Don’t throw away the carcass from a rotisserie chicken without using it to make broth first. It is a very easy way to get every last bit of flavor out of your chicken. If you use a rotisserie chicken that is not ultra-processed your resulting chicken broth will also not be ultra-processed.
You can use the broth to make soups, but can also be used to add flavor to many other recipes. You can substitute chicken broth for water in many savory dishes. Quinoa and rice come out with much more flavor which cooked in chicken broth instead of water.
Chicken broth from the store is almost always an ultra-processed food. This is true of bullion cubes such as Knorr or the condensed pastes, like Better than Bullion. Already prepared broths in cans and cartons vary by brand as to if they are ultra-processed or not.
You can make quite a bit of chicken stock from the last parts of a rotisserie chicken. I like to keep a small amount in the refrigerator to add to dishes that I cook, and I freeze most of it to save for later.
I use Souper Cubes to freeze it in one cup cubes that don’t take up much room in the freezer. This makes it convenient to use at any time.
There is a lot of flexibility in how to make stock. The less you do to it when you make it, the more options you will have on how you can flavor the stock later.
Recipe
Equipment
Mason jars, Souper cube, or other storage container
Ingredients
Leftover rotisserie chicken
1-2 onions
2-3 celery stalks
2-3 carrots
Optional herbs and other flavorings
Water, about 4 quarts.
Instructions
Cut onions into quarters and other vegetables into large chunks and put them in the pot.
Put the pot on the stove on medium heat.
Add the celery and carrots to the pot.
Remove any strings or elastic from the chicken, and put the chicken in the pot.
Dump any spices, juices, or gelatin from the bottom of the chicken container into the pot as well.
Fill the pot with water about 3/4 of the way to the top.
Bring the liquid up to a boil, then drop the temperature down to a simmer.
Let the pot simmer for one to two hours.
Turn off the heat.
Carefully strain the solids out of the pot, and discard.
Put the liquid in either the refrigerator or freezer.
Ingredient Notes:
The best thing about broth is that it is very forgiving. You will need to have the chicken, but everything else is optional. There are also many extra flavorings that you can put in. Use this recipe as an opportunity to put to use some of the odds and ends you have left in your fridge.
Rotisserie Chicken
Check the ingredients when you purchase your rotisserie chicken because they can include many things in addition to just chicken. Some rotisserie chickens are non-upf, but many of them are an ultra-processed food.
I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco. It is an ultra-processed food.
You do not need to have a lot of chicken still left on the bones.
Onion
Use any onions that you have. If there are some older onions in your pantry, use those.
If you are making this broth to feed to dogs, do not use onions and make sure the rotisserie chicken does not contain onions or any other foods that are unsafe for dogs.
Carrots
If you do not have any carrots, you can omit them.
If you have baby carrots that you need to use up, use them.
Celery
If you do not have any celery, you can omit it.
Salt
There is salt in the broth from the rotisserie chicken. You can add salt when making the broth, but do not add very much. You will want to be able to control the amount of salt in the finished product that you use the broth in.
Herbs and other flavorings
Parsley, thyme, rosemary, or whole peppercorns can be added to the stock. The rotisserie chicken will already have flavorings, so make sure to select herbs that coordinate well.
You do not have to add any herbs at all. Keeping the stock neutral actually lets you have more options for what you use it for later.