Description
Recently, my grocery store had whole raw chickens on sale for $0.99/lb. I got this whole bird for just $5.30, and today I'm going to slow cook it to make shredded chicken, and then extract the nutrients out of the bones and skin for homemade chicken bone broth.
Good uses for bone broth are in your soups and stews, but you can also use broth when boiling vegetables, pasta, or rice for extra flavor and nutrition. Additionally, you can just drink the bone broth as well.
Bone broth is very nutritious, being a rich source of collagen from the chicken bones and skin. Chicken thighs are also a good source of B vitamins, like riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), and cobalamin (B12). Thighs are also a good source of choline, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. Diffusing the chicken also provides some protein and fats as well, making it satiating.
Ingredients
Instructions
Per 1 oz (28 g)
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Bone Broth Nutrition Facts
Per 1 cup (240 g)
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Cost Analysis
This whole raw chicken cost just $5.30, and yielded 854 g (1.88 lb) of cooked meat. Let's estimate what the cost per pound of raw meat would be. For example, typically a 4 oz (113 g) piece of chicken will weight approximately 3 oz (85 g) when cooked. Assuming that chicken loses 25% of its weight upon cooking, 854 g of cooked meat should have weighed about 1,137 g (2.5 lb) raw. At $5.30 for 2.5 lb, the net meat costs $2.12/lb. I don't know about you, but I cannot get boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs for that price, so making your own chicken this way is already saving you money.
And that's not even considering the broth. I ended up with about 6.5 cups (1,560 g) of bone broth in the end. That's about 52 oz of broth, essentially for free. In comparison this chicken bone broth is $6.58 for just 16.9 oz. That means that the homemade broth is worth $20.25.
Assuming that raw meat costs $2.99/lb, that means that 2.5 lb of raw chicken costs $7.48. Add in the $20.25 for the broth, and we're looking at an estimated $27.73 value for just $5.30, or a savings of $22.43!
Sources
Recently, my grocery store had whole raw chickens on sale for $0.99/lb. I got this whole bird for just $5.30, and today I'm going to slow cook it to make shredded chicken, and then extract the nutrients out of the bones and skin for homemade chicken bone broth.
Good uses for bone broth are in your soups and stews, but you can also use broth when boiling vegetables, pasta, or rice for extra flavor and nutrition. Additionally, you can just drink the bone broth as well.
Bone broth is very nutritious, being a rich source of collagen from the chicken bones and skin. Chicken thighs are also a good source of B vitamins, like riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), and cobalamin (B12). Thighs are also a good source of choline, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. Diffusing the chicken also provides some protein and fats as well, making it satiating.
Ingredients
- 5 lb (2,270 g) whole chicken
- Salt, about 1 tbsp (18 g)
- Black pepper, about 1 tbsp (9 g)
- Garlic powder, about 2 tbsp (20 g)
- Onion powder, about 2 tbsp (20 g)
- Paprika, about 4 tbsp (40 g)
Instructions
- Add your whole chicken to the base of a large slow cooker, breast side up. You can include any sort of organ meats or giblets that come with the chicken; just make sure to remove them from the bag if they came in one
- Liberally season both sides of the bird with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. There's no need to measure anything here; just evenly coat each side with a thick layer of seasonings
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part is at least 165F
- Remove the chicken from the pot, leaving any sort of liquid and scraps in the slow cooker. Transfer the cooked chicken to a wire rack over a pan to catch all the drippings. Let cool on the counter for 30 minutes
- When cooled, you can separate the meat with your hands. Add the skinless meat to a large bowl, and shred with your fingers, picking out any small bits of bones, skin, and cartilage. Add all the chicken bones and skin back to the pot with the leftover chicken drippings
- Pour enough water into the pot to just fully cover the chicken bones and skins, about 5 cups (1,200 g)
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours
- Remove the large pieces of skin and bones from the pot using a spider, and discard. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl, and pour the broth from the crockpot into the bowl. The strainer will catch any smaller bits, and you'll be left with a smooth broth in the bowl. Split into mason jars, and let cool for 30 minutes on the counter before covering and refrigerating overnight
- The following morning, skim any fat off the top, and either save or discard. You can keep the jars of broth in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze indefinitely
Per 1 oz (28 g)
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Calories: 48
Calories: 48
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Total Fat: 1.9g (2 %)
Sodium: 246mg (11 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 7.1g (14 %)
Total Fat: 1.9g (2 %)
Sodium: 246mg (11 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 7.1g (14 %)
Bone Broth Nutrition Facts
Per 1 cup (240 g)
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Calories: 50
Calories: 50
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Total Fat: 1.0g (1 %)
Sodium: 240mg (10 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 10.0g (20 %)
Total Fat: 1.0g (1 %)
Sodium: 240mg (10 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 10.0g (20 %)
Cost Analysis
This whole raw chicken cost just $5.30, and yielded 854 g (1.88 lb) of cooked meat. Let's estimate what the cost per pound of raw meat would be. For example, typically a 4 oz (113 g) piece of chicken will weight approximately 3 oz (85 g) when cooked. Assuming that chicken loses 25% of its weight upon cooking, 854 g of cooked meat should have weighed about 1,137 g (2.5 lb) raw. At $5.30 for 2.5 lb, the net meat costs $2.12/lb. I don't know about you, but I cannot get boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs for that price, so making your own chicken this way is already saving you money.
And that's not even considering the broth. I ended up with about 6.5 cups (1,560 g) of bone broth in the end. That's about 52 oz of broth, essentially for free. In comparison this chicken bone broth is $6.58 for just 16.9 oz. That means that the homemade broth is worth $20.25.
Assuming that raw meat costs $2.99/lb, that means that 2.5 lb of raw chicken costs $7.48. Add in the $20.25 for the broth, and we're looking at an estimated $27.73 value for just $5.30, or a savings of $22.43!
Sources