Broth

Broth
Making your own broth, is a real money saver. We always save and freeze the bones, anytime we have dinner or otherwise process animals from our homestead. I also save and freeze dry vegetable scraps to make measured out broth bags, ready to add to the broth. This is something most people don’t do. Having not just the bones, but also the vegetables and herbs ready in advance, means that making broth is an easy thing to do, that doesn’t take much work.
Canning the broth, especially in the electric pressure canner, isn’t much work either, and investing in a brew pot with a spout at the bottom, means no straining and no need for removing fat. Not that broth has to be pressure canned. Waterbath canning doesn’t get the temperature high enough to make it safe to eat.
Best of all is, that it’s free. It’s also something we use every day in cooking or as a quick nutrient dense drink.
Here is a breakdown of what we have saved this year so far.

Average Prices for Organic Broths
Based on current retail data from major U.S. retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Target, and specialty sites (as of November 2025), here are the average prices for organic broths of each type. Prices are calculated per 32 fl oz (1 quart) for consistency, as this is a standard carton size. Note that organic duck and rabbit broths are less common and often sold as premium bone broths (typically for human or pet use), leading to higher averages. Prices can vary by brand, location, and promotions.
* Organic Duck Broth: $10.50 per 32 fl oz
(Derived from available listings like Pacific Foods Organic Duck Bone Broth at ~$8 for 32 fl oz equivalent and wholesale averages of $14.13/quart; limited options push the average higher.)
* Organic Chicken Broth: $3.50 per 32 fl oz
(Common brands like Great Value Organic at $2.19, Pacific Foods at $3.69–$6.99, and Imagine Organic at ~$3.50; widely available and affordable.)
* Organic Beef Broth: $3.75 per 32 fl oz
(Examples include Great Value Organic at $1.98, bettergoods Grass-Fed at ~$6.50 equivalent, and Pacific/Imagine at $3–$5; similar to chicken in accessibility.)
* Organic Rabbit Broth: $17.00 per 32 fl oz
(Primarily pet-oriented products like Crude Carnivore and Hare Today at $16.99 for 16 fl oz; human-grade options are rare, resulting in a premium price—double for the full quart.)

Our 2025 Organic Broth Production & Estimated Value
Using the average retail prices per 32 fl oz (1 quart) from current U.S. market data:
Broth Type Quarts Made Avg. Price per Quart Total Estimated Value
Organic Chicken 120 $3.50 $420.00
Organic Beef 10 $3.75 $37.50
Organic Rabbit 16 $17.00 $272.00
Organic Duck 32 $10.50 $336.00
Grand Total Value (retail equivalent): $1,065.50
That’s a huge savings compared to buying at retail—especially on the rabbit and duck broth.

My highly frugal way is to dispense with broth entirely and use water that vegetables are cooked in, especially nettles, but if you have bones and such to use that would be good to use.

But vegetable scraps would be good for me to gather up and use too.

We rarely use water to cook in. We use broth instead, to maximize nutrients in our meals. I get hospital treatments, that deplete my bodies vitamin and minerals, vitamin pills don’t get absorbed, so I concentrate the vitamin and mineral content in what I eat and drink. All vegetables and things like rice and pasta are cooked in broth. The leftover liquid in the pot, is then made into gravy or soups. Plus since we raise our own meat. We always end up with a lot of bones. So far, we have processed 400 pounds of meat, and we have more chickens to process in December.

My personal usage of broths in the kitchen has increased after being on Permies for a while. I've learned how to make a general Kitchen Scrap Stock to keep on hand but the next step is to learn how to preserve it through canning.

If I might ask, do you try to can a whole bunch in one event or are you making broth and canning it on a more frequent schedule? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around if it is worth it to get a BIG canner right off the bat or if a small one (and the savings that comes with it) is more appropriate.

Bone broth is now a must-have for me whenever I process an animal.  Just last week I put up 7 quarts from a roadkill deer, and that was just the leg bones since I was in haste and buried the rest as I was cutting the meat off to can in warm weather.  With a critter that I get to decide myself when to do, I do it in cold weather and use every bit, even skinning the head, extracting the brain, and putting the rest into the pot.  And, here's a shortcut....put the whole mess in the pressure cooker.  2 or 3 hours at 15 pounds and sheep ribs are practically mush.

Timothy Norton wrote:My personal usage of broths in the kitchen has increased after being on Permies for a while. I've learned how to make a general Kitchen Scrap Stock to keep on hand but the next step is to learn how to preserve it through canning.

If I might ask, do you try to can a whole bunch in one event or are you making broth and canning it on a more frequent schedule? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around if it is worth it to get a BIG canner right off the bat or if a small one (and the savings that comes with it) is more appropriate.

I actually have two pressure canners. I have a regular presto pressure canner and an electric pressure canner also from presto. As for the logistics, I simply leave the pots on the stove between each batch I can. That way it doesn’t go bad, and I have nothing to stress about. We leave it to cook for 24 hours and then keep it simmering until we have canned/used all of the broth inside. We have finished one of my brew pots, and are about halfway through the second one. Both of them was start Wednesday. I can do this, because my pots not only have sprouts, but also a thermometer so I can make sure they stay on a safe temperature. All jars are pressure canned for 25 minutes. Before storage. Having two canners also means I can get it all canned faster. The pots can take a total of 60 quarts, but that includes the bones and vegetables. We usually get around 50 quarts when we use both brew pots, so it’s hard to get it all canned the same day. It also doesn’t harm the broth, to simmer for an extended time.
As for the canners, I love them both, but do to my memory problems, it’s safer for me to use the electric canner. It will remind when to warm up jars, when to fill them and when to put the regulator on, and all times are already programmed in, so after you put the regulator on, it does the rest on its own. We got it, after my short term memory got so bad, that I broke two of the regular canners. If I am alone, I only use the electric since it’s safer that way.

Usually when I make bone broth, I use it up quickly.  I make rice for me and the dog with broth rather than water.

Any extra goes into the freezer.

I think it is wonderful that you have enough to can it for the future.

Anne Miller wrote:Usually when I make bone broth, I use it up quickly.  I make rice for me and the dog with broth rather than water.

Any extra goes into the freezer.

I think it is wonderful that you have enough to can it for the future.

My favorite is actually Turkey broth, so I am looking forward to thanksgiving. We always start broth with the bones left from the Turkey, and I usually also can any leftover Turkey meat. It’s so easy to make stew, if you have all of the ingredients ready and processed. I also use it for Turkey and gravy, the use is endless.

Timothy Norton wrote:My personal usage of broths in the kitchen has increased after being on Permies for a while. I've learned how to make a general Kitchen Scrap Stock to keep on hand but the next step is to learn how to preserve it through canning.

If I might ask, do you try to can a whole bunch in one event or are you making broth and canning it on a more frequent schedule? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around if it is worth it to get a BIG canner right off the bat or if a small one (and the savings that comes with it) is more appropriate.

I have 2 pressure canners and 3 or 4 different sized wb canners.  I save up my bones and scraps.  Once every couple of months, I make stock using my pc.  2 - 21/2 hours with the pc full of water to the fill line.  Jar it up and wb 1 hour (it's flavoured water as I do not leave meat etc in my stock).  Vegetable scraps are taken out and I grind up the bones (they are very soft now) and make dog food for my spoiled noisemaker.

At the hunt camp I go to, we have a smoker we generally use for hog meat. After cleaning my hog/deer and removing all the meat this last year, decided I'd try to smoke the bones prior to making them into stock.

Y'all, this alone completely changed my chilli game.

If you got access to a freeze dryer, it makes a nice instant broth as well, though be aware it can leave a bit of a strong smokey smell in the dehydrater, so ideally have something planned after that wouldn't be hurt by a slight smokey flavor.

For deer specifically if you're in a CWD area (we aren't yet but probably in a few years), be mindful of using spine/neck.

Welcome, Doug! And, nice tip on the smoked bone broth for chili!! I'll be sharing that one with the hubby, for sure.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:My favorite is actually Turkey broth, so I am looking forward to thanksgiving. We always start broth with the bones left from the Turkey, and I usually also can any leftover Turkey meat. It’s so easy to make stew, if you have all of the ingredients ready and processed. I also use it for Turkey and gravy, the use is endless.

My family loves my bone broth soup so I never have any broth left over.

Put the whole turkey carcass back in the roasting pan, plus any bones, fill with water and cook until the meat alls fall off.  Add spaghetti pasta, cook and that is Turkey Noodle soup.