Print this pageI use chicken (or turkey) necks and backs along with a pack or two of chicken feet. A stewing hen also works great and may even be more flavorful. If you are not ready yet to go as far as chicken feet, that's ok too. The stock will be fine without them, just not as thick or as healing for joint health.
- Put the necks and backs or stewing hen in your cooking pot.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Some scum will rise to the top as it begins to boil...skim that off the best you can (Sally Fallon says any impurities would be in that scum).
- Let it simmer for 6-8 hours to get the flavor and all the nutrients out.
- Remove the chicken. Save any bits of meat to add back to your broth.
- You can freeze the stock in small meal-sized portions. I only add my vegetables, herbs and seasonings when I’m preparing the meal.
Note: With chicken, removing the bones and the meat is a bit more tedious than the beef, but it’s worth it! You can usually pick off enough meat to make a delicious chicken soup plus freeze some along with your extra stock. The stock is very concentrated. Sometimes I add water when I’m actually making the soup, but it very flavorful as it is. If it has more fat than you like, let the stock cool or freeze it and the fat rises to the top and is very easy to remove. But remember, these chickens are soy-free, GMO-free and raised on organic pastures and moved three times a day to new grass so you do not need to be afraid of the fat. It is quite possibly the most nourishing part of the broth!...chock full of omega-3 and CLA.
~The Farmer's Wife
