Things You'll Need
1 lb. chicken feet, cleaned and declawed
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
Sauce pan with lid
Water to cover
Cooks of the past did not like to waste any part of the chicken, which resulted in finding uses for chicken livers, hearts and gizzards. Chicken feet were used to make a rich, yellow-tinted chicken broth that had a deeper chicken flavor than broth made from white or dark meat. The gelatin in the chicken feet also gave the broth more body. Using chicken feet for broth fell out of favor over time, but there are many cooks today who still swear by chicken feet for a tasty broth.
Step 1
Put the chicken feet into a large sauce pan or Dutch oven along with the celery, onion, garlic and salt.
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Step 2
Add water to the sauce pan to cover the chicken and vegetables.
Step 3
Bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat, place the lid on the sauce pan and simmer the chicken feet for an hour and a half.
Step 4
When the chicken is done, remove the sauce pan from the heat. Let it cool a bit.
Step 5
Strain the chicken feet and vegetables out of the broth. Put the broth in a food-safe container and refrigerate. Use this broth as a base for chicken soup.
Tip
Expect the chicken broth to gel when refrigerated. It will melt when reheated.
When the broth is refrigerated, fat will rise to the surface and will be easy to remove before using the broth.