Making your own broth from scratch is easier than you think, and it’s the simplest way to take your soups and stews to the next level. Simmer these three staples to start your stash.
Use this homemade broth in any recipe that calls for vegetable broth. It’s an easy alternative to store-bought versions, and it’ll be lower in sodium as well. Cover and refrigerate the broth up to three days or freeze up to six months.
Prep: 45 min. • Cook: 1 ¾ hours • Makes: 5 ½ cups
1. Heat oil in a stockpot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the leeks and carrots; cook and stir 5 minutes longer.
2. Add water, mushrooms, parsley, thyme, salt, peppercorns and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.
3. Remove from heat. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined colander; discard vegetables. If using immediately, skim fat. Or refrigerate 8 hours or overnight; remove fat from surface before using.
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Avoid seasoning your broth with herbs and spices. The long simmer time extracts a lot of flavor from the herbs, which might overpower the finished broth. You’ll add herbs and spices when you use the broth in a recipe.
Collagen-rich and laced with veggies and herbs, homemade broth is healthier than commercial versions, which can be laden with preservatives and salt. This broth will keep in the fridge, tightly covered, for four to five days. Or seal it tightly in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to a year.
Prep: 10 min. • Cook: 3 ¼ hours + chilling • Makes: about 6 cups
1. Place all ingredients in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Slowly bring to a boil; reduce heat until the mixture is at just a simmer.
2. Simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 hours, skimming foam as necessary. Remove chicken.
3. Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones. Discard bones; save meat for another use. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings.
4. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Skim fat from surface before using.
Whether you’re adding it to soups or sipping it straight, this rich stock is well worth the effort. You’ll want to simmer it for 8-24 hours, so we recommend making this a weekend project. Measure some into your favorite soup recipe, then freeze the rest for up to six months.
Prep: 1 ½ hours • Cook: 8-24 hours • Makes: about 2 ½ qt.
1. Place the bones in a large stockpot or Dutch oven; add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Drain, discarding liquid. Rinse bones; drain.
2. In a large roasting pan, roast boiled bones, uncovered, at 450° for 30 minutes. Add the onions and, if desired, carrots. Roast until the bones and vegetables are dark brown, 30-45 minutes longer; drain fat.
3. Transfer the bones and the vegetables to a large stockpot or Dutch oven.
4. Add ½ cup warm water to the roasting pan; stir to loosen browned bits. Transfer pan juices to pot. Add seasonings and enough cold water just to cover. Slowly bring to a boil, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat; simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, 8-24 hours, skimming foam. If necessary, add water as needed to keep ingredients covered.
5. Remove beef bones; cool. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth-lined colander, discarding the vegetables and seasonings.
6. If using immediately, skim the fat. Or refrigerate the broth 8 hours or overnight; remove the fat from the surface before using.
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The longer you simmer the broth, the more collagen will be extracted from the bones—it’s collagen that gives the final broth a silky, smooth texture and body. Don’t worry if the bones start to fall apart or crumble. This is a sign you’ve extracted as much as you can from them.
Keep this expert advice in mind so your soup tastes just as good as it did the day you made it.
1. Avoid freezing soups with pasta, rice or chunks of potato. Starches soak up liquid and get soggy when reheated. (Pureed potatoes, though, hold up well.) If freezing one of these soups, hold pasta, rice or potato pieces. Add them after you’ve thawed the soup.
2. Omit the dairy, too. A freezer does odd things to milk’s texture, and the soup will be grainy when it thaws. Add milk and other dairy products when you’re reheating thawed soup.
3. Never freeze hot soup. Hot soup put directly in the freezer will develop large ice crystals and freeze unevenly, resulting in mushy soup when thawed. For the best results, first cool your soup to at least room temperature (but, preferably, to below 40° in the refrigerator).
4. Watch portion size. Freezing your soup in one- or two-person portions makes for easy meal planning and helps the soup freeze faster.
5. Opt for freezer-safe containers and leave about 1 ½ inches of headspace. Soup expands as it freezes, and you don’t want your container to crack or break. When you’re ready to eat, run cold water over the outside of the container to loosen the soup. It will pop out right into your pot.