I have made bone broth so many times and every time I show some of it, someone asks me for details. So here it is. A post dedicated to bone broth!
Okay first, what is bone broth? Bone broth is the liquid created when animal bones and connective tissue is boiled down. Typically, the bones are pretty bare and don’t have tons of meat on them. It is not a typical “stock” because it cooks down for much more time.
Second, what are the benefits?
Bone broth is known to be antiaging, it supports gut and joint health, promotes sleep and the reason I make sure to make it during the cold, germy months – it supports immune functions.
Now, how to make it?! It is so so simple and anything goes. You pretty much just need some animal bones.
You can use any bones – chicken bones, ribs, bones from steak or pork. ANYTHING. And then you can add veggies, herbs and spices if you want! Since I use veggie scraps, this helps make less waste, repurposes the veggies and spices up the flavor. I usually just enjoy this in a mug on its own but I also use it in soups. So this is what I do…
When I cook throughout the week, my veggie scraps go in the freezer. Tops of carrots, broccoli stems, the outer layers of onions or brussel sprouts, leaves off celery, ends of asparagus, herbs that might be on their last leg – you get the picture. I save all these things in a ziplock bag, or two, and store it in the freezer until I’m ready to make my broth. Veggies vary every time. Amounts of the veggies vary. And every time my bone broth is made, the taste varries. It’s always AMAZING though.
Now for the bones. Same situation as the veggies! Freeze anything and everything. If we have chicken wings one night, bones are saved. Ribs, save the bones. Rotisserie chicken, save the whole carcass. T-Bone steak, keep that bone! Again – you get it. You can also get just animal bones from the store! You can ask the butcher if they have any they want to give you or sometimes they have them already packaged in the freezer section, just ask where. These though, are bones you wouldn’t necessarily find in a meal you were having – femurs, marrow, neck 🙂 You can use anything. I do however, recommend always having some sort of chicken bone in your broth just for taste purposes. Beef and pork bones create a fattier/oilier broth. While filled with tons more collagen, I just prefer to always add chicken bones whenever beef and pork bones are in my broth for a lighter taste.
Amounts?? No idea. Haha. I save all these things on the regular and if I’m ready to make a broth and need some extra bones, I get a small pack at the store. So I use a large pot. I don’t know how many ounces it is, ugh, I know I’m the worst. But it’s my largest stock pot. When I add the bones and veggies to my pot, it probably hits about half way or just under half way. Then I fill the pot with water, add fresh garlic cloves, salt, pepper, maybe half of a lemon if I haven’t saved lemon already. Like I said, ANYTHING goes!
Cook time! Shockingly, this I know. The longer, the better! The cooking length of bone broth is what makes it bone broth. You want ample time to extract alllll the goodness from these bones. If you’re doing it on the stove, keep it up on low for at leasttttttttt 8-12 hours. I like to do 24. I know leaving the stove on for that long and over night might freak some people out. In that case, you can use the crockpot! On low for 8 hours. You can even do that twice. I don’t know why, but the stove way is my flavorite way. Just make sure you leave the lid on. I once didn’t and the entire thing evaporated and reduced by almost half. I wanted to cry.
The draining. This is the most tedious timely part, aside from the actual cooking. I use 2 bowls, 3 strainers and the pot everything cooked in. First, I remove all the soggy veggies and bones with a slotted ladle into a medium bowl. Then, I arrange all three strainers over a large bowl and pour all the liquid in. I wash the pot, wash the strainers and then do this again from the bowl to the pot. Wash the strainers and the bowl and do this about 3 more times. This whole process takes about 15 minutes and is my least favorite part of the whole thing but totally worth it. You want your broth nice and smooth when sipping on.
I usually store all the broth in mason jars. This makes it easy to grab and drink right out of. You can save jars from other foods like pickles and sauce or you can get jars off amazon. Or you can just put the broth in large tupperwares and spoon out into a mug when ready. You can also freeze the broth. I keep it in the fridge for about a week or freezer for 4-6 months.
I think that’s it! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Just know anything goes, the longer it cooks, the better and take your time straining it. You really can’t go wrong. Enjoy!
