Description
Instant pot chicken broth is a super simple, hands off, way to make homemade chicken broth. This broth is so nutritious and flavorful. Use it to make soups, sauces, and cook your grains in it. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken carcass, from a previously cooked chicken – most of the meat removed (first make instant pot chicken recipe)
- 5 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, peeled
- 1 to 2 celery stalks, leaves included
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 1 carrot, peeled
Instructions
- Prepare the cooked chicken carcass: Using a just cooked whole chicken, after making the instant pot whole chicken recipe, remove the skin, and as much of the meat as possible (saving the cooked meat for other future recipes). This is easiest to do while the chicken is still warm. (it’s okay if some meat is left behind). Make sure to reserve all of the bones, including the wings, and drumsticks. If the chicken had the neck, heart, and gizzards stuffed inside, you can use them in the broth. Note: alternately you can use the bones and carcass from a roasted chicken.
- Prepare the chicken broth: To a 6 QT instant pot, or other electric pressure cooker (it’s okay if it’s still dirty from making the instant pot whole chicken recipe), add the chicken carcass and any other bones. Add the water, apple cider vinegar, salt, onion, celery, garlic, and carrot (along with any other flavor add ins you might have – see notes).
- Cook the broth: Secure the instant pot lid, make sure the nozzle is aligned to “sealing”. Set the instant pot to “high pressure”. Set the timer for 45 minutes. Note: you can cook the broth up to 2 hours, but I found that 45 minutes results in a super rich flavored broth just fine.
- Once done cooking: Force release the pressure by carefully turning the nozzle to “release”. Once all of the pressure has been released. Carefully remove the instant pot insert. Allow it to cool for a little while just so it’s not steaming hot, about 20 to 30 minutes. Use tongs, or a slotted spoon to carefully remove the large solids, discard.
- Strain: After the broth has cooled enough so that it’s not steaming hot, place a fine mesh siv over a bowl. If you have it use cheese cloth, or a nut milk bag, to filter out any sediment left behind. Carefully pour, or ladle the liquid over the strainer.
- Chill and remove fat: Once the broth is cool, cover and place the broth in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours. Once the broth has chilled, the fat will have solidified to the top of the broth. Use a spoon to remove the fat, leaving behind as much of the broth as possible. Discard the fat.
- Use broth or store: At this point you can either use the chicken broth immediately. Use it in soups, stews, sauces, to cook grains, etc (See post for links to recipes). To store the broth transfer it to air tight containers and store it in the fridge for up to one week. Or freeze the broth for up to 6 months.
Notes
Chicken carcass: This recipe was developed for making the instant pot whole chicken recipe first, then using the chicken bones and carcass after removing the cooked chicken meat. There is no need to clean the instant pot after making the whole chicken if you’re going to immediately make the chicken broth (this is what I do). Alternately, you could use a leftover chicken carcass from a roasted chicken.
Water: Whenever possible I recommend using a filtered water, or a reverse osmosis water, so that there is no additional taste of chlorine or minerals that may be in tap water, added to your broth.
Apple cider vinegar: You won’t taste the vinegar once the broth is cooked. It is added to draw out the nutrients from the bones. You could also use white distilled vinegar.
Flavor add ins: In addition to the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic you can also use mushrooms, or mushroom stems, whole peppercorns, leek tops, and herbs such as a bay leaf, thyme, sage, rosemary, and parsley to flavor your broth.
Frozen veggie scraps: I like to keep a baggie in the freezer labeled “frozen veggie scraps for broth” and add any celery leaves, onion halves I didn’t need for an entire recipe, mushroom stems, leek tops, or even any of the other fresh herbs mentioned above that I don’t have another use for, or are about to go bad on me. When I am ready to make my broth I can just break off pieces of the frozen veggie scraps and add it in. Less food waste, and an easy way to flavor your broth.
