DIY - Chicken (or Turkey) broth

As we head into Turkey season don't forget to save the bones (and neck/gizzards) from your feasts. You can bake your Turkey (or chicken) as usual, then pull off the meat and save the bones (little bits of meat left on will only enhance the broth, do not try to pick it all off). I tend to use bones from more than one to make my broth, and if making a turkey, I also save the neck and gizzards to toss in. If I only have one carcus, I freeze them until I have enough (about 2 sets of Turkey, or 3 sets of chicken). Once you have enough, you can make your own broth for a fraction of what the store bought stuff cost. Best part is that you control what goes in it.
First you will take the saved bones (plus neck/gizzards if you have them) and put them in a large pot with enough cold water to cover them plus ~2" more, add a few Tbsp of vinegar and allow bones to soak for a few hours (this is to help draw the minerals etc out of the bones). Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer this mixture for a 3 hours by itself. Next toss in any leftover raw veggies you have lying around along with some fresh garlic (I like crushed garlic) and a quartered onion. Simmer the entire mixture for a 2 more hours, then skim the top of the broth (toss what you skim off). Use a slotted spoon (or colander) to remove bones and veggie mush - discard them. Continue to simmer broth for a few more hours to help condense it. Now you can take your broth off the heat and allow it to cool. At this point you can use it right away or put in into containers to freeze. You can use almost anything to freeze it in - plastic containers (freeze and thaw only, do not heat in these), jars (be sure to leave 2" head room), or even plastic Ziploc type bags (lie flat when freezing, do not reheat in these). Whatever you choose, just try to freeze it in the right volume for your recipes. Don't be alarmed if your broth appears to be thick, this is simply the gelatin forming (that's a good thing) and it will be easily dissolved when you add it to a hot mixture again. By freezing your broth in a condensed form it takes up less freezer space, but you will need to add extra water (1 cup broth plus ~1/2 cup water) to equal the same as the canned version once thawed. The best way to thaw broth is to simply put it in the fridge a day or so before you plan to use it. When using homemade broth, keep in mind that canned broth is high in sodium and this is not. You may add some sea salt at the time of use to make it more palatable, depending on what you are putting it in.

If you tend to use broth in smaller amounts, consider making "broth cubes". Quite simply you add the broth to an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen you can pop them out of the tray and into a Ziploc type bag. You can easily remove one cube at a time to use in stuff such as mashed potatoes.

Here are a few uses for chicken broth -

• Add to mashed potatoes instead of milk
• Use when boiling rice to give extra flavor
• Soup base (such as chicken noodle)
• Add to a roux to make gravy

Pic pulled from The Purposed Heart