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A fat separator full of rotisserie chicken broth, with an instant pot in the background

Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Broth


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5 from 10 reviews

  • Author: Mike Vrobel
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 cups chicken broth 1x

Description

Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Broth. Homemade broth is pressure cooking’s secret weapon, and it’s quick and easy if you start with a store-bought rotisserie chicken.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (2- to 4-pound) rotisserie chicken, breast meat removed and saved for later
  • Juices from the rotisserie chicken container
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 1 carrot, scrubbed and cut in half (or 4oz baby carrots)
  • 1 stalk celery, cut in half
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 8 cups water

Instructions

  1. Everything in the pot: Cut the chicken breast meat off of the rotisserie chicken and save for another use. Put the rotisserie chicken carcass, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and salt in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, then pour in 8 cups of water. (The water should just cover the rotisserie chicken – it’s OK if the knobs of the drumsticks are poking out.) 
  2. Pressure cook the broth for 60 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (Manual or Pressure Cook mode in an Instant Pot) or for 50 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure come down naturally – about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off.) If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down naturally for 20 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
  3. Strain and save: Unlock the lid and open it away from you to avoid any hot steam. With a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken carcass and vegetables out of the pot and discard; they gave their all to the broth. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate the broth for a couple of days, or portion into 2-cup containers and freeze for up to 6 months.

Notes

  • Defatting the broth (quickly): If you want to reduce the fat in the broth, after straining, pour the broth into a fat separator and let it rest for 5 minutes for the fat to rise to the top. (I have a 1 quart fat separator, so I do this in 2 batches).
  • Defatting the broth (overnight): Refrigerate the broth overnight. The fat will float to the top and congeal into a fat cap. Gently scoop the fat cap from the broth and discard. (If you refrigerate the broth overnight, it will have the consistency of Jell-o, thanks to all the gelatin in chicken bones)
  • For an even simpler broth, skip all the ingredients except for the chicken carcass, onion, salt, and water. It won’t be as complex as the regular broth, but it’s still quite good.
  • You can halve this recipe for a 3-quart Instant Pot, or double it for an 8-quart Instant Pot. Just scale the ingredients up or down. I usually buy two chickens, pull out my 8-quart pot, and double the recipe; if I’m going to make broth, I might as well make a big batch. And I always like to have extra broth in the freezer.
  • You don’t have to buy the chicken specifically for this recipe. Have the bones of a leftover roast chicken lying around? Or even just some back and neck bones? Perfect!

Tools

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 90 minutes
  • Category: Building Block
  • Method: Pressure Cooker
  • Cuisine: American