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Chicken Broth for Tortellini (Brodo di Pollo)

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Although this post was written around Thanksgiving, this chicken broth can be made (and is made) throughout the year!  But no holiday would be complete without freshly made Tortellini in Brodo (Chicken Broth).  For Thanksgiving and any holiday, everyone across the States is stirring up their favorite dishes to serve to loved ones and guests with a sprinkle of love. For us, each holiday is time for our Italian-American family tradition: to prepare thousands of little tortellini by hand and make a home-made ‘brodo’ or broth in which to gently place the tortellini to swim seductively. This broth is served in the Italian region of my family, Emiglia-Romagna, where the recipe for it and tortellini have their beginnings.
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This is my family recipe that I’ll share with each of you today for the chicken broth; the recipe and the step-by-step instructions for the little tortellini pasta was posted in my archives this past winter on January 7th, 2009. Today I’ll include the step-by-step procedure for the chicken broth, which I didn’t include last year.
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So let’s get to the stove!

 
First, scroll down this post and locate the recipe card with all of the ingredients.   Place them all out on the counter and follow the step-by-step  photo instructions to make the broth (brodo).
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Here’s what you need to do to prepare the chicken broth:

Give that chicken a nice bath (clean it) and empty the contents of the cavity inside.

Cut up into large pieces so that it cooks a little bit faster than if you cook it whole.

 
 
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Cut up all of your veggies.
With a sharp knife, cut your beef roast up into about 2 or 3 large sections.
Fill a LARGE, deep pot half way full of water.
Make sure that you have enough room from the top of the pot to put the rest of the ingredients in without overflowing the water.

Put all of the ingredients into the pot of water.

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I cut fresh Italian parsley from my garden just minutes before chopping it up and putting it into the pot…..it is fresh, fresh, fresh! (You can see the nearly bare trees behind the garden, the rosemary is next to the parsley, and there is STILL rhubarb growing to the right of the parsley!

 

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Oh my goodness, fresh Italian parsley in November! Seriously? What a surprise and JOY!

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PLOP. . . in goes that fresh parsley! Flavor up that broth now!
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Bring up the heat to high and get it to a low, rolling boil.
Immediately lower the heat and simmer until the beef is tender.
During this simmer, continually remove the junky stuff that rises to the top with a strainer.
The cooking on simmer and straining process takes about 2 – 3 hours.

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Take all of the ingredients out of the broth with a hand strainer.

With very thin tea towels covering a colander/strainer,
pour the broth through them into another pot……
this is a lot of work and usually needs two people to do this.
Be careful, the broth is very hot while you do this!
 

Continue to strain the chicken broth into clean tea towels about two more times until the broth is completely clear and free of any ingredient remains.

Taste, add more salt to taste.
If you make this the night before, refrigerate it,
and then the next day, skim off any fat/grease from the top
(it will solidify in the frig and be very easy to remove).

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.Afterwards, use this fresh broth for your any of your favorite recipes that call for chicken broth. Again, as I mentioned previously, we make this every holiday and add our home-made, hand-twisted tortellini to it).

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I highly recommend that you purchase a large, deep pot for all of your soup, stew, sauce, chili, and broth recipes.  You will use it endlessly in your kitchen!

Here’s a really good one on Amazon:

20-Quart Aluminum Pot by IMUSLA (Under $25.00 as of 10/2019)

 
 

Chicken Broth (Brodo e Pollo) for Tortellini

Chicken Broth (Brodo e Pollo) for Tortellini

 

Ingredients

  • One 6-pound chicken (hen)
  • 1 package (beef) soup bones (if you can get them)
  • 1 4-pound beef roast
  • 3 carrots, cut in 3's
  • 1 large onion, cut in 1/4's
  • 3 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds
  • 1/4 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Give that chicken a nice bath (clean it) and empty the contents of the cavity inside.
  2. Cut up into large pieces so that it cooks a little bit faster than if you cook it whole.
  3. Cut up all of your veggies.
  4. Cut your beef roast up into about 2 or 3 large sections.
  5. Fill a LARGE deep pot half way full of water.
  6. Make sure that you have enough room from the top of the pot to put the rest of the ingredients in without overflowing the water.
  7. Put all of the ingredients into the pot of water.
  8. Cut fresh Italian parsley from my garden just minutes before chopping it up and putting it into the pot.....it is fresh, fresh, fresh!
  9. Bring up the heat to high and get it to a low, rolling boil.
  10. Immediately lower the heat and simmer until the beef is tender.
  11. During this simmer, continually remove the junky stuff that rises to the top with a strainer.
  12. The cooking on simmer and straining process takes about 2 - 3 hours.
  13. Take all of the ingredients out of the broth with a hand strainer.
  14. With very thin tea towels covering a colander/strainer, pour the broth through them into another pot......this is a lot of work and usually needs two people to do this.
  15. Be careful, the broth is very hot while you do this!
  16. Continue to strain the broth into clean tea towels about two more times until the broth is completely clear and free of any ingredient remains.
  17. Taste, add more salt to taste.
  18. If you make this the night before, refrigerate it, and then the next day, skim off any fat/grease from the top (it will solidify in the frig and be very easy to remove).

Notes

  • A Step-by-Step Photo Guide is on my blog to help you make this delicious Chicken Broth.

© Roz
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What  are  your  most  cherished  recipes  to  prepare  for  any  holiday?  I’d  love  to  know  and  share  it  with  our  community  here!
 
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Comments

  1. Mary says

    Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. I don’t know why, but this only just showed up in my reader today (Friday) and only just a moment ago.

    I love homemade stock and broth, you just cannot beat it and it is so worth the time. I’ll bet that tortellini is wonderful too!

    Reply

  14. Sara says

    I’m so jealous of your herb garden. Someday, when I’m no longer a student or living in a rental property, I will have just crap loads of basil and mint growing all over the place!

    Thanks for visiting!

    Reply

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