Homemade Chicken...Broth, No Wait Stock, hmmm Maybe Bone Broth... Whatever. You'll Want This Recipe!

Broth, Stock, Bone Broth. What's the Difference and Who Cares?

I've been seriously experimenting with broth making for a handful of years. But my first attempts date back probably more like 10 years with the skeletal remains of nothing better than a Thanksgiving turkey. I love to make a hearty turkey and stuffing dumpling soup with my left over Thanksgiving fixin's! I've never recorded a recipe and it's different every time. But it's always pure magic. I am sure it's the stock, or is it broth, no wait the bone broth - whatever the hell you wana call it, that makes it so scrumptious.

Who Needs So Much Broth?

I use my broth in everything that typically calls for water. It's. Totally. Worth. It. But buying it as an individual box from the grocery store is not condusive for this type of cooking when it comes to the tight little pocket book I have. So, Costco. (<--- Get a $40 e-gift card when you become a Costco member now through 12/21/25!!!) Yes, purchasing the 6 pack of ORGANIC Chicken Stock is a STEAL of a DEAL at $11.99 compared to $4.99 a box (that's almost $30 for 6!!! 🙄) at the grocery store. If you don't have a Costco membership, you can't afford not to!!!! But the REAL STEAL is using the $4.99 rotisserie chicken to make your own 18+ cups (in other words, 4+ boxes) of broth, errr stock, well I guess bone broth...whatever it is!!! Yeah, it's not organic. But, here I believe the overall benefits outweigh this draw back.

The flavor is what started my interest with broth making and utilizing left overs in a newly appetizing way. I am pretty good at recreating left overs into entirely new meals. I am the one saving those last 4 olives from taco night and then actually using them. Food just tastes better when you use homemade broth. Whether it's searing up some veggies, a steaming pot of wild rice, white rice, or a crapy box of rice-a-roni or mac-n-cheese, it makes everything better! And don't even get me started on homemade soup! I don't think I even liked homemade soup before I discovered the richness of flavor a homemade broth brings to the pot 😉. Old me: soup for dinner, who does that? Broth making me: I do. Yes, please.

Flavor is my driver, but nutrition is really the back bone of broth (Did you see that? Did you see what I did there? 🙃). Or bone broth I should say, or is it stock??? Supporting gut and joint health, improving skin and hair, and providing electrolytes plus, minerals and amino acids like collagen, glutamine, and glycine thus reducing inflammation, supporting muscle growth, and promoting better sleep. Couldn't we all use a little of these benefits ?!

Perfecting

It wasn't until I made one of THE BEST PURCHASES OF MY LIFE that my broth game really became BONA FIDE ( HA, I am on fire!). Owning an InstaPot is life changing. I can't beeeeelllleeeeiiiive I waited so long to make this purchase. It's a modern day marvel. Really, can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that a white girl can whip up carnitas 🌮 in a matter of minutes? That we have the insane ability to make nutrient dense BONE BROTH in under an hour, and curate a creamy gut nourishing batch of yogurt in our own kitchens???? We are so lucky. 🙌

When I purchased my InstaPot I also purchased the book, "Hip Pressure Cooking", by Laura D.A. Pazzaglia. I chose this book because the author brings an interesting cultural diversity to her recipes. Inspired by actually living all over the world. Her recipes are unique (not things you'd typically find on Pinterest) and healthy. She teaches how to utilize the pressure cooker for entire meals, which is pretty cool and unique as you'll mostly find meat recipes on Pinterest. The book begins with a good intro into pressure cookers in general and she has some staple recipes I was looking for, like "stock", tomato sauce and yogurt. I like her "TIPS" pages and how she details out cooking terms and ingredients.

So, Really, What's the Diff?

Laura refers to her recipes as "Foundation Stocks". She has specific renditions for meat (beef & pork) , chicken, seafood, veal and vegtable. All of them, except the vegtable stock, call for meat and bones and she adds vegtables to all of them. Her stock recipe is what she referes to as "double strength" and she even explains how to boil it down further creating a "tripple strength" stock. As far as I can tell, this is mainly for storage space purposes - the stronger your stock, the less room it takes up in your freezer and you just add water when ready to use.

It seems the consensus is that BROTH typically doesn't include bones and is therefore, thinner and less gelatinous. STOCK does use bones (not necessarily meat) and is more gelatinous plus and richer in flavor. Some people say no meat in stocks at all because it can cause the stock to be less clear and more fatty. Stock is cooked for longer to extract the flavor from the bones. Since stock is often used to create sauces the types of vegetables used and the color of your final product may be important. Apparently, many people believe bone broth is just a term created by marketing companies/the food industry. But it seems to me, BONE BROTH is the combination of STOCK and BROTH. It's both the meat and the bones plus, whatever else you want to add, cooked for a long time to create a gelatinous, rich in flavor and color, nutrient dense liquid that can be used in a variety of recipes, sauces, soups, or even to drink on it's own.

Recipe

I used a combintation of the "stock" recipes in "Hip Pressure Cooking" (PG. 47) a handful of times before putting my own spin on things and honing in a solid recipe that I pretty much use every time now. This is my favorite recipe. It is so rich. It is gelatinous. It is flavorful. It is beautiful in color. It is tasty on it's own or in my cooking. It is pretty extravagant. You definitely don't need to use all of these ingredients to make a great stock (or bone broth or whatever the hell you want to call it!) and I don't always, but when I do follow this recipe to the T it is always pure perfection! You can use fresh (or not so fresh 🤣) tomatoes instead of canned or leave them out all together. I love the flavor that adding the tomatoes creates.

How?

I use my InstaPot because it's incredibly efficient and boy do I love efficiency!!!! 🤣 I like to set my instapot for 55 minutes and let it release on its own. You just throw in all your ingredients and then cover them with water. Being careful not to overfil your pot past the max fill line. The whole house smells yummy and homey on stock making days! The chicken stock recipe in "hip Pressure Cooking" reads a 30 minute cook time. I like how it turns out with a little more time on the clock. Once it's done I strain it into a bowl for cooling and then I use a glass jug to poor into my new 1/2 cup freezer molds! REMEMBER this is double strength! So when I go to use my bone broth I add a 1/2 cup of water.

You can also use a crock pot or even just a pot on the stove for stock making. However, your simmer time is going to increase quite a bit in duration. Recomendations tend be as follows. Broth: 2-4 hours, stock 4-6 hours for chicken and 6-8 for other meats and for bone broth 24-48 hours. Just get an InstaPot already!!!

Tools:

InstaPot (Best purchase ever!)- For cooking.

Kitchen Shears (I've had these for years and LOVE them!)- For cutting fresh herbs.

Table Spoon (Walnut and copper 😍 It's the little things!)- For measuring ingredients.

Mesh Strainer (5Qt is ideal. Mine is much too small and I have to have my husband help me every time)- For straining your liquid gold.

Glass Bowl (These green bowls are so beautiful!) - For cooling your liquid gold.

Glass Jug (Makes filling the molds a breeze!) - For pouring your bone broth into your molds.

1/2 Cup Freezer Molds - For freezing your golden bricks.

Reusable Freezer Bags - For storing your final product.

If I was going to use the stove top of course I'd use a stainless steel pot. I currently have a Tramontina set which is very affordable. But, ooooo I am writing Santa for this amazing Caraway set! And if I was going to use a crock pot, I'd USE MY INSTAPOT because it is a crock pot ALSO!!!!!

What Do I Do With All This BONE BROTH?

Use it, or course! I used to use my left over Lansinoh Milk Storage Bags to freeze and store my bone broth. That works great because they are made for storing liquid and stack flat really nicely in the freezer. But I ran out and they are expensive, not eco friendly, and I worry about the plastic and warming the plastic bag to extract the frozen liquid. I still transfer my 1/2 cup golden bricks to a large freezer bag but I can plop the bricks right into my pot for melting and one day I'll splurge and save my self money and the environment by getting some reusable gallon freezer bags. Okay, maybe today - here's 6 for $10!!!! 😮 But are they safe??? I guess the crunchy-est thing to do is to store them in a glass container but I just don't have room for that. How do you store your stock? Maybe one day I'll have the space for one of these bad boys!!! 😲 And over $250 off right now!!!! For now, it's knock off ziplocks in my stuffed to the brim, black sleek stainless steel Samsung counter depth refrigerator/freezer. I do love it!!!! 😍

Let me know in the comments what your favorite ingredient is to add to a homemade stock! Did you try this recipe? Let everyone know how it turned out here in the comments! Would ya give this blog post a HEART please??? PIN it on Pinterest!!!! Share it with a friend!!!! Thanks for being here, friends.

Let's do this thing together. 💚

*This post contains affiliate links. #12 October, 30th 2025