pressure cooker chicken broth I
I think of this as the "emergency chicken soup" recipe, as it uses frozen chicken parts which I keep on hand in the freezer. If you buy whole chickens and cut them into pieces, it's convenient to toss the wings, backs, and necks into little bags in the freezer. Eventually you have enough for soup. My local butcher also sells backs and necks in neat little 2 lb packets, but they're a larger block of iced chicken and take longer to thaw in the cooker.
Anyhow, here's the recipe, for a 6 qt. pressure cooker.
About 3 lbs frozen raw chicken parts, mostly bones. (Necks, backs, wings, whatever you've got.)
An onion or two if they're small, quartered.
Some carrots and celery. Leek greens, if you happen to have leeks around.
Whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat of a knife. A handful (1/2 tsp?) of peppercorns.
2 bay leaves.
Put the frozen chicken in the pressure cooker and rest (don't lock) the lid on top to help it heat faster. Add water to cover the chicken half way, and put a kettle on. On high heat, bring the water to a boil, adding water from the kettle to the pressure cooker to bring it to almost max fill.
Because the chicken is frozen, it will take a long time to come to a boil. (20-40 min?) If you have a big block of frozen chicken, break it up into pieces as it thaws. A fair bit of chicken scum (protein, lipids, chicken stuff) will churn up -- the hot/cold of the frozen chicken will make it clump. I use a tea strainer to skim it out. This helps make the broth clear, and I think it has a 'brighter' taste when I bother to skim it. (You can leave it in if you don't care.)
When the water finally reaches a boil, keep a hard boil going for about 5 minutes, skimming the foam and proteiny clumps off the top. Turn the heat down to a manageable simmer, add the onion, carrots, celery, leek greens, whole garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Admire how pretty the peppercorns look in the broth. Add a little water to bring it up to the max (if you don't know where your max fill line is on the cooker, leave 2" space). Lock the lid in place. Raise the heat back to high until you reach high pressure, then turn it down to maintain constant pressure.
Ignore the pressure cooker for 30 min. When your timer rings, turn off the heat and continue to ignore the pressure cooker until the pressure falls completely on its own. (Don't quick release).
When the pressure has dropped, open the pressure cooker. Pull out the solids (chicken, bones, veg) and set them in a colander over a bowl. Pour the broth through a strainer into glass jars, being careful to leave behind any sediment in the bottom of the pressure cooker.
Cool the broth. When it's cold, you can leave the layer of chicken fat on the top (it helps keep it fresh) until you are ready to use the broth. Before serving, I usually add a little lemon or vinegar to brighten up the flavour. Taste and see what it needs.
If you're keeping the broth longer than 4 days, you can extend its fridge life by bringing it to a rolling boil on the stove for a few minutes, and then putting it in a fresh glass jar. Broth also freezes well. But I think it always tastes better fresh.
Not exactly my bubby's chicken soup recipe, but I think she would have approved.
Anyhow, here's the recipe, for a 6 qt. pressure cooker.
About 3 lbs frozen raw chicken parts, mostly bones. (Necks, backs, wings, whatever you've got.)
An onion or two if they're small, quartered.
Some carrots and celery. Leek greens, if you happen to have leeks around.
Whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat of a knife. A handful (1/2 tsp?) of peppercorns.
2 bay leaves.
Put the frozen chicken in the pressure cooker and rest (don't lock) the lid on top to help it heat faster. Add water to cover the chicken half way, and put a kettle on. On high heat, bring the water to a boil, adding water from the kettle to the pressure cooker to bring it to almost max fill.
Because the chicken is frozen, it will take a long time to come to a boil. (20-40 min?) If you have a big block of frozen chicken, break it up into pieces as it thaws. A fair bit of chicken scum (protein, lipids, chicken stuff) will churn up -- the hot/cold of the frozen chicken will make it clump. I use a tea strainer to skim it out. This helps make the broth clear, and I think it has a 'brighter' taste when I bother to skim it. (You can leave it in if you don't care.)
When the water finally reaches a boil, keep a hard boil going for about 5 minutes, skimming the foam and proteiny clumps off the top. Turn the heat down to a manageable simmer, add the onion, carrots, celery, leek greens, whole garlic cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Admire how pretty the peppercorns look in the broth. Add a little water to bring it up to the max (if you don't know where your max fill line is on the cooker, leave 2" space). Lock the lid in place. Raise the heat back to high until you reach high pressure, then turn it down to maintain constant pressure.
Ignore the pressure cooker for 30 min. When your timer rings, turn off the heat and continue to ignore the pressure cooker until the pressure falls completely on its own. (Don't quick release).
When the pressure has dropped, open the pressure cooker. Pull out the solids (chicken, bones, veg) and set them in a colander over a bowl. Pour the broth through a strainer into glass jars, being careful to leave behind any sediment in the bottom of the pressure cooker.
Cool the broth. When it's cold, you can leave the layer of chicken fat on the top (it helps keep it fresh) until you are ready to use the broth. Before serving, I usually add a little lemon or vinegar to brighten up the flavour. Taste and see what it needs.
If you're keeping the broth longer than 4 days, you can extend its fridge life by bringing it to a rolling boil on the stove for a few minutes, and then putting it in a fresh glass jar. Broth also freezes well. But I think it always tastes better fresh.
Not exactly my bubby's chicken soup recipe, but I think she would have approved.