Rich Turkey and/or Chicken Broth Again

This is the second time I have posted this recipe, but it's worth it.  This time, I have included pictures, and some helpful hints.

This recipe came to our family from my darling dad's brother, Linford.  What a great uncle!

Rich Turkey or Chicken Broth



INGREDIENTS:
Chicken or Turkey carcass (bones, neck, giblets, all that stuff leftover from dinner and what is pulled out of the bird before cooking)
Just enough water to cover bird parts
1 Chicken bullion cube
1 teaspoon salt
12 whole peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 stalk celery, cut up
1 carrot, cut up
1 small onion, cut up

Turkey/chicken pieces in slow cooker, peppercorns, chicken broth, veggie broth, carrots,
celery, onions, whole cloves

Poultry parts in slow cooker

I don't always use chicken bullion cubes.  On the right side of the picture, there is a container of previously made poultry broth, and underneath it, some vegetable broth. I use that instead, and reduce the amount of water, too.  

In the middle of the picture there are two freezer bags.  One has chopped up frozen celery, and the other has a chopped up frozen onion.  I a lot of chopping and freezing of vegetables ahead of time, to make life a little easier.  I haven't had a chance to blanch and freeze my carrots yet, so those are straight from the refrigerator. 

INSTRUCTIONS
Place all ingredients into your slow cooker.

EVERYBODY IN THE POT!

Cover, cook on HIGH 3 hours, then drop to LOW for an additional 4 hours.
Let it cool for a little bit before initial straining.

Ready for the first strain!  

I use very high tech equipment for straining my poultry broth.  

Large bowl,  strainer with large mesh.

1 cup measuring cup 

The purpose of the first straining is to get all the large chunks of carrots, onion, and poultry carcass out.

EVERYBODY OUT OF THE POOL!

After the first strain, put the broth into large covered bowls and put it into the refrigerator overnight.  A lot of the fat will rise to the top, and slightly harden (yeah, it's kind of gross, but stick with me).  This makes it easier to remove the excess fat from the broth.  Just keep in mind, the more fat you remove, the more flavor will be lost too.  

The following morning, remove the bowls of broth from the fridge, and remove however much fat you want.
Now it's time to move onto the second straining.  This will get rid of the last of the spices, and little bits of stuff left in the broth.  

I said EVERYBODY OUT!  (Bits of fat, meat, spices, veggies)

Comparison of strainers:  right hand, first strainer, left hand, second strainer

Once you have strained the broth, it's time for dividing it up and getting it into the freezer.

Almost done!

My high tech storage supplies

I measure the broth into 1, 2, or 3 cup segments, and freeze.  This way whenever a recipe calls for a certain amount of broth, it's ready to go, no measuring needed!

Just a small sample.

Once the broth is frozen, I can transfer it to freezer bags (sandwich size) so that it stacks better in the freezer.  Now I have a bunch of poultry broth that will be used throughout the coming year.

Tasty Tuesday: Spiced Pot Roast

Spiced Pot Roast

4-5 pound chuck roast
1/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup minced onion
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
6 potatoes pared

Brown meat in shortening.  Put meat and drippings into slow cooker.
Mix mustard, salt, brown sugar, pepper and dump over meat.  Mix minced onion, vinegar and water and add to the meat.  Cover, and cook 4 hours on HIGH.  During the last 45 minutes, add potatoes. 
When done, remove meat and veggies from slow cooker. 

Gravy recipe
Measure liquid and pour into a sauce pan and put on stove. Get a clean, empty jar with a tight fitting lid.  Into the jar, put 2 tablespoons of white flour for each cup of liquid in the sauce pan.  THEN add to the jar 1/2 cup of cold water for each cup of liquid in the sauce pan.  Close the lid tightly on the jar, and shake the heck out of it.  This will mix the water and flour.  Turn the heat on medium on the stove under the meat juices.  Once the juices start to simmer, SLOWLY pour the water flour mixture into it, stirring continually, using a whisk.  This will prevent lumps from forming.  Cook over low-medium heat until the gravy is thickened.  You now have gravy with NO LUMPS.

This recipe goes great with the Noodle Pudding recipe from last week.

Tasty Tuesday: Family Slow Cooker Chili

Family Slow Cooker Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 large can tomato juice (or tomato vegetable juice, spicy or regular or low sodium)
2 cans kidney beans
1 onion chopped
garlic powder to taste
2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef, drain off the fat.  Put into slow cooker, along with tomato juice, kidney beans, onion, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Cook on LOW for 10 hours.  If you are going to be home all day, you can also throw everything into a large cook pot on the stove and cook it on LOW for around 10 hours too. 
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips.


Macaroni Chili:  Cook 2 cups of elbow macaroni according to package directions.  Spoon macaroni into a separate bowls, and spoon chili over it.  Do not add macaroni directly to chili to cook, or else it will turn mushy.

The lovely thing about this chili is that any kind of cooked meat can be added to it while it is in the slow cooker.  This is just a basic recipe.  We also cook chorizo or linguica and throw that in, too.  Or cut up pieces of leftover steak (beef or buffalo).  It freezes wonderfully, so I generally try to double or triple the recipe whenever I can.  I then put it into the fridge to cool off, and after it has cooled, put it into separate serving dishes and freeze.

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

I'm in love with my slow cooker.  So much so, I have two of them, and am considering getting a third one. Here's one of my family's favorite recipes.  The soup freezes really well, and is so wonderful, warm and filling on a cold winter day.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

1 pound split, dried peas, rinsed and sorted
1 ham hock (you know, the bone in the ham, with all the little bits of meat hanging onto it)
8 cups water
2 carrots diced
1 small onion cut up
1 stalk celery cut up
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine everything in the slow cooker, and cook  on HIGH for 2 hours.  Take out ham hock, cut the meat off the bone, and add the meat back to the soup.  Let cook for another 1/2 hour.

Serve with crust bread and lots of butter.  Yummy.  Winter comfort food!

Tasty Tuesday: Turkey or Chicken Broth

Rich Turkey or Chicken Broth

Place into slow cooker:
Chicken or Turkey carcass (bones, neck, giblets, all that stuff leftover from dinner and what is pulled out of the bird before cooking)
Just enough water to cover bird parts
1 Chicken bullion cube
1 teaspoon salt
12 whole peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 stalk celery, cut up
1 carrot, cut up
1 small onion, cut up

Cover, cook on HIGH for 4 hours. 
When finished, strain, let cool, and if you want you can skim a lot of the fat off the top. 
I like to separate the broth into 1 or 1 1/2 cup segments, and freeze.  This way whenever a recipe calls for 1 cup of broth, it's ready to go, no measuring needed!

This recipe came to our family from my darling dad's brother, Linford.  What a great uncle!  Next week, his fabulous Rich Turkey Vegetable and Noodle Soup!