Once you see how easy and tasty it is to make your own homemade chicken stock or broth using a whole chicken, leftover bones, fresh vegetables, vegetable scraps, and lots of fresh herbs, you'll never go back to canned or box versions again. The depth of flavor in this rich broth is incredible, plus your home is going to smell AMAZING!
Using a 6 to 7-quart Dutch oven or large soup stockpot, place the whole chicken (giblets removed) in the pan along with the onion and celery. Sprinkle in the salt.
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Roast the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, uncovered. The chicken should no longer be pink on the inside, the skin should be browned, and the internal temperature (at the thickest part of the thigh) should read 160° F.Once thoroughly roasted, transfer the chicken to a large baking sheet to cool slightly. Once cooled, remove the meat from the bones but set aside, seal, and refrigerate the chicken breast meat for another recipe. Discard the chicken skins.
Remove the chicken fat from the Dutch oven but leave the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Those are full of flavor and needed for the broth. ** If making Scratch Chicken Noodle Soup, reserve about 4 tablespoons of this fat for use in that recipe.
Move the Dutch oven to the stove over medium-high heat. Transfer the bones and the dark meat from the legs and thighs back to the pot. Add in garlic, ketchup, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, scrape up the brown bits to add the flavor into the broth. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 hours.
As foam develops on the surface of the broth, skim it off and discard it.
After 3 hours have passed, use a strainer to divide the broth from the bones, meat, and vegetables. Remove the meat from the bones, seal, and refrigerate for another recipe.The broth is now ready to freeze, refrigerate for later use or use immediately.