Freezing Bone Broth

Thanksgiving is one of the best times to make some bone broth. Most of us are enjoying a delicious turkey dinner which means a bird full of bones! Turkey broth will work great in soups or used in many different recipes. I can usually get a couple batches of broth out of our turkey, too. What do you do once you’ve made the broth though? There are a few different methods that you can use but the one I’ll be discussing today is freezing bone broth.

Steps to Freezing

The first thing that you need to do is make your bone broth. I made mine in the instant pot and have a post on that here. It’s fairly simple but this needs to be done before you can even think about preserving it in any way. Once your broth is made there are several different things you can do to freeze it. It does not necessarily have to be cooled depending on how you are freezing it. If you aren’t using jars you’ll also need something to store your broth in once frozen too.

Ice Cube Trays

One of my favorite ways to freeze broth is in ice cube trays. Simply pour the broth into the trays and freeze just as you would water. Once the cubes are fully frozen you can pop them out of the tray and store them in a bag or freezer container. You could obviously leave them in the tray too but I find that it tends to take up more space that way. I prefer to throw them in a bag for storage.

These are so easy to throw into recipes while I’m cooking. For anything that calls for a Tbsp or so of water I will be able to use broth instead. It’s just another way to get some added nutrients into a meal or whatever you are cooking. 

Silicone Molds

The second way I typically freeze broth is to put it in silicone molds. The ones that I have are actually bread pans. They work perfectly because they will hold a couple cups of broth and this way I can thaw it out easily. Pour the broth into the molds and slide them into the freezer. Once they are frozen you can pop them out of the molds and put them into bags or containers to store.

I love this method because it’s simple to take them out to thaw them without using a microwave or any other devices. You can also use various sizes of molds too. There are specific soup cubes that are out there that would be perfect for this occasion too. I’d suggest freezing in multiple different increments. Even just one cup of broth is so nice to have on hand and required for recipes. For soups I like to keep batches of two or three on hand. Of course, you could just freeze everything in one cup increments but unless you have a lot of one cup molds that could definitely take more time to get it all frozen. I guess my advice here is to be mindful of what you are going to make with your broth to make sure it’s frozen in increments that you will use. 

Glass Jars

Being honest, this is my least favorite way to freeze broth. I will do it if it is my only option but it’s very much not preferred. There is always a risk of jars cracking and I’ve lost plenty of jars this way. I value my jars way too much for that. 

The best way that I’ve found to freeze in jars is to leave the lids off and to cool the broth first. Let your broth cool on the counter or in the refrigerator. Fill up the jars as full as you want them but make sure you still leave a lot of room in the top for it to expand. Leave the lid off when you put it in the freezer. Once it is frozen then you can add the lid. This reduces the chance of the liquid expanding too much and breaking your jar. It’s still not perfect though and I’ve still had jars break for one reason or another. 

Refrigerate Broth

If you can’t freeze your broth right away make sure you put it in the refrigerator. If will keep for a day or so in there before you need to make sure that it is frozen. I will often freeze half of the broth one day and the other half the next day. I don’t have enough freezer space or things to freeze my broth in to get it all done in one day. It’s totally fine if that is the case for you and you need to wait a day or so to get it all finished. Put it in a covered bowl in your fridge and get to it as soon as you can.

The only other way that I know to preserve broth is to pressure can it. For me, that involves borrowing a pressure canner from my mom, canning my broth, then bringing it back to her. Sometimes, that is totally fine. Other times I want something that is more quickly and easily done. 

Freezing bone broth is just such a quick and easy process that it’s definitely my go-to method. It’s so nice to pull out a couple cups of broth and make a quick soup on a rainy or snowy day. How do you process your bone broth? If it’s in the freezer, what is your favorite method?