“Indeed, stock is everything in cooking…without it nothing can be done.” Auguste Escoffier
Broth or stock as some call it is one of the most nutritious of foods. In many cultures it is consumed almost daily. Ancient cultures would not think of throwing out the bones, the place that holds the essence of the animal. They knew to slowly cook them with water and maybe other herbs and ingredients to extract the precious life giving nutrients from them.
Chinese medicine says that the bones hold “jing”, also thought of as our essence. Once depleted by stress and poor diet, it is hard to replenish. Consuming things like broth on a regular basis helps to balance and replenish this. Not only does broth warm the digestive fire and ready it for more food, but it provides minerals and gelatin.
Gelatin, often just thought of only for dessert, is extremely nutritious and healing. It helps us to build strong bones, hair, teeth, and fingernails and is also very good for digestion. It is hydrophilic which helps to keep the mucosal lining of the intestines in good shape.
You can use any kind of bones you have access to. The traditional bones we most commonly use to make broth are beef and chicken bones, but you may also use lamb, turkey, fish, seafood, duck, venison, buffalo or any other bones you can find.
- Bones – preferably soup, shank, ribs, marrow, oxtail or knuckle bones; if using chicken – try to salvage the feet and head along with the other bones for an extra rich broth; extra tough cuts of meat will give extra flavor as well. (You can also use pork bones as well as any wild game animal or fish bones)
- Filtered Cold Water to cover
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- (Optional) – Veggies like potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, rosemary, nettle or any other medicinal herb
- Optional Tip: You can ignore this first step to save time, but for a more robust flavor, it is best to roast the bones first. Simply place the bones in a large baking pan or casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour or until browned.
- Transfer bones to a large crock pot or stock pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a boil and skim off the scum that will rise to the top.
- Turn down to a simmer or low.
- Add the vinegar and salt.
- If you can, let this broth cook for 36-72 hours. You may need to add more water as it evaporates.
- The minimum amount of cooking time would be 6 hours, but overnight is best.
The longer you cook the bones, the more medicinal your broth will be.
Store the broth in pint or 1-quart mason jars and add a little bit of fat to the surface of the broth in each jar before sealing with mason jar top. This will help preserve the broth. Once your broth cools, it may become jelled. This means you have a gelatin-rich broth. will liquefy when heated. The broth will keep for about 5 days in the refrigerator or may be frozen for several months. You can freeze glass jars as long as you leave 2 inches of air space at the top. Use to make soups, stews and sauces, to cook your grains and beans, or to drink before meals or anytime.
Happy to learn about roasting….will next time
Hello, I was wondering if you are supposed to leave the stock overnight & wait for the fat to rise to the top them scrape it off! Wouldn’t it be bad for you to eat the fat in the stock? On your video it doesn’t show that process… please could you explain perhaps I’ve not been doing it right ! As it cools you get a gel like substance rise to the top I assumed that was fat ?
Hi Vicky, Great question! Whether or not to eat the fat is a controversial subject but I am inclined NOT to eat the fat only because it has been simmering for a long time. So, when you put your broth in the fridge, the fat will naturally rise to the top once it is chilled and then you can gently scrape it off. You can also leave it on and it will serve as a natural preservative and help keep the broth good longer. In that case, you would just scrape off the fat overtime you go to use some broth and then put the fat back on. The fat is usually white and somewhat hard where the broth is ideally gelatinous. Make sense? I hope this helps. Best of luck! Amanda
Also, one more thing…beef fat makes wonderful candles. If you save the fat, eventually you will have enough to melt down and use for candle making. They burn long and clean. Even better than beeswax. Enjoy!
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Hi Jenny, Way to spread the bone broth love…Thanks for the ping. Love, Amanda