No-Chop Chicken Broth — Elana Horwich

Of all the recipes in my book, homemade broth might be both the easiest and the most life-changing.

With just a couple of minutes prep and a few hours of unsupervised simmering on the stovetop, homemade broth will elevate your cooking into the upper stratosphere of top-bitch badassery.

You don’t need to peel. You don’t need to chop. You don’t need to even be awake. If you can throw whole vegetables into a pot, cover them with water, and then go take a nap for a couple of hours, you can make broth.

There is no canned, cubed, or boxed substitute for what grandmothers around the world have always known: homemade chicken broth will change your life and bring deep, soul-filling satisfaction to everyone you feed. Go for it.

Makes 3 quarts

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken necks and backs (if you can’t find necks and backs, use wings and legs)
2 whole onions
4 to 5 whole cloves
3 whole carrots
3 to 4 celery stalks
2 bay leaves
5 to 6 peppercorns
A large handful of flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a stock pot and add enough water to cover. (You don’t need to chop anything, hence the name of this recipe!)
Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let simmer slowly for at least a couple of hours. Better yet, let it simmer all day long. Skim off any foam that doesn’t look appealing.
Let it cool, as this process adds flavor.
Season well with salt. If it’s not tasty, add more salt! (See Note)
Once cooled, it may be refrigerated. If desired, skim off the fat the next day.

Note: Broth has no flavor unless you add salt. And it takes more than you think. I tend to make a batch of broth and freeze it for future uses, without any salt. That way I just salt it as I use it, recipe per recipe.

Variations: Below I have added some possible add-ins and why you might choose to use them:

Any other root vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, and rutabagas, for richer flavor.
Dill. This is a favorite with Jewish chicken soup makers.
Parsnips. They add a sweet, earthy flavor. Parsnips were always in my grandma’s soups. (Recommended if you are making matzo ball soup.)
Beef knuckle marrow bones. They add depth of flavor