Instant Pot Homemade Chicken Broth & Soup

Ingredients:

1) One whole pasture-raised chicken, if possible

2) One bunch of celery

3) One large carrot

4) One large onion

5) Dried thyme

6) Dried dill

7) Quality sea salt

8) Ghee

9) Two cups of water (500 cc), plus an additional two cups reserved.

Start by cleaning and chopping the vegetables and setting them aside in a bowl.

I used four stalks of celery. Peel and chop one carrot. Coarsely chop one large onion. The texture of the vegetables can be adjusted by changing the size of the pieces. Leave them larger for a crunchier texture, or cut them smaller for a softer texture.

Process the whole chicken by separating it into parts. There are many YouTube videos showing how to do this. Use whichever method works best for you. I prefer to cut the wings at the joints. Then, separate the back from the “crown” (the two breasts and bones together). Finally, remove the legs and include the “oyster” meat. The back and rib cage will flavor the broth, which is the base for the soup.

If you like dark meat in your soup, include the leg quarters. Do not cook the white meat when making the broth, as it will overcook. If you prefer white meat in your soup, cook it separately. See the sous vide chicken breast recipe for instructions on cooking the white meat. I like to vacuum seal and freeze any leftover meat I won’t use.

Turn on the Instant Pot to sauté and add two tablespoons of ghee. For a more Asian flavor, you can use coconut oil and finish with ginger and scallions.

When hot, add the backbone with the skin. If the chicken is small, add the wings as well.

Coat the chicken in the melted ghee and leave it alone for about five minutes. The goal is to caramelize the skin for flavor.

If you have a second Instant Pot, now is a good time to vacuum seal and sous vide cook the white meat.

Add one teaspoon of salt and scrape the chicken loose. Then, add half a cup of water to deglaze the bottom. Use your heavy spatula to scrape it clean. We want that flavor in the broth.

Turn the Instant Pot off.

Add the remaining water to make 2 cups total. Close the lid.

Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes, followed by a 5-10 minute natural decompression. Then, open the pressure release valve.

Place the chopped vegetables in a pot along with one to two teaspoons of dried thyme and/or dill. Use whatever flavor you prefer. Add another teaspoon of salt.

When the chicken broth is finished, pour it over a strainer placed over the pot of vegetables. Add the remaining two cups of water, stir, and bring to a boil. Watch carefully, and turn off the heat just as the broth begins to boil.

While the broth comes to temperature, pick off any dark meat from the wings and back, reserving it to put into the soup stock.

As soon as it begins to boil, turn off the heat, add the dark meat, and cover. Do not stir. Once cooled, add the sous-vide-cooked white meat and reheat to serve.

Alternatively, you can refrigerate it and remove the fat layer on top the next day for a lower calorie version that still tastes better than anything from a can.