Slow Cooker Chicken Broth

Ingredients

• 1 chicken carcass (from a rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken)
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 carrots
• A handful of parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly cracked pepper
• Dried onion flakes (optional, if you don't have a whole onion)
• 1 small onion (optional, can use onion scraps)
• Garlic (optional, use sparingly)
• Other vegetable scraps (peels, stems, etc.)
• Water (about 10 cups, or enough to fill the slow cooker)
• Salt (to taste, optional)

Instructions

1. Place the chicken carcass in a large slow cooker (5-7 quart recommended).
2. Add the vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, parsley) and herbs (bay leaves, pepper). You can use whole vegetables or save vegetable scraps.
3. Add water to fill the slow cooker as much as possible (around 10 cups is a good starting point, but adjust as needed).
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for at least 6 hours. For deeper flavor, cook longer if time allows.
5. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the large pieces of carcass and vegetables. If there's any salvageable meat, pick it off and save it.
6. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer or a colander lined with cheesecloth into a bowl or pot to remove any sediment.
7. Season with salt if desired, or leave unsalted to season dishes later.
8. Store the broth in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for several weeks. For freezing, cool completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to freezer-safe containers.