Nourishing Chicken or Vegetable Broth

I love homemade broth by itself as well as in soups, but it does take 4-5 hours on the stove, so until we were gifted an Instant Pot, it is something I rarely made. With the Instant Pot, the whole process takes only about  1 hour and 45 minutes! It is a wonderful thing to make when you’ve got some random root vegetables floating around, and now whenever I buy a whole chicken and spatchcock or butcher it, I simply save the neck and back and use to make the broth. Vegetable broth can be made using the same process, just omit the chicken and a few more of each vegetable – turnips and radishes also nice additions. I’d also recommend you saute the veggies to get a little color on them first, and perhaps add a parmesan rind, or a few dried mushrooms, or tomato paste to get some umami and color.

I used heirloom carrots in this preparation. Extra delicious and so pretty, I also love to use them in my paintings! Thanks to The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook for walking me through the technical steps, which I’ve also shared here. I like to put the broth in 1 pint and 2-pint jars so I have just the amount I need and keep in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer up to 3 months.

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Nourishing Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Homemade broth is super nutritious and elevates any soup or dish requiring it, and is also delicious in mug all by itself.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Instant Pot warm up + release30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, Californian

Keyword: broth, gluten-free

Servings: 8 cups

Author: Kirsten Getchell

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• splatter guard (not required but helpful)
• fat separator (not required but helpful)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp canola oil or other high heat oil avocado oil, rice bran oil
• 1-2 neck and/or back of a chicken wings also good to use
• 3 carrots, cut into 2 inch chunks orange or heirloom also work well
• 3 celery, stock cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 large, yellow or white onion cut into quarters no need to peel
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bouquet garni of parsley and thyme optional, especially good for vegetable broth
• 8 cups cold water
• 3-4 dried porcini or other dried mushrooms optional, especially good for vegatable broth

Instructions

• Prepare the ingredients.
• Select SAUTE setting on the Instant Pot and heat the oil. (If making vegetable broth, skip and go to the next step). Using tongs, place the chicken pieces in the pot and sear for about 5 minutes on each side until browned. It is alright if some stick to the bottom. And it may splatter so use a splatter guard if you have one.
• Add carrots, celery, garlic, onion, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf and bouquet garni, and dried mushrooms, if using. (Add one more carrot, celery and garlic clove if making vegetable broth.)
• Add 8 cups of water, enough to cover all the ingredients, but not more than 2/3 full in the Instant Pot. (There should be a "max fill" line.)
• Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to SEALING. Press the CANCEL button to reset and then select SOUP/BROTH and set for 60 minutes at high pressure. (Note: It takes my 6 quart Instant Pot about 15-20 minutes to "warm up" before that 60 minute timer starts.)
• After the broth has cooked 60 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for at least 20 minutes, then move the pressure release to VENTING and release any remaining steam. You can now leave the pot on its KEEP WARM setting for up to 10 hours.
• Place a wire-mesh strainer over a large bow.l Wearing heat-resistant mitts, lift the inner pot out and strain the broth into the bowl. Discard the vegetables. If using the neck/back there will only be a little meat but you can pull it off and save for another use if you wish, or discard.
• Pour the broth into a fat separator in batches to remove some fat, if desired. If you don't have a fat separator, once you chill it the fat will rise to the top and make a cap, which is easy to remove. (Don't remove it all though, as the fat is also part of what imparts the rich flavor.)
• Use the broth right away, or pour into various size jars or other containers. Let cool completely before putting the lid on, and store in fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Note: Any broth stored in the fridge should be brought to a boil again before using, to be safe. The "fat cap" that develops at the top is easy to remove before use.

Notes

To make the broth in a large stock pot on the stove, simply follow the same steps and once you've poured in the water, bring it all to a boil and then immediately turn down the heat to a rolling simmer, cover and and simmer 3 hours for a lighter broth, 4-5 hours for a more rich broth. Stir a few times along the way, and lower simmer and/or add some more water if it is reducing too quickly. Follow the remaining steps to strain, sip or store.