LOL I was wondering too! I think I've only needed chicken broth for 2 recipes I've ever cooked and I bought a can of it at the store. I'm not the chef of the family What do you make/cook with broth?

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I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do. -Edward Hale

i always buy fresh boneless chicken breasts we have a store around here that every 3-4 weeks has them for under $2 bucks a pound you can get 20lbs at a time if i wanted more dh could also go in and get 20lbs. i do buy whole chickens every now and then becuase my family does like a nice slow roasted chicken now and then.

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I make my chicken broth by just boiling the bones and scraps, essentially(this is true for any other meat too). All of those yucky pieces (tail, gizzards, whatever) just get tossed in the pot too. I like to season with just salt and pepper--that's it. Boil it until it looks and tastes like broth...wish I could say how long that is, but I think it depends on how much stuff is in the pot.

Maybe some people do a more gourmet thing, but this is the way my mom taught me. It's nice, because it's free--it's made from the left overs of a meal. Plus, it's all-natural. And, of course, no wasteful packaging or worry about BPA on the inside of a can!

hope this helps

I figured it out a while ago that the whole bird was a waste (but never figured prices out - so that was neat what you had posted). Sure you can make chicken broth out of it, but I don't need to save money on chicken broth - I can get that for 10 cents a boullion cube. The last whole bird I cooked I got one meal out of. Those of you who get 3-4 meals must be making one MASSIVE chicken as there are only 3 of us and I use it in things like casseroles, soups, etc. I only use 1/2 - 2/3 lb for meals (unless I'm grilling the breasts) so out of a 3 lb bag (of the flash frozen breasts or cutlets), I can usually get 4-6 meals. I stock up when they're 3lb/$5 during the summer but if I'm out, I still refuse to pay more than $2/lb for chicken.

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Do you need to drain the fat with this route? I usually keep my broth this way myself but until I figured out how to get rid of the fat the broth was pretty gross!

I don't do the whole chicken all the time, and I've never done the math, but because I buy my chickens locally and organically, this is the way they come. I am usually able to make a couple of meals, usually chicken pot pies, out of it. Not to mention the broth is the best (once I figured to get the broth out of it) for soup.

Now I hadn't thought of using the bones for more soup and I hadn't saved the inners for the dog and cats. Thanks for the advice!

wow. That is amazing. I know alot of times I make whole chickens as well. Thanks for the tip

I figured that out a long time ago - the fat, skin & bones make up a lot of what you are paying for, plus all that work! I do buy a roasting chicken on occasion if I want roast chicken for dinner, but the boneless/skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or the flash-frozen ones I can usually find cheap on sale.
Broth: When we get a rotisserie cooked chicken on occasion, we eat up the chicken & then I put the carcass, leftover skin & extra chicken bits that didn't get eaten in a mesh insert that goes into my stockpot. I might also add some carrots/celery/onion/herbs, pour in the water & boil away. That is how I get a little extra value from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. I get a nice chicken broth made, lift up the mesh insert & the broth is all strained. I pour it into containers & freeze it.

I have it if I want to make soup. I use broth for rice or rice pilaf. If you steam veggies, they taste better if you steam them over broth instead of water.

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We eat steamed veggies several times a week so I'm going to have to try that!!

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I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do. -Edward Hale

Most anything you make with water (rice, stuffing, veggies...) will taste a whole lot better if you use chicken broth (or beef broth) instead of water.
You can also use boullion cubes in place of the broth, but if you're roasting a chicken anyways - the broth is free. Just have to boil it....

And I always let it cool, and then skim the fat off the top before using it, Mel.
I've also drained bits and pieces of "innerds" out before using before. Just depends on what you're using it for. For stuffing, the "innerds" might be okay. (Just chop them up...) That's the way my Mom always made stuffing...

I wish I had known how to season food this way a long time ago. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this until just recently...

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I wonder if its more economical to make your own broth when you consider the cost of the gas to cook the broth, the water to make it and clean the pot, and the time involved? If you eat the whole chicken anyway I can sort of see it as a break even maybe. I also use boullion to make my stock if I cannot find the cans on sale.

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Wife to Stoney

Mommy of Sarah (8.5), Hannah (7), and John(4.5)