Now We’re Cooking With Grass

Roasted, Beer-Brined Whole Chicken Cooked in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven on Grass, Straw, or Hay. Nutty, earthy aroma and flavors.

Chicken, Dinner, Meal, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

February 6, 2023

Beer Brined Coffee Crusted Pork Roast

I’m talking about coffee. There are so many things to create with coffee as an ingredient.

Dinner, Meal, Meats, Pork, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

January 28, 2023

How To Beer Brine a Whole Chicken

Here’s the universal simple brine recipe: 1 cup of liquid to 1 tablespoon of salt. Submerge the meat in the brine for 3 hours per 1 inch thickness of the meat.

We’re going to do things a little differently.

The problem with this “simple” is that not all beers are created equal, and neither is all salt. And, neither are our meal preparation schedules or our palate’s saltiness preferences. I will still try to keep it short and as simple as possible.

In this article, I’ll show you how I brine a whole chicken (and I brine nearly every piece of meat I cook from tougher cuts like chicken breast to low-and-slow cuts like beef and pork roasts). You will be the ultimate judge of the flavor. In trying these suggestions, if you find your meat to be too salty, then next time, cut back on the brine time and/or the amount of salt in the brine. This recipe is your starting place; I will leave it up to you to fine-tune the recipe to meet your and your family’s palate preferences.

Above is a quick video to show you the simple process.

Take Notes on Your Brining Journey

Take good notes as you try this process. You’ll end up modifying your own brining process. This article is ONLY A STARTING POINT.

There are four factors that will affect the saltiness of your final, cooked meat:

Beer-to-salt ratio
The Thickness of the meat.
Time the Meat Rests in the Brine
Temperature (Room Temperature or Refrigerator)

Disclaimer

I am going to tell you this: if you’ve never brined, you will end up with an over-salted piece of meat as you go through the trial-and-error process.

You will learn how much is too much and how much is just right…for your taste preference. How much salt and how much time are your factors that will make it or break it. If you break it, no worries. Make a soup with it and let the salt in the meat infuse into the broth. Definitely don’t throw it out. I’ve even taken over-salted roasts and made a delicious chili out of it by adding less or no additional salt to the recipe. Just keep on keeping on and you’ll find the right mixture of salt and time.

The Supplies

You will need 5-7 items. I’ve placed links at the bottom of this article if you need to find these items:

Salt
Beer
Container to Brine In
Zipper Bags (optional)
Scale (optional)
Tablespoon
Chip clip or something similar

Time To Cook

Let’s Create a Brine

First, we’ll discuss the steps. Then, later in the article, we’ll discuss the fine points of brining. I have two methods of brining. This one does not use heat. My other recipe does use heat to create the brine. I use the heat method when I am adding herbs, spices, or other ingredients I really want the brine to be saturated with. This is the easy, no-heat method of creating a brine.

Start with a bowl large enough for the piece of meat you are planning to brine. I use zipper bags to hold my brine for two reasons: 1) It keeps the brine from sloshing and spilling and 2) I don’t need as much brine to keep the meat submerged. Less brine means I used less beer. In this case, less beer will not make a difference other than the cost to make the brine (a factor that outweighs the cost of the zipper bags). And yes, I will reuse my bags if I am brining back-to-back.

Step 1: Zipper bags leak. Use a large container like a pot or bowl to let the zipper bag rest in.

Step 2: Add your beer to the bag. How much beer? 3-4 12oz beers will take care of a whole chicken. Just let the beer head up as you pour; we ain’t drinking it and it’ll flatten out anyway after we add that salt.

Use enough beer that will allow for the meat to be fully submerged when we wrap up this bag.

Step 3: Add your salt. Keep in mind that if you are using a smaller container, the beer will head up like a volcano and it may just erupt over.

Here’s your mixture: 1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer. Keep in mind that not all salt weighs the same. And “heavier” salt does not mean saltier. If you stick with the same measurement each and every time you create a brine, you will fine-tune your unique ratio of beer to YOUR particular brand and grind of salt.

Step 4: Pick up the bag and mix things up a bit. Dissolve as much salt as possible. It’s okay if some is left at the bottom.

Step 5: Place the meat into the bag. It may not look submerged in that zipper bag, but that is okay. We’re going to wrap it up a bit.

Step 6: After the foam has subsided, get the air out of the bag and zip up the bag. The meat may not appear submerged right now, but it will after we wrap it up.

Step 7: Don’t roll the top of the bag down. We want the air out of the bag and the top of the zipper bag to remain standing up so the bag does not leak from the top.

Step 8: Loop the bag edges together. This will keep the pointed ends from drooping and leaking.

Step 9: Use the chip clip or something similar to keep the edges looped.

Step 10: Let the meat rest in the brine for as long as it takes (the rest of this article will attempt to clarify that). You can leave it at room temperature for a very short period of time, or in the refrigerator for 1-5 days; it depends on your end goals and the time you plan to cook.

Let’s talk a little more about the process. The rest of this article will explain some of the factors that you should consider when creating a brine and brining meat.

Keep the beer mild and keep it flavorful. And, consider the meat that you are brining. A whole chicken may not turn out well if brined in a deep, dark peanut butter stout. But, pork ribs ROCK a peanut butter stout brine. Look for beer “flavors” that go well with the meat you are preparing. I love a good citrus taste with my chicken and fish. Consider a nice citrusy IPA or a lager for these meats. A good stout or porter will work well with beef and pork.

Keep this in mind: A beer that pairs well with a meal may not work well when cooking with. Let me say that again but in a different way. You’ve heard about wine paring and even beer pairing. Beer that pairs well with a particular dish may NOT be the right beer to brine or cook that same dish with.

I love craft beer but keep mainstream, large brewery brews in my beer fridge at all times. Nope. I am not a beer snob; not at all. I learned this a long time ago: keep familiar brews in my beer fridge like Rainier, Corona, and even DosXX (to name a few). You’ll be surprised how your guest will pass on your $4, $6, and even your $10 cans or bottles of craft beer for a $1 tried-and-true, big-brewery brew. Craft beer is sometimes a gamble; dedicated Coors Lite drinkers know this and stick with what they know and enjoy; nothing wrong with that at all!

These beers may be less expensive, and some may consider these beers to have less flavor than a craft beer, but they have a perfect flavor for our brining needs. A great craft beer for drinking may not be a great beer for brining.

Your first few brining attempts should start with a simple lager or something mild. And, once you get the saltiness / time-in-the-brine down to meet your palate’s preferences, then experiment with the beer.

Not to beat the “dead horse” but I have been known to ruin a nice pot of gumbo after brining the chicken in a pumpkin beer that I was trying to “use up.” There’s something that just didn’t quite set right with a gumbo and that mild but distinct pumpkin aftertaste. On the flip side, I created a pumpkin chili with those beers and…WOW!

For this recipe, we will refer to 12-ounces as our liquid-to-salt ratio. Beer is commonly sold in 12-ounce cans or bottles. And YES! There are many other sizes. How about those nice 16-ounce cans and bottles? Yes, there are other sizes. As a reminder, here are the measurement conversions.

1 Cup = 8 Ounces

12-Ounce Beer = 1.5 Cups

16-Ounce Beer = 2 Cups

24-Ounce Beer = 3 Cups

3 Teaspoons = Tablespoon

Most brine recipes call for 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of liquid. My recipe is different:

1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer.

You can get more marbles in the same jar you’d stuff golf balls in; it’s true! Likewise, a pinch of fine-grind salt like table salt may taste more salty than an equal pinch of coarse grind kosher salt (usually and maybe with a few caveats). With a fine grind of salt, there’s more salt in that pinch than coarse grind salt. Less is better to start with. Weight is a good way to measure the salt. Do you have a scale? They are pretty cheap. Here’s one (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3iUDTxf

1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer.

I prefer a nice course-ground salt. It’s what I am used to and can “eye-ball it” better when I am just adding to my palm to toss into dishes. Give me that white table salt and I will use it at the table if I need to, but I always cook with a coarse-ground salt. You’ll often see it labeled as Kosher Salt which really has nothing to do with a Jewish Diet but was used to “Kosher meat” “meaning to remove the blood from meat, so it’s really koshering salt. Certain salt companies labeled the boxes of this coarse salt kosher salt rather than koshering salt, and the name stuck.”

If you are using a fine-grind salt and you don’t have a scale, no worries! Just cut back a bit on the salt and see how the final flavor comes out. If it’s just right then you’ve found YOUR recipe. If it’s not salty enough, then next time you can add more.

Chef Tips

Length of Brine Time and the Thickness of the Meat

There are different rules of thumb that are used to brine meat. Some sources say 1 hour per pound and others say 2–3 hours per inch of thickness.

Whole chicken isn’t universally “thick” like a steak or roast (and roasts have “sections” which causes the “thickness” to be different). I’ve brined roasts for 3-4 days and they’ve turned out wonderfully. Same length of time for turkey and chicken and have done great.

I brine my tenderized chicken breast for an hour or so. Tenderized meat have more “surface area” and will “take the brine” quicker.

Considering tenderized, flattened chicken breast versus a whole chicken. The hour is plenty of time for a tenderized chicken breast brined at room temperature. But, a whole chicken brined for only one hour will turn out to be the same as a chicken not brined at all. Thickness and nature of the meat has a lot to do with how long you should brine the meat.

Why Brine?

First of all, let’s clear this question up. Why brine? Flavor? Juicier meat? Yes and yes! Then comes the question as to how brining creates more flavorful and juicier meats. I will mention osmosis only two times (and that was the first time). If you have a source (the meat or even vegetables) that is low in salt and a source (the brine or soup base) that is higher in salt, the salt will want to move into the area that has less salt. It’s through the magic of chemistry that this movement takes place. One salt molecule can hold on to 9 piggybacking water molecules (simply speaking here with a more in depth explanation here: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/134581/how-many-sodium-ions-is-each-oxygen-atom-attracted-to-in-aqueous-sodium-chloride).

A higher salt solution will cause the salt to “move” toward the area with less salt. With brining, the salt moves into the raw, lower-salt meat and tak es a few piggybacking water, beer, and seasoning molecules with it to create a juicier, deep-salted meat. And, in a brine made with beer and salt, a lot of that beer will be infused into that meat through this osmotic movement. Just the same, if you add spices and other ingredients to your beer brine, those flavors will follow the salt into the meat as well.

Summary

And that ’bout does it. This is my “cold” method of brining. If you want the method I use to infuse herbs and spices into that meat, then my “hot” method of brining is for you. Here’s the link to that article and recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2021/05/basic-beer-brine-recipe

Let it be known that I often will only use this cold method to brine meats. Either way is A-OK. You will need to practice this method to get it right FOR YOU. Just like I cannot tell you what your favorite color is, or your favorite song is, or your favorite beer is, I cannot tell you what your favorite “saltiness” is.

Lache pas la patate!

“Losh-pa-la-pa-tot” – don’t give up (a testament to the enduring spirit of the Cajun people).

Enjoy!

Affiliate Links to the Items Used in the Video:

Zipper Bags: https://amzn.to/3FzmDX1

Salt: https://amzn.to/3Y4eIIw

Scale: https://amzn.to/3BrLzNH

Beer Brine a Whole Chicken

Using beer and salt to create a beer brine to create flavorful, super moist roasted chicken.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 1

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Equipment

Container to Brine In Large enough to hold both the whole chicken and the brine.
Large Zipper Bag We use a 2.5 gallon zipper bag.
Chip Clip or Clamp To make sure the zipper bag does not leak.
Tablespoon. Measuring Spoon
Scale OPTIONAL - To weigh the salt.

Ingredients

32 Ounces Beer Start with mild lager or ale like Dox XX or Corona
3 TBLS Salt Three Tablespoons
3 LB Whole Chicken 3-4 pound whole chicken (give or take a pound).

Instructions

The Brine

Place the zipper bag open in the bowl or container.
Pour in all 32 ounces of beer in the zipper bag.
Add all 3 tablespoons of salt to the beer.
Let it foam up. Mix as much of the salt with the beer as able. Some settling salt is okay.

Prep The Chicken

Place the whole chicken in and under the brine in the zipper bag.
Zip the bag closed after releasing as much air as possible.
Loop the bag edges together like a horseshoe.
Use the chip clip or something similar to keep the edges looped.

Brine Time

Place the container with the chicken in the zipper bag with the brine in the refrigerator for 1-5 days.
After your desired days in the brine, remove the chicken from the brine and let rest a room temperature for a bit before following your desired recipe.

Notes

This recipe is only to be followed for larger cuts of meat. It is not intended for thinner cuts like butchered chicken pieces.

I brine my tenderized chicken breast for an hour or so. Tenderized meat have more "surface area" and will "take the brine" quicker.

Keyword beer brine, beer brined chicken, brine, chicken, roast chicken, roasted chicken, salt beer brine

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Chicken, Meats, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

January 22, 2023

Beef BEERguignon – A French Recipe with a Hoppy Twist

Beef BEERguignon is born. Though I do enjoy cooking with wine, we’re going to stir things up a bit (pun intended). We’re going to cook this recipe with BEER!

Beef, Dinner, Meal, Meats, Soups, Stews, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

January 16, 2023

Low and Slow Roast Beef, Pork, Lamb, Wild Meat in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Recipe Low and Slow Cast Iron Dutch Oven Roast

Dinner, Game, Lamb, Meal, Meats, Pork, Supper, Uncategorized

by Sulae @ beerandiron.com

November 5, 2022

Beer and Chicken Bone Broth

Does making your own broth take time? Sure, it does! So does eating a meal. But, I can “Guar-Ron-Tee” dat eating a bad meal takes longer than eating a good meal. Do you want them plates and bowls to end up at the sink with soup still in them or already licked squeaky clean?

This broth recipe is one of the base recipes that will be referred to over and over in recipe after recipe here on beerandiron.com.

The backbone of any soup, stew, and chili is the broth you use. If the broth is flavorful, the soup, stew, or chili will be flavorful. Let’s make this!

NOTE: You may have noticed the stainless steel pot used in the image above. Using stainless steel for this is A-OK. In the video, I used my 9-quart cast iron Dutch oven to make the broth. Use what you want.

I’m gonna tell you it’s the broth that will “make” that meal, and the only way to make a good broth is to make it yourself.

There is one reason I make my own broth: Flavor. And the flavor comes from two sources: The Beer and from the parts and pieces that are generated during meal preparation that are normally thrown away.

Will we end up throwing these parts and pieces away? Sure, but not until we’ve rendered their flavor. It’s almost like tea; we simmer the tea in the water until we have changed the water into tea. Then, we toss the tea.

A good broth jells (like Jell-O / Gelatin) when cooled. This is due to the structural protein found in the connective tissue: collagen. Collagen breaks down with prolonged simmering and cooking and dissolves in the liquid (the beer). A true bone broth…a good broth in general has some bouncy, wiggly, gelatin-like consistency when cool. Shelf-stable bone broths usually do not gel because the collagen has been removed or never was there in the first place. Not only are you missing the nutritional benefits of the broth, the way the final recipe will “feel” is not as pleasing…a different mouth-feel, if you will.

Think about it for a bit. Why does boneless chicken cost more per pound than whole chicken? There’s weight to the “trash” that the whole chicken has that boneless chicken does not. When preparing bell peppers or tomatoes, do you use the whole vegetable/fruit or do you throw away some parts as you prepare them? Potato peel, carrot tops, bell pepper placenta, and meat bone/fat/joints…this is usually tossed during the cooking process. Even that large base of celery; it usually hits the garbage can with a heavy “thud.” There’s flavor in that root end. Every bit of that has flavor…some of it has more flavor than the actual “good” parts themselves; it’s just trapped in an area of the food that is either not editable as is (bones and ligaments) or has a terrible mouth feel like chunks of fat, potato peels, and pepper placenta.

I am not making it to reduce the salt/sodium or any other reason that is found on every single make-your-own broth blog. My reasons are dual and simple: Flavor and FLAVOR!

This recipe is easy. It’s so very easy. We create our broths from four sources:

Using the bones, skin, and edible innards parts of chickens we’ve roasted or baked. We debone the chicken and gather the bones and parts into a container for future broth-making or we make it right away.
Using the scraps from meal preparation. When you cut the core from a tomato, the bell pepper placenta, potato peel, onion skin and ends, and a whole array of other parts and pieces.
When cooking a roast or chicken in a Dutch oven and the “juices” remaining in the pot. This is ALWAYS saved.
We obtain some bones and scraps that are, more or less, edible but would never be considered something to sit and create a meal from. Bones, ligaments, and other parts from butchering.

Ever heard of Corona or Modelo? Sure, you have. Start with this easy-drinking beer. If you are a craft beer purist, no worries. Find one of your craft beers that are easy to drink like a lager or an ale. Here at first, avoid IPAs, seasonals, porters, and the others that may add a level of flavor you will experiment with later. Right now, let’s just create something amazing. Experiment later.

The Supplies

Stainless Steel Pot for the Parts and Pieces like THIS ONE.
Bowl or other receptacle to hold the “good” parts that you will keep for another recipe.
Stirring Spoon or Spatula (to both stir the broth during the creation process and to “press” out the broth from the scraps in the strainer). This one is what I suggest: HERE.
Metal Strainer
Bowl to catch the final broth
Jars to store the broth (if you are planning to store for later). I suggest wide-mouth Mason or Ball-type jars. There will be a bit of fat that will solidify at the top of your refrigerated broth that will be easier to remove and use (yes…we do use that) from a wide-mouth jar.
Jar funnel – Trust me on this.
Affiliate Links Above

Ingredients

Bones, parts, and pieces from one whole deboned chicken – More if you have them.
2-8 12oz Beers (Room Temperature)…or more.

Ready to Cook

All you need for this recipe are the bones from one chicken. If you have more, add more. If you have some vegetable scraps, add them too.

Step 1: Start with a cast iron Dutch oven or another pot that will hold all of your ingredients.

It’s okay if the ingredients are piled out and above the top of that Dutch oven. They will break down and render their flavor into that broth. The broth will simmer down a bit and become more concentrated. Just pile it in!

Step 2: The Beer. Add a lager or light, not-too-bitter ale to the pot. You’re going to need to add as many as it takes or supplement with water or broth-from-a-box.

The amount of beer to add is up to you.

First and foremost…NO! You will not get drunk on this broth. Alcohol has a much lower gas point that water does. If you are adding a 6% ABV (alcohol by volume) beer to this pot, then long before that broth starts to steam, that alcohol will gas off.

You’ve heard the statement regarding alcohol in food, “It’ll cook out.” And it does. There is no “away” in the world; the alcohol does leave the meal just like water does: as a gas. A 6% ABV beer will lose about 6% of the volume pretty quickly.

Note: Alcohol “cooks out” at about 173.1°F (78.37°C). The liquid will not even be bubbling yet by the time the Ethanol (https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/types/) starts to steam out. When your liquid reaches 212°F (100°C), you’ll notice a nice boil start (the boiling point of water).

What I am looking for in my broth is some body. I want the broth to have a heavier and fuller flavor and mouthfeel than broth-in-a-box or water has. That beer will add that body and those real ingredients will add that flavor.

The broth will NOT taste like beer. But, use caution with a beer that has a distinctive flavor ingredient. You can bet your witches and warlocks that the fall pumpkin ale you add to this broth will give you a pumpkin-ey broth. And, you can bet Santa’s beer belly that if you use a winter spruce tip lager in that broth, you’ll have a bit of a spruce-ey broth. That may be okay. Maybe you are going to use the pumpkin broth for a pumpkin chili base. And spruce tip flavor sure does complement chicken, just like rosemary does.

For the most part, use an easy-drinking lager for this recipe. And, if you find that you have a lot of ingredient scraps and not quite enough beer to bring the liquid volume up to the point you need, you can add a bit of water or even one of those boxes of store-bought “broth.”

Add the beer to the pot and just up to where the ingredients move freely in the liquid. You do not need to cover the ingredients with the liquid. The ingredients will cook down and will be under that liquid soon.

Step 3: Heat the pot on medium heat until the liquid starts to simmer.

Then turn everything about in that pot to get the ingredients to settle a bit.

Step 4: Once the simmering starts, turn the heat down to low or medium low. Cover the pot with the lid.

Let things settle for a while and stir the pot about once every 20-30 minutes for the first hour. Put the lid on the pot but leave an edge open to allow the steam to escape. We want the pot to simmer and not become a rolling boil. The lid over the pot will help hold the heat to allow for simmering. The opened edge at the top will keep the pot from boiling too hard.

Step 5: Keep stirring the broth about every 20-30 minutes until things start to break down.

You’ve heard of bone broth, right? We are making a mini pot of bone broth right here. Most bone broths take hours and hours to create and are made in some considerable volumes.

I have a recipe for beef bone broth that takes an entire day. Here’s the link: https://beerandiron.com/beer-beef-bone-broth-recipe-in-a-cast-iron-dutch-oven

This is not really a recipe. It’s a process. We will often spend the week cutting and chopping and roasting and skillet-ing. And, as we create our dinners, there are things that are often tossed. We’ll hang onto those trimmings, peelings, parts, bones, and pieces until we are ready to make a broth.

A long simmering time will allow all these parts and pieces to break down…ESPECIALLY the chicken bones and connective tissues. Eventually you will notice as you are turning and rotating the pot of “stuff” that the bone ends are bare and without any cartilage. The joints that were connected even after roasting the chicken are now broken apart and separated.

This is EXACTLY what we are looking for. And, we’ll let it simmer even longer.

Most of the ingredients are below the liquid level now. They are soft and fragile and some are almost liquified. We’ll call it broth-ified. The collagen from the chicken bones and the broken-down parts and pieces of meat and vegetables are creating a nice and heavy broth full of nutrients.

As you cook, and if you notice the liquid level is getting too low, add more beer, water, or boxed broth.

Step 6: Once the broth is “done,” take the pot off the heat and let things cool a bit.

I set things aside and let them cool down but don’t let things cool down to room temperature. I let the liquid cool to about the temperature of a cup of coffee.

Step 7: Have your jars ready to be filled with the broth.

We are going to put the broth in the canning jars for refrigerator storage. THIS IS NOT A CANNING RECIPE. The broth created by following this recipe will have to be refrigerated. It will spoil at room temperature. With that being said, you can pressure can this broth following a canning recipe.

You will see in the video that I make a huge freakin’ mess while I pour the broth over to the jars. Even with the canning funnel. It is what it is. It’s likely because I am a male and prone to making messes (my wife has me convinced that I am handicapped because of a genetic issue: my Y-Chromosome).

My suggestion is to use wide-mouth jars. This broth will jell-up and it’s easier to get out of the jars with the wide mouth.

Step 8: Set a bowl with a metal strainer near the pot of broth and parts and pieces.

Place a metal strainer in the bowl to catch the solids. Using a ladle, we scoop up the solids and pour them over to the strainer. Then we stir the mash around and try to get as much of the liquid from that mushy stuff as we can.

Like in my beef bone broth recipe, you can “wash” the used material by placing it back in the pot and adding some fresh beer over the mushy stuff and spent bones. There will be enough of the broth and collagen left to actually jellify the beer when cooled. Message me if you need more explanation.

You can then use the drained solids for compost (except the bones), feed them to a worm bin, or throw them away.

Step 9: Ladle the broth into the metal strainer and separate the broth from the liquid.

Scoop up the liquid and solids and ladle them over into the strainer over the bowl. We are actually focused on the solids here. We want to get as much of the solids out as we can, so we are able to pour the pot over the strainer and get all the broth out and free of the solids.

Step 10: Pour the broth into a storage container like Mason or Ball jars.

If you don’t have any quart-size canning jars, you should get a set. They are so very helpful and handy. They can handle the extreme temperature changes like Pyrex glass can. And they are not too spendy. If they break or crack, we just recycle them (they take our glass here!).

Place a canning funnel over the mouth of the canning jar and pour the broth into the jars. The sad thing is: you’ll get far less broth than you think you’ll be getting. It is what it is.

Step 11: Put a lid over the jars of broth and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

The jars of broth will not last indefinitely. My suggestion is to use the broth in a soup, stew, chili, or something else before you start wondering, “is this okay to eat?” How long will that take? I don’t know the answer to that question. But, when I have broth like this available, I plan on a meal that will allow me to use the broth within a week.

And there you go! You did it! How did it turn out?

Chef Tip #1: Don’t Burn Yourself

When pouring in Step #10, you’ll note the chicken parts are “sunken” to the bottom of the pot and will remain at the bottom of the pot until the angle of the pot during the pouring has reached a certain point. THEN the parts and pieces will “fall” to the side of the pot you are pouring toward.

It’s hard to pour this “away” from you and you will likely be inclined to pour “towards” you. When these ingredients “fall,” that liquid will splash. There are hot oils in that broth and the hot broth itself that will burn you or, in the least, make a mess on your counter or floor.

When about half of the liquid has poured into the colander, stop and “help” the chicken parts to gather on the side of the pot that you are pouring from. Then slowly continue pouring and let the parts and pieces slide into the colander to continue draining.

Chef Tip #2: It’s Okay to Use Stainless…or Cast Iron

We use a copper-bottomed stainless 6-quart pot for making broth from one or two chickens. We use stainless because the simmer time is so long. Beer and anything that contains alcohol is going to be acidic. And, truth be known, I’ll cook up a tomato dish in any of my non-enamled, well-seasoned cast iron pots and will not lose a wink of sleep over it…and…I create broth in my cast iron too…just like in the video.

Though the likelihood of metal molecules leaching into my food likely happens every single meal, we’re not cooking in lead or aluminum; we’re cooking in cast iron. Iron is both a material and a mineral. We need iron to have good health (https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-Consumer/). I don’t worry about my cast iron dissolving or becoming damaged by the acid foods and liquids I cook in them. I worry about the possibility of a metallic taste that may form with foods that need to simmer for longer periods of time like broths.

Some of my broths will cook for 24 hours (not this recipe). And, from what I understand, 2-8mg of iron will leach per cup of acid food/liquid per 30 minutes of cooking time. My 12-inch skillet is about 3,628,736mg of iron; 2-8mg is not a big deal even every 30 minutes for 24 hours…that broth would need to cook for something like 25 YEARS to melt my pan (LOL)! But, if off-flavors are a concern, then use a stainless pot…we have that one and only and use it for broth-making and noodle cooking.

With that being said, I use my 9-quart cast iron pot to create a beef broth (https://beerandiron.com/beer-beef-bone-broth-recipe-in-a-cast-iron-dutch-oven) that has a 24-hour cook time. It’s always been a great recipe and I have never had a metallic taste to my meals. So, if you are a purist cast-iron person, rock on with a cast iron Dutch oven to create your broth.

Chef Tip #3: Note on Storage

Storing in canning jars is not “canning” per se’. We are using the jars because of their convenience. Don’t store this broth in plastic. You can use something like Pyrex if you like. You will NEED to refrigerate this broth after you “jar” it and after it’s cooled a bit. You can “can” the broth but this canning process is beyond the scope of this recipe.

Note: canning jars are commonly made of annealed glass. Pyrex glass is made of borosilicate glass, which is more resistant to thermal shock than annealed glass. We let the broth cool a bit before pouring over into the container we are planning to store the broth in.

And, it’s okay if that “skin” forms on the broth’s surface before storing; it’ll “dissolve” into the broth once the broth is in the jar.

Chef Tip #4: Do You Have Dogs?

When you are done with your broth creation, you’ll have your broth and your meat parts separated. Depending on how long you simmered your broth will affect the present “durability” of the connective tissue. Many times I am surprised as to how much “meat” is left after I de-bone the chicken and create my broth.

We have pups in our home; two hair and poop factories on four legs. I will take some time and remove all the big, little, and even TINY bones from the “trash” that’s left in the colander and pull out some meat to use as “treats” for the dogs. My suggestion is to only give them a little at a time. You will likely get anywhere from ½ to a full cup (or more) of meat parts that are not bone.

I have a recipe on how to create dog cookies using scraps of meat. Check it out here:

Throw the bones away; don’t feed them to your dogs. Also, consider the other ingredients in your broth creation. Did you use any garlic, onions, or other ingredients that are not OK for dogs? Use your good judgment when feeding your dogs from this recipe.

Chef Tip #5: Time Saver

Broth-making is more passive than active. Once you put those ingredients into that pot for simmering, you’re pretty well free to create another meal or prep for the meal you are going to use that broth with.

Sometimes I will save the parts and pieces from many different cooks. They may be frozen or refrigerated. A nice rainy or snowy day makes a good day to create broth for the future. Once you put it on the heat, there’s little to do but wait and stir things once in a while.

You better have something planned for dinner later that will taste as good as that simmering broth will smell. Once that aroma permeates the home, your family will definitely ask, “what’s for dinner?” That anticipation doesn’t need to be disappointed by, “What’s this? What was that you were cooking earlier?”

Chef Tip #6: My Broth Didn’t Gel!

A good broth jells (like Jell-O / Gelatin) when cooled. But, if yours does not, it’s likely one of two reasons: 1) You didn’t simmer it long enough for the connective tissues to dissolve into the broth (this is a molecule-by-molecule process and takes time). 2) There just wasn’t enough connective tissues in the scraps themselves to dissolve (common with small broth batches).

If your broth does not gel; then no worries! Just cook with it; it’ll be A-OK!

If you’ve got minutes, then cook for minutes. But, if you have hours…simmer it for hours and add more beer as it reduces to keep the liquid level up.

WAIT! You forgot the Salt!

Actually, I did not. Salting a dish is a tricky deal to say the least. I don’t know what your “salty” tastes like. So, I wrote an article on how to salt a soup, stew, chili, or bisque. It’s a how-to-salt-just-about-anything-perfectly article. READ IT HERE.

So, no. I don’t add salt to this broth recipe. I add salt to the recipe I am going to cook with this broth but not during the broth creating process.

One of the reasons I don’t add salt is that I am usually using a brined chicken…and the amount of saltiness depends on so many factors that occurred from when you first put that raw chicken in that beer brine. Read my article on “Salt” to learn how I perfectly salt a recipe.

You’ve had those thin, watery soups before. You’ve struggled to bring body to your stews. We’ve added this and that and still feel, “it’s missing something.” What your soup, stew, or chili is missing is body and the core flavor. It’s the broth that will make or break a pot of soup, stew, or chili.

Take the time and save the week’s trimmings, bones, and scraps. Keep them refrigerated until you have enough to make your broth. Give this a try and let me know what you think.

ENJOY!