs. cooking and add more seasonings if desired. This broth portion of the process could also be done in a pressure cooker (done in 4-8 hrs.)
* You will use about half of the veggies in the first round to make the roasted chicken, and the other half to make the broth.
DIRECTIONS
* Heat oven to 375° Fahrenheit, making sure the oven rack is placed so that the roasting chicken will sit in the center.
1. Prep chicken: pat dry with paper towels and let sit out while you prep the veggies. Allowing chicken to dry completely will help you get that crispy brown skin. If you think ahead, you can pat dry and then place in refrigerator for a few hours to get it completely dry. I’ve even seen people use a hairdryer on low to speed this up :-)
2. Using half of the veggie and herb ingredients, wash 4-5 carrots (no need to peel) and half bunch celery and chop at angle, in about 2-inch pieces, reserving ends to use in broth. Chop 1 onion yellow into eights, combining in a heavy-lidded dutch oven (like this, or this) or in a roasting pan with foil to keep the moisture in.
3. Hit ~5 garlic cloves with flat edge of knife to pop peel off - adding the peels to the bowl reserved for the broth (this will add flavor and nutrients to the broth). Mince garlic.
Mix garlic in a small bowl using a spoon with 1/2 stick butter, two tablespoons fresh thyme/herbs, and a dash of sea salt, making into a paste. If you want to speed up cooking, slice chicken down the back and lay it flat (in this case, you’ll cook for 1 hr. instead of ~1.5 hrs.). This method is called “spatchcocking” (lol!).
4. Wash and cut lemon in-half and add to the veggies and the other half into the chicken. Or below the chicken if you are spatchcocking (I can’t type this with a straight-face).
5. If roasting the chicken whole, stuff it with some vegetables, and herbs. Reserve remaining veggies for the broth. Put the scraps, along with any chicken organs in the fridge to be saved for the broth.
6. Using butter and herb paste, cover the chicken with it. You can poke holes in the skin and place inside the skin - this will prevent the garlic from burning and help the chicken stay moist while cooking. Then place chicken in dutch oven or roasting pan, resting it on top of the bed of veggies. Salt and pepper the chicken. Be generous with herbs, salt and pepper for best flavor!
7. Cook 90 minutes for full chicken or 60 minutes for spatchcocked chicken. Check in the middle to make veggies are getting enough drippings from chicken. If they look like they are drying out, add a cup of water or broth to the bottom of the pan and re-cover.
8. Chicken is done when you push in at the leg joint and see that the liquid runs clear. Remove cover and cook an additional 5-10 minutes on low broil so the skin crisps up. Pay special attention - it can burn quickly!
9. Let chicken rest for a few minutes before carving.
Arrange chicken and veggies on a serving platter. Serve with side of choice (rice, noodles, potatoes). Use drippings as a sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.
Leave any unused veggies and sauce in pan for broth. Optional: transfer to crockpot (or leave in dutch oven if you will be home and don’t mind keeping stove on at lowest setting.
Here’s a version, where I added cooked bacon and split the chicken to lay flat for faster cooking time.
BONE BROTH
1. Pick all the meat off the chicken carcass, placing in dutch oven or crock pot.
2. Add reserved veggie trimmings plus remaining carrots, celery, onion, and garlic (skins and all) - giving everything a rough-chop.
3. Add bay leaves, thyme and any other fresh herbs, additional salt + pepper, and halved lemon or tablespoon apple cider vinegar (you’ll want this acid to bring out the flavor and minerals from the bones).
4. Fill pot with filtered water just to the top of where the veggies/chicken bones come to. Replace lid and cook at lowest setting on stove for ~8-48 hrs. Make sure it is not boiling. If it is, move to smaller burner and continue to simmer. If cooking in crock pot, cook on low setting.
5. Taste at 8 hours and continue cooking if you prefer a stronger flavor. If you are leaving for work, you can place in fridge, and continue cooking in the evening and over night.
6. Let cool and then carefully pour through fine mesh strainer into a large container that has a pour spout, disposing of the bones and veggies (or save veggies and even blend them with some broth and a dash of sea salt for a puréed-style soup).
7. Pour strained broth into canning jars and place in fridge. If you would like to save broth in freezer, leave an inch at the top of jar and don’t screw lid on all the way. Place in freezer where they won’t be knocked over. Once fully frozen, tighten lid for safe keeping.
Broth can be used in soup recipes, for cooking rice, or just heated and sipped on plain or with a dash of sea salt. I like to make a simple soup of chicken broth heated with a handful of spinach, and an egg dropped in (either mixed with a fork or soft-poached), and sprinkled with sesame seeds and/or micro greens.
This is the quintessential roasted chicken and broth recipe, but feel free to add any veggies you have on hand, like potatoes, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, etc.
This one is dedicated to my beloved client who is healing her body through adding more home cooking and nourishing foods into her diet. Chicken broth is a wonderful source of amino acids and essential minerals. It is easy on the digestive tract.
By adding a fresh spritz of lemon just before serving, you add a boost of natural vitamin C and get to enjoy some powerful, perfect-for-fall, immune-supporting goodness.
From my home to yours.
xo,
Rachel
*below are two broths I made (one before cooking and one after), to show that you can use different veggies each time!
