Jacqueline Casey 
A pre-made Rotisserie Chicken is my go to when I don’t necessarily feel like cooking (but I am willing to make some side dishes), or I need a serious short cut to save time. There are so many great ideas out there for super fast recipes using cooked chicken and I’m working on sharing some of my own favorites. But in the meantime, something I always try to do when done (or mostly done) with a Rotisserie chicken, is to make a homemade bone broth in the slow cooker. Making this makes me think of my grandmother who told me she made her own broth because she learned from her mother how important it was to utilize every aspect of food to minimize waste. It turns out, they were really onto something because not only is it very easy, but extremely healthy. If you have a slow cooker, just 10 minutes of prep is all it will take for some ultra tasty chicken bone broth which can be used in any soup or recipe calling for chicken broth/stock.
Options, Tips and Substitutions!
- You can place all leftover parts of the rotisserie chicken in the slow cooker. That includes the bones, any chicken meat, skin, and even any gelatin that has formed at the bottom of the container.
- I went fairly light on the salt and seasoning and still think the broth has more flavor than a store bought version. You can add whatever seasoning and herbs you prefer. Some other additions could be parsley, thyme, rosemary or fresh garlic. This is actually my favorite part of making your own broth, you can control the flavor and the amount of salt/sodium and any other additives.
- My slow cooker is on the smaller side (4 quart) and the 6 cups of water pretty much fills my slow cooker to the top. Even with just 6 cups of water, this does ultimately make about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of broth which I find is sufficient for most recipes. It’s also so dense, that if there is a recipe like a soup that calls for more than 4 cups of broth, I just add extra water and feel like there is still enough flavor even with adding water to make up the difference.
- I have a very sophisticated straining process…Just kidding, I put my colander over a mixing bowl and then pour the contents of the slow cooker, which removes the bones, chopped veggies and all other solid parts. I then pour the broth from the mixing bowl into an airtight container.
- Once cooked, the broth will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator or 6 months in a freezer! So if you know you won’t be using within the week, just place in the freezer. Whether you place in the refrigerator or the freezer as soon as the broth cools, it will begin to separate so when you see the top become white and solid, it has not gone bad. This is the fat separating from the liquid and as soon as it is heated up it will mix back together.
Slow Cooker Chicken Bone Broth
Make your own bone broth with a leftover rotisserie chicken. Seasoned with Carrots, Celery and Onion, this can then be used in any recipe calling for chicken stock or broth.
- Slow Cooker
- 1 Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
- 6 cups Water
- 3 Carrots
- 3 Stalks Celery
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
Chop carrots, celery and onion.
Place entire leftover rotisserie chicken bones in slow cooker. It doesn't matter if there is a little bit of chicken meat left on the bones, or if it's just the bones with the meat picked clean off.
Add the chopped carrots, celery and onion to the slow cooker.
Add water to the slow cooker and then season with salt, garlic powder and pepper.
Turn slow cooker on the low setting and cook for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, strain broth with a colander or strainer into a container. Recipe will yield about 3½-4 cups of broth and can be used for any soup or recipe needing broth.
