How to Make Bone Broth from a Costco Rotisserie Chicken

Learn how to make bone broth from a Costco chicken or from any rotisserie chicken. Bone broth is a collagen rich and nutrient dense powerhouse of flavors that help replenish vitamins and minerals. It can be made into soups, stews, or gravy, or just drank daily for the health benefits.

Is Bone Broth Good for You?

Yes! Bone broth is loaded with amazing nutrients:

• calcium
• magnesium
• phosphorus
• iron
• maganese
• selenium
• vitamin k2

Bone broth is collagen rich. According to Doctor Joshua Axe, collagen can help improve the health of skin and hair, reduce joint pain and degeneration, helps remedy leaky gut, boosts the metabolism, strengthens hair, nails, and teeth, improves liver health, and protects cardiovascular health. Phew, that’s a big list!

Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies need more collagen, because naturally we stop producing it at the same levels. But good news! Chicken collagen is easy to make, and is type 2 collagen, which essentially helps build and repair the collagen in our bodies.

The type most abundant in chicken collagen is type 2, which is best for building cartilage. This makes it beneficial for joint health, especially since this source also provides chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate — both of which have anti-aging effects. Most supplements containing collagen usually use chicken collagen and provide type 2.

Collagen Benefits, Nutrition, Types, Supplements, Foods – Dr. Axe (draxe.com)

Can I Make Bone Broth with a Costco Rotisserie Chicken?

Yes, bone broth can easily be made with a Costco chicken or a rotisserie chicken. Any rotisserie chicken for that matter can be made into bone broth. Thighs, drumsticks, and the feet (yum, right?), make the best broth actually. But you’re going to love the flavor you get from your simple rotisserie chicken.

How Do You Make Bone Broth?

One of the best ways to make bone broth is in a slow cooker. Bone broth needs to simmer for a long period of time, in order to draw out the vitamins and minerals. Long slow simmers break down the connective tissue ad produce a rich flavorful broth.

The first step in making bone broth is to de-bone your chicken. I like to put the chicken meat in a bowl, the chicken skin in another bowl, and all of the bones, joints, and cartilage in a medium sized crock pot. Sometimes I throw in a little chicken skin, to add a bit of flavor from the seasoning used when the bird was originally cooked.

Next, cover the chicken carcass with water.

Now it is time to add in the vegetables. Cut each of your veggies up into medium-large chunks. I like to start with an onion, then add in carrots, celery, some garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper, sage, and a bay leaf or two. I love to use pink Himalayan salt, but white table salt will work as well. You can add in whatever veggies you have on hand that would enrich the flavor.

As a sidenote- I love to save the scraps that I cut off from vegetables throughout the week and put them into a plastic bag in the fridge. Onion scraps, carrot scraps, you name it scraps, keep them and add those into your brew as well.

I also add in two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Adding an acidic ingredient helps to break down the collagen and extract more nutrients. You can leave this out if you desire.

Lastly, put the lid on and turn the dial to low. Let broth simmer in crockpot for 24-48 hours. When the bones start to break down easily and are soft and crumbly, your broth is done. Strain in a fine mesh strainer and discard the bones and veggie mash.

If I am not using it right then, I will strain and pour it into glass jars to keep in the fridge and use in the next few days. Letting it cool and then putting the broth into ice cube trays and freezing them, is another great option. It will last up to 6 months in the freezer.

How Can I Use Bone Broth?

A few obvious ways to use bone broth are in making stews, soups, and gravies. You can also cook rice in the broth (replacing the water), or for cooking potatoes. I love to save and drink a warm cup of it when I have a sore throat or a cold.

I make a chicken rice or chicken potato soup (with bone broth as the base) at least once a week in the winter. It has really helped to boost our immune systems and keep us healthy during those long cold winter months in Idaho.

So next time you are shopping at Costco and see that delicious looking rotisserie chicken slowly cooking in the deli, snag one of those birds and don’t forget to make some flavorful healthy bone broth with the carcass. You will love it!