Welcome, fellow fit & fierce queens! We’re so happy you’re here 🤗 We’ve officially hit soup season, which means our need for broth goes way up. Making your own broth at home is a great way to save money, add flavor, and it’s really not as difficult as you might think!

Here at Fit Fierce & Female we love to minimize food waste wherever we can, and making homemade broth is the PERFECT way to do that. Rather than throwing out your scraps while cooking (like the leftover bits of your onions, mushroom caps, celery ends, carrot tips, meat bones, parmesan rinds, etc.), throw them into a zip-top bag in the freezer!

Keep doing this until you have about 2 gallon-sized bags filled, then you’re ready! So simple, right?

Let’s break down the details of making homemade broth.

Here’s what you’ll need!

• 2 gallon-sized zip-top bags filled with scraps.
  • This could be a combination of any of the following: onion, celery, carrot, garlic, leek, fennel, mushroom, meat bones, parmesan rind, green onion, etc. 
  • Avoid using cruciferous vegetables (they can be bitter), fruit (this is veggie broth after all 😉), or veggies that have already gone bad (if it’s gross now, it will be gross in your broth).
• 1 tbsp black peppercorn
• 2 bay leaves
• Handful of herbs, fresh or dry (rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano are our favorites to use)
• Salt to taste
• 18-20 cups of water (however much it takes to fill your stock pot)

1. Add scraps, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and herbs to a large stock pot. Then add your water, filling it to the top of the scraps.

We keep bones from rotisserie chicken, bone-in cuts of pork and beef (both cooking at home or out at a restaurant)… You name it, we keep it! That mixed with cheese rinds, herbs, and those yummy scraps (which is basically a mirepoix) – it’s deserving of a *chef’s kiss* 👩‍🍳

Try to leave about 2 inches from the top of your pot because this does tend to expand before it reduces!

2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3-5 hours. Stir occasionally.

There’s no right or wrong amount of time to let this come together. However, the longer you let it go, the more flavor you’re going to get. You’ll see the volume drop a couple of inches as time goes on… this is totally normal! You can add water to it if you want, but we like to keep it concentrated and packed with flavor!

3. Let cool for about 30 minutes, then strain.

Since this gets pretty heavy, straining this might be a 2 person job! The easiest way we’ve found to strain this is to use a colander and large bowl. Stack the colander on top of the bowl (like shown in the picture) and CAREFULLY pour. 

4. Salt to taste, then strain again as you pour into your storage container.

The great thing about making your own broth is that you get to control the salt 🙌🏼 That right there already makes it healthier than buying store-bought! Keep a spoon nearby so you can taste it throughout. 

Now there still may be some floaters at this point, so we like to strain it one more time before we store it. Just take one of those handheld mesh strainers and put it over your container while you pour it! (Just like in the photo below)

If you’re going to use your broth within a couple of days you can keep it in the fridge. Otherwise you can keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months and just pull it out when you need it! To defrost it either take it out the day before and stick it in the fridge, or reheat it in a saucepan over low heat.

And if you’re looking for a recipe to use this in, give our Chicken and Vegetable Soup a try!

Enjoy!