This is one of my favorite mixes, because it is so versatile. You can do so many things with chicken! You also get another great mix from the chicken.....bone broth! Here is how I do it. You will need a big crock pot. If you have a smaller crock, it will work, you will just have to cut the chicken up so that it will fit. You can also buy a whole chicken, cut up. You want chicken bones. I have found that dark meat only, like thights and drumsticks, are too heavy and fatty. A whole chicken provides a beautiful broth that isn't heavy. The mixture of the light and dark meat is always moist and flavorful. All white meat is very dry, in my opinion.
Put your chicken in the crock pot. Put in an onion, a lemon (or a TBSP of vinegar), ceveral celery stalks with leaves (about 4), a few carrots (about 3 or a good handful of baby carrots), some garlic (or powder), and some fresh parsley leaves and stems (a bunch). You can put a few bay leaves if you want. Cover it all with water (filtered is best). Add a good amount of quality salt (Redmond Salt, pink himalayan salt, kosher salt). I like it on the saltier side so I add about 3 TBSP of salt, maybe even 4. I also have a large crock pot. After you make this a couple of times, you will have a good idea about how much salt you want to add.
Turn your crock pot on low heat and let it cook over night, at least a good 12 hours, even up to 24.
When it is finished, let it cool for a bit. Strain the chicken and veggies from the stock. Set the stock aside and let cool. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, carefully separate the chicken from the bones and discard the bones and vegetables. Run the stock through a screen strainer so that you can get all of the little things out of it. Put it in the refigerator or you can freeze it in freezer containers. I ususally freeze it in 2 cup portions. Store it in a big jar in your refigerator for easy use in recipes.
Here is the difference between broth and stock (bone broth). Broth has a light golden color and remains liquid when cold. Broth ususally results from a shorter cooking time (8 hours or under). Stock, or bone broth, has a dark golden color and turns gelatinous when cooled, and results from longer cooking times (12 hours or more). The acid (lemon or vingegar) helps pull out the minerals and tenderize the chicken. Stock is more nutritious than broth. It contains the minerals and collagen from the chicken bones. It is really one of the best things you can eat. It requires patience, but its worth it. It tastes FANTASTIC! You can drink it warm, with a splash of cream or milk, as a nice hot drink. It coats the digestive tract and helps soothe it. It is full of enzymes too. Very healing.
When it comes time to shred your chicken, you can do it two ways. The first one is just to throw the chicken pieces into a mixer and gently turn it on and off until your chicken is shredded. You can use beaters as well. The second way is to use forks or just shred it by hand. I ususally store this is two cup portions as well. Store it in the refigerator for 4 or 5 days or in the freezer up to 6 months.
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