Never Buy Broth Again!

Whether you need a quart of broth for soup, or a half pint for gravy, this super simple broth recipe and canning instructions will keep you stocked in broth!

I used to spend tons of money on buying broth at the store.  Then, when I started watching my family's sodium intake, I started purchasing the vegetables to make my own broth.  The low sodium and no salt added broth varieties at the store lack so much in the flavor department, and I wanted a broth that would make a delicious soup!

After Thanksgiving one year, I was cleaning up leftovers and looked at the turkey bones left after carving up the smoked turkey my husband cooked for us that year.  I thought of all the flavor that was left behind on the bits of skin with that scrumptious seasoning on it, and the flavor left in the bones.  I typically would have thrown those bones away, but I decided to put them in a freezer bag and make a broth from them later.

I then read a blog about how vegetable scraps can be used in making broths.  I was amazed! Here I was, purchasing vegetables to make my broth and throwing away the scraps, when I could have been saving the scraps and saving all that money on produce.  We all know how produce prices have skyrocketed the last few years!

I began saving the scraps from vegetables and once I got a freezer bag full of veggie scraps and a turkey or chicken carcass or two, I made broth.  It was so good!  I canned it, so I would have it for whenever I needed it.  I never realized how much I used!  I even shared some with others who were looking for flavorful broth.  The great thing is, this broth can easily be frozen for future use as well!

In this blog, I would like to walk you through how I make my own broth, and then how to store it in the freezer, or can it for shelf stable pantry storage!

Vegetable Scraps to Keep

• carrot peels and baby carrots that are a little past their prime *Always scrub carrots that you will be saving the peelings from, dirt can hide and get in the broth from the peeling.
• green pepper tops or the tops from salad sweet peppers (in moderation, flavors can vary)
• garlic cloves, you know the tiny ones in the  middle of the bulb
• onion skins, not the papery skin, but the thin first layer of the onion
• green onion tops
• mushroom stems, make sure they are trimmed, you don't want dirt in your broth
• celery hearts and the tops from celery, if keeping the bottom of the celery, trim the very bottom off, possible dirt contamination there

Vegetable Scraps to Avoid

• potatoes, they soak up the salt you do add, and they don't really add any flavor
• potato skins, they don't really add any flavor, it also isn't advised to can broth made with potato skins
• greens such as lettuce and kale, nothing to gain by adding these except bitter flavors
• vegetables like broccoli, squash, corn and zucchini, these vegetables just don't work well in broth

Meat Scraps to Keep

• rotisserie chicken bones and skin
• chicken backbones after quartering
• chicken bones after deboning 
• turkey bones, whether roasted or smoked
• beef bones
• pork bones

You don't really want to mix bones, keep poultry with poultry, and beef with beef, etc.

Typically on the day I am going to make broth, I scavenge around in the fridge.  Is there any produce crying out for mercy? On the day I made this batch, I had some baby carrots that were not too happy about being forgotten in the back of the fridge, some celery sticks I had forgotten about, and an onion in the pantry that was losing a battle against going soft.  Making broth is a great way to salvage some veggies before they absolutely turn against you, and saving money by utilizing them in something useful!

Note: If you are wanting a vegetable broth, simply omit the meat ingredients!

Making the Broth:

Items needed:

• Large stock pot
• Vegetables/scraps you have collected
• Meat/bones you have collected
• Water
• Seasonings
• Large bowl for discarding solids from broth
• Large strainer that will fit inside your stock pot
• Large pitchers to store broth until canning if not using right away

Place the vegetables/scraps and the meat/bones you want to use in a large stock pot, add desired seasonings.  If you are going to can this broth avoid seasonings such as oregano and sage, as these spices can completely change flavors and overpower your canned broth, making it very unpleasant.  A good rule of thumb to follow is, season as little as possible and add more later.  This also makes your broth more versatile in use.  A simple basic seasoning is key.  I typically use 2Tbs kosher salt, 1Tbs ground black pepper and 1Tbs thyme leaves.  When straining, most of the thyme and pepper is filtered out but the flavor is left in the broth.

Bring to a boil, then lower to a slow simmer and cover.  Allow to simmer for 4-6 hours for optimal flavor and to get more goodness out of the bones used in broth.  If doing a vegetable broth, you only need to simmer for 1-2 hours  Once finished cooking, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Once slightly cooled, you just don't want to burn yourself when straining, use the large strainer to dip out any solids in the broth.  You won't be able to get them all with this step, just focus on large bits.  Then, use the strainer to catch any solid pieces while you pour the broth into the pitcher.  I typically make broth one day, then can on another day so I simply put the pitcher in the refrigerator until I am ready to can, usually, in the next day or two.  You do not want to forget about the broth and let it sit in the fridge too long as it will effect the quality of the broth.

If you used bones with meat on them, make sure you collect the meat and separate it from the bones.  The meat can be used in future dishes like pot pie, soup, and etc.

Depending on what you used in your broth, you might have clear broth, or cloudy broth.  Starchy vegetables tend to make the broth cloudy, and I have found mushrooms can make it cloudy, as well as the fat content of the broth.  Whether cloudy or not, the broth will have an amazing flavor!

From this point you can either use the broth right away in a soup, or store it for later use by canning or freezing it!

Freezing the Broth:

Items needed:

• Large freezer containers or freezer bags
• Funnel
• Ladle or dipper

Allow the broth to completely cool in refrigerator, skim off the fat that separated on the top of broth.  Carefully fill your containers, whether it be freezer safe containers, or freezer bags.  If using bags, fill most of the way, seal, then lay flat to freeze.  This allows much neater stacking in freezer or you can stand them up in the freezer door for ease of accessibility.  If freezing in glass jars, always give plenty of headspace for expansion once the broth freezes to prevent the jar from breaking.

Skim the fat from the top of the broth, it is ok if the broth is gelatinous at this point. Then pour the broth into the stock pot, and bring up to a gentle boil.  While the broth is heating, fill the pressure canner with the recommended amount of water and allow it to heat up, not boil, this will not take as long as the broth, I usually turn heat on for the water when the broth is just getting warm.  I use a Presto 23 quart pressure canner and it recommends three quarts of water for pressure canning. 

If you used a pitcher to store your broth in the refrigerator, then you should have a rough idea how many jars you will need.  If the broth filled a gallon pitcher, you will have four quarts, or eight pints, or sixteen half pints of broth to can.  This can leave a little bit extra left over, depending on how accurate your pitcher is.  I have a half-gallon pitcher that actually measures two and a half quarts!  So always prepare an extra jar or two. 

Once the broth is heated through, carefully fill each jar, leaving one inch of headspace.  Gently wipe the rim of each jar and place the lid and ring on, making sure it is only finger tight.  Over tightening of the lid can cause warping of the lid and improper sealing.  Carefully place the jars in the canner and place the lid on, following your canner manufacturer's instructions.

Allow the canner to heat thoroughly and vent for a full ten minutes. Venting is when you allow steam to steadily rise from the valve stem. (see photo) Once the canner has vented for the ten minutes, place the weight on the vent stem.  If you are using a canner with adjustable weights, use the table below for which weight you will need for your elevation.  If you are using a canner with a dial gauge, use the table below for how many pounds of pressure you need for your elevation.  

Once the canner has come up to the correct pressure for your elevation, start the timer for the recommended time for the size of jars you are using. (see table below)  Adjust the heat as needed to maintain correct pressure.  Remember, if you have mixed sizes of jars, always process for the larger jar for correct processing.  Make sure the pressure does not fall below the recommended time, as you will need to restart the timer over.  Jars must process at the recommended pressure for the entire time to be considered correctly processed.

Once the time is up, turn off the heat to the canner, do not move the canner, just turn off the heat.  Allow the canner to cool enough to drop the pressure.  The lock tab on the lid will drop when the pressure in the canner is low enough.  You can now remove the weight and allow the canner to sit for another ten minutes to allow the pressure to regulate inside the canner.  This can help prevent siphoning of the broth.  After the ten minutes, carefully remove the lid of the canner, making sure to keep the opening away from your face to prevent burns.  

Place a towel on the counter to protect the jars while cooling. If hot jars are put on bare counter, the heat could damage your counter, and the coolness of the counter can cause cracking of the hot jars.  Using a jar lifter, carefully lift each jar out of the canner, while supporting it with a dish towel in the other hand and place jars on the towel covered counter.  Allow jars to cool, undisturbed, for 12 hours.  After the 12 hours, check the lids without touching them.  If there are any lids that are not sealed, or the button in middle is still up, carefully put those jars in the refrigerator for use in near future, or if very many did not seal, you can do the canning process all over, heating the broth back up in a pot and using new lids.  Allow the sealed jars to sit another 12 hours for the sealing compound to be set.  After the jars have set for 24 hours, remove the rings and gently wash with hot soapy water to remove any residue from the outside of the jars.  Don't forget to mark the lids of the jars with the date of processing and the contents of the jar.

You now have home canned, flavorful broth for your pantry!  You can enjoy this broth knowing exactly what went into it, and knowing your family will enjoy it in their favorite soup, stew and gravy!

Since, in this recipe, I use a variety of vegetables, and it is never the same ratio twice, it is recommended to use the "soup" canning times to ensure safe processing.  Otherwise, follow the recipe and processing found at nchfp for the type of broth or stock you desire.