Stew Hens

Pasture-raised, antibiotic-free stew hens.

Make the most delicious chicken soup with one of these delicious stew hens, a little tougher meat than a broiler, but ideal for the soup pot! Beat the cold chill of winter and ward of the common cold with vitamin and mineral packed protein of a delectable batch of good-old-fashioned chicken noodle soup. Truly "Chicken Soup for the Soul"!

Healing Chicken Soup

1 stew chicken

2 cups onions, chopped

1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups celery stalks, chopped

2 cups kale, chopped

2 tsps unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

a couple sprigs of fresh parsley

4 bay leaves

4-6 cups water

1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar

Optional: chicken feet

Throw everything into your slow cooker and cook on Low for as long as possible, minimum 8 hours, maximum 2 days. Leftovers can be frozen.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Using Whatever You Have

Whole stew chicken OR bones from a picked whole chicken

Vegetables

Garlic

Herbs

Apple Cider Vinegar

Optional: chicken feet

Place the chicken carcass (along with any stray bones) or stew hen into your crock pot. For a larger chicken (6 lbs) I use my 6 quart crock, for a smaller chicken (4 lbs) I use a 4 1/2 quart crock.

Add any additional vegetables you’d like – onions, celery, carrots, garlic, herbs. I like to keep a bag in the freezer of the scraps left from chopping veggies. I then just dump this bag in with the bones when I begin the stock. But, really, these are all an optional addition, at a minimum you need the bones and vinegar.

Cover the bones and vegetables with cold water. Cold because this allows the flavor and nutrients to be fully extracted from the bones, and use filtered if you have chlorine or fluoride in your water source.

Add 1-2 Tbsps of vinegar and allow to sit for about an hour. You really need to do this to allow the minerals to be extracted from the bones. I let it sit while I wash dishes and clean up the kitchen. This way it is no hassle at all.

Turn the slow cooker to low and allow to simmer overnight. I usually let it go for about 18-24 hours.

Once it has cooled a bit, strain chicken stock using a colander, sieve or cheesecloth.

Store in quart canning jars and use in soups, stews, sauces and for cooking grains.