Cheap Cooking Ideas: What is Chicken Bullion?

Every once in a while you get a question that surprises you. I have been cooking with cheap cooking ideas for so many years that sometimes I forget that cheap cooking is something new to some of us. It's good for me to remember to step back and remember the basics myself.

I got a question from a client I was working with this morning confused about how to save money by making chicken stock herself instead of buying the canned broth version at 4 times the price of homemade.

Most of us wrongly think that when we cook down a chicken carcass at home that we will be making chicken broth. Not so, we are really making chicken stock. Chicken stock is made from slowly cooking down and simmering the bony parts of a chicken, turkey, beef, pork or any other bone in meat. Stocks can also be made with a combination of vegetables and herbs like onion, garlic, celery, and parsley.

Stocks have a fuller mouth feel and richer flavor that do broths due to the gelatin that is released from the joints in the bones when they are long-simmered. Homemade stocks are cheap, flavorful and make wonderfully rich soups and stews. In my food snobbish opinion stocks are superior to broths because of the richness of their flavor.

Broths, on the other hand, are made from simmering the meat, rather than the bones, and tend to have weaker and less rich flavors. Be aware that some of the commercial broths on the market have very high sodium contents and are enriched with bullion to make their flavors stronger. Commercially prepared broths are $.79-$.99 per can at full shelf price, where as homemade broths are practically free.

Bullions are shelf stable and come in either grannular or cubed form. Chicken bullion is not the only bullion you can buy. Other flavors of bullion are vegetable, fish, turkey and beef although some flavors will only be available at gourmet shops and restaurant supplies. Most grocery stores carry chicken and beef bullion. You can use a small amount of bullion (really salty, and a little goes a very long way) either mixed as directed into an instant 'broth' or in granular form for quick flavor in soups, stews and gravies.

I keep a package of bullion on my shelf for the very occasional need. I don't buy prepackaged seasoning envelops or mixes due to their expense. One package of chicken gravy is a buck, while I can get a whole box of chicken bullion cubes at the dollar store for that much.

The real money saver here is to use your own stock or make your own gravies from defatted pan drippings rather than using instant seasoning packets. If the flavor is a little flat or weak I use a small amount of bullion to kick it up a bit.

From a health stand point bullions are not the greatest, so I use them very sparingly. Commercial bullions and spice mixes,for that matter, contain a lot of junk (salt, dehydrogenates fat, monosodium glutamate, dehydrated carrot flakes, dehydrated onion and garlic, sugar, chicken powders, antioxidants mix, and chemicals to make them shelf stable). As I've said, though a very little goes a really long way. I doubt small quantities of bullion will kill you...you've been eating it all your life. I still prefer the homemade stock when I have the option since it tastes better, is cheaper, and has none of the bad stuff in it for you.

What is chicken bullion? A little money saving secret that I stash in my cupboards to use instead of a more expensive seasoning packet of the same ingredients. I like to think of chicken bullion as a little insurance policy in my cupboards for the times when I am out of stock or need a quick punch a blander than desired dish.