The Best Chicken Broth Ever (according to my family!)

I've made broth from scratch before and it's been good. But not great. It always seemed to be missing something. This time I decided to add all the juices and scrapings instead of tossing them away. And that has made all the difference. What resulted was a deeply flavorful and rich broth. For best results your soup should simmer at a minimum of four hours. This fed five of us with plenty of extra which I have placed in the freezer for another meal.

While the cooking is time consuming, the preparation could not be more simple. And the smell of all the flavors as they simmer on the stove is to die for!

Ingredients:
8 - 10 carrots
10 stalks of celery
1 and 1/2 onion (or 6 small to medium shallots)
3 cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves
1 Tbs of salt (or to taste)
chicken carcass
Chicken drippings that have been reserved
Egg noodles, 1 package


In a large stock pot place your chicken bones, drippings that have been chilled and fat removed, 4 - 6 carrots, 6 stalks of celery, 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, 1 medium onion quartered or 3 shallots, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbs of salt (or more to taste) and fill the pot so that the water just covers the bones. (I actually used a little less)


Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat and keep simmering about 2 hours with the lid on. After a couple of hours remove the lid so that some of the liquid starts to evaporate. The liquid will darken and develop a rich flavor. After 4 hours remove from stove (or keep on stove with the heat turned off) and using a strainer pour the liquid into a bowl. Pull any remaining meat off the bones, if desired, and set carrots aside and cut into small pieces. Toss everything but broth and carrots and return to the pot to keep warm. Your broth will turn a dark amber-like color, as pictured below.


Add remaining chicken, cut or shredded into bite sized pieces, and carrots.

In another pot bring about 8 cups of water to a boil and cook egg noodles, or any desired pasta. Remove from heat and drain. Set aside.

I like to add more vegetable to my soup. So I take 4 more carrots, 4 stalks of celery and another 1/2 onion and chop them finely. In a saute pan with 1 tbs of oil I cook the vegetables until lightly browned, about 5 minutes and toss them into the soup pot. Simmer on low until ready to serve. Just prior to serving add egg noodles.