All-In Chicken Broth

(by Bex O'Brian)

(Back in the 1980s, while working for C.B.C. Radio Canada, I interviewed the "Beat Generation" poet Allen Ginsberg. While we spoke, he threw into a pot unpeeled onions, garlic, carrots, and celery, along with a couple of chicken carcasses. I've been making my broth the same way ever since. Throughout the month, I save all my chicken bones in the freezer until I have enough to make a broth.)

a few outer leaves of a cabbage

the outer leaves and tough tops of a few leeks

2 yellow onions, cut in quarters, skin still on

2 - 3 large carrots, washed but not peeled

a few stalks of celery (better still if they still have their leaves)

whole head of garlic

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 organic chicken bouillon cube

1 small whole chicken, organic, free-range

In a large stockpot, put everything but the whole chicken.

Cover with water, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer, and skim off the foam.

Add the whole chicken, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.

Remove chicken. When cool enough to handle, remove and shred the meat, and set aside.

Put the carcass back in the pot, and simmer another hour.

Turn heat off, and let cool,

Place strainer over a bowl large enough to hold all the liquid.

Strain broth. Pick any remaining chicken off the bones for your pets:)

Wearing rubber gloves, you can squish all the vegetables and bones in your hands to get the juice from them, but this will give you a cloudy broth. If you prefer a clear broth, discard all the bones and vegetables.

Refrigerate overnight to let fat rise to the top.

Next day, remove fat. Reheat broth, adding back reserved chicken, or freeze in containers.

(Read Hipsters, the story that accompanies this recipe.)