Dietitian, Nutritionist, Wholesome Mom, Author
About the Recipe
I know, this isn’t my typical quick recipe. This one takes time; not time from you, but just time to cook. If you have an Instant Pot, it goes quicker and you are really hands off. If you don’t, you do need to watch it from time to time and will be stuck at home for 10 hours or so.
However, it’s so worth it! Once I make a batch, I store it in recycled jars and freeze them. When I need chicken broth, I thaw one and use it. It’s so concentrated that I even use a 1:1 or 1:0.5 ratio of broth to water.
This broth is made with chicken feet. I completely understand that the idea of working with chicken feet just seems gross. I try not to think about it when I’m making my broth. The good thing is that when you buy chicken feet in the store, they are most likely already cleaned up for you, so you just have to give them a rinse and pop them in the Instant Pot or soup pot. If you get them from a farmer, you will have some work to do. You can search “dress chicken feet” to get all the fun details.
The great thing about using chicken feet is that they are full of bone, cartilage and tendons, which all lend to a nutrient-dense broth. And making your own broth, rather than using store-bought, is that you get all kinds of good minerals, collagen and the least expensive, excellent source of glucosamine you will find!
Make up a batch and have it handy for some of my other favorite recipes, like homemade wonton soup!
Ingredients
1lb chicken feet, rinsed off
10 cups of water, or more to cover everything
Any veggie scraps you may have (like onion peels, the bottom of asparagus stalks, broccoli peelings, cauliflower leaves, kale stems, etc.)
Herbs and spices: garlic, ginger, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, salt - whatever you fancy.*
Preparation
Put all ingredients in the instant pot, give it a stir and seal with lid. Set for 180 minutes on high pressure. When it’s done, allow a natural release for around 30 minutes. If you are doing it on the stove, it’s the same thing except you need to let it simmer covered for around 8-10 hours and check it from time to time. Strain everything in a mesh strainer and put into jars. Let the jars cool before you put them in the fridge or freezer.
*I generally keep mine generic so I can use the broth with all recipes. For example, if you add star anise, it will give a asian flavor that may not be so great in your chicken pot pie.