An Easy Way To Preserve Broth

I used to freeze quarts of broth whole. I would make a big batch of vegetable broth using scraps I’ve been freezing for months. Or using the leftover turkey from thanksgiving. My freezer was essentially 90% broth and 10% ice cream. (Just keeping it real).

This was before I got into pressure canning just last year. Freezing broth was also the only time I have ever broken a jar in the freezer. 

I’m sure you’ve heard the horror stories and warnings about freezing liquids in glass jars. Overall, I am a big supporter of freezing things in jars. Jars come in all sorts of sizes, and you can save every jar you’ve ever come across to reuse. I have spaghetti sauce jars, honey jars, artichoke heart jars from years ago that are in my freezer full of preserved goodies. The main thing to keep in mind when freezing liquids in jars is to leave adequate headspace for expansion. If you fill them up too full, they can burst. This can also happen if you pour a hot liquid into the jar, then transfer it to the freezer without giving it time to cool.

Last year when I really got into preserving homegrown food, I got a pressure canner for my birthday. That thing is a godsend! We spent all fall preserving pumpkin, beans and broth for the winter. I’m not going to give you any canning advice, I’ll leave that to the pros.

But this year, it finally happened. I ran out of canning jars. You know how it goes. Between other things canned, jars given and borrowed, jars that grew legs and walked out the door, we were just a bit too low on supplies. 

I didn’t want to go down the route of freezing them in the jars I had. I was also down a considerable amount of freezer space after giving our chest freezer to my parents. Just the small shelves included in the freezer connected to our fridge.

So I came to the solution of freezing them in nice, small amounts. 

You can use an ice cube tray for a similar outcome. I didn’t have an ice cube tray, but I had this silicone mold I’ve been using to freeze eggs for dog treats. I love using it because it is easy to pop the frozen objects out!

Our easy way of making broth. It’s so easy it almost feels like we’re cheating somehow. 

Slow cookers are gold, my friends. We use our crockpot multiple times a week. 

Whenever we buy chicken, we make sure it is a whole bird. From two carcasses we can get about 6 quarts of dreamy, golden broth, as well as all the meat that comes off the bones. 

Assuming it is an uncooked bird, I like to put it in the crockpot on low for about 8 hours to cook the meat. Then I’ll use a couple forks and take off as much meat as I can to freeze separately. Then the bones go back in, are covered with plenty of water, and run on low for about 12 hours at least. Ladle it out into jars, let it cool, then scrape off the fat layer that develops on top. You can save it to cook with! I recommend freezing it, it seems to not last in the fridge very long.

I don’t stop there, though. I like to then run the bones for another round, until they are brittle. Bone broth is good stuff, man. Super nutritious. 

After the second batch is done, the bones are broken down enough to compost (if your pile is active enough!). Read more about composting here if you are a beginner.

Pour the broth into your silicone or ice cube tray of choice, freeze until solid, then store them in a freezer-safe bag. I have been reusing this one for years. Ziploc bags are in fact washable, folks! Once your Ziploc bags run out, you could use something like this.

There we have it. A pretty simple way to preserve broth if you ask me. Now I can just pop a few frozen pieces out when I need them!

Drop a comment below if you have any comments or questions, or just want to say ‘hey!’

Happy Growing,

Becca

[instagram-feed]