Bone Broth is all the rage right now. Touted for its many nutritional benefits, bone broth was once relatively difficult to buy commercially (you would have to go to your butcher or perhaps your neighborhood health food store). Now it is becoming more and more main stream. Recently, I even saw bone broth cartridges for a Keurig. Go figure.
But all of these commercial options have one thing in common – they are expensive. Here is a little secret that the bone broth marketers don’t want you to know……bone broth is SUPER easy to make at home. This is awesome news! Now we don’t have to choose between new yoga pants and fancy bone broth. We can have both. Yassssssss.
The What & The Why
Before we get into the “how,” let’s talk a little bit about the “what” and the “why.”
Bone Broth is really just the fancy-super-food word for stock or broth – the only difference is that it has been cooked for a long time. The extended cooking time increases the nutrient density of the stock by allowing more time for all of the “good stuff” to get cooked out of the bones. What is the good stuff? Protein. Gelatin. Collagen. Minerals (including Calcium). The other bonus, the longer you cook your stock, the more flavorful and rich it becomes. Yum.
In the past, most traditional kitchens had a continuous pot of stock simmering on the stove, and this continuously cooking liquid was used in much of the household cooking, essentially providing a liquid multivitamin and flavor injection into daily meals.
Once you learn how easy it is to make your own bone broth at home, you too can benefit from this same nutrition and flavor injection in your meals.
Bone broth isn’t just great for soup (which, of course, it is), it is also can be used for lots of other things – like to make grains (rice, quinoa, etc.) or in place of milk/cream in mashed potatoes…..really, it can be used as a replacement for the liquid in pretty much any savory dish. It can even be enjoyed plain, as a soothing nutritious hot beverage for a cold day.
The How
Bone broth is ridiculously easy to make. It is pretty much a bunch of bones and veggie scraps boiled in a pot for a long time. Done. Okay…..here are a few more details for those of you that want a “recipe.”
Ingredients
- Bones (duh): Every time I roast a chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, I throw the bones in a freezer bag and stash it in the freezer. That way I always have some chicken bones on hand to make broth. (Side Note: If you are going to make bone broth out of beef soup bones, or any bones with a significant amount of marrow, I would recommend pre-roasting the bones before boiling them. This additional step does actually improve the flavor of the resultant broth. Personally, I have not found much flavor difference between roasted and non-roasted poultry bones – chicken and turkey).
- Veggie Scraps: I do the same freezer bag trick with appropriate vegetable scraps (the ends of onions, carrot peelings, the butts of celery stalks….any veggie that I think would be good in the flavor profile of my bone broth). I always have a couple of freezer bags of chicken bones and veggie scraps going at any given time.
- Apple Cider Vinegar (splash – optional)
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
- Garlic cloves (optional)
- Any other junk you want to throw in there. Experiment!
- Optional Add-Ins: Want more Collagen? Add some additional chicken wings or use a higher bone/water ratio.
Cooking Methods
Instapot: The Instapot is BY FAR my favorite way to make bone broth. If you do not own an Instapot, I highly recommend it. An Instapot is an electric pressure cooker that is like a magical pot of awesome-ness. It is seriously my favorite appliance. I use mine about 90% of the time just to make bone broth, but it also can cook frozen chicken in less than an hour. WHAT?!?! Throw your bones (the bones of 1-2 chickens – I lean towards 2) into the pot with your veggies scraps, cover with water, add additional spices & vinegar. Turn on that sucker. And cook for 2 hours. Boom. That’s it.
Crock Pot: No Instapot? A Crock Pot is your next best bet. I cooked bone broth in a Crock Pot for many years, until I finally invested in my Instapot. Same instructions as above, but let your broth cook overnight. I would usually start my broth on high, let it cook like that for at least an hour, and then turn it to low when I went to bed. Wake up. Boom. Bone broth.
Stovetop: You can always go the traditional way and cook your bone broth on the stovetop. You will need a big heavy-duty stock pot and a day at home. This method is actually super nice on a lazy Saturday when you are going to spend the day cooking and doing other “home stuff.” Same instructions as above. Simmer on low/medium for the whole damn day.
COOKING TIMES: Cooking bone broth is not an exact science, and in fact, it is pretty hard to screw it up. The only time I have ever “overcooked’ my bone broth was in my Instapot (when I first got it), and I think what happened with that is that I cooked it so long that the chicken bones started to disintegrate to the marrow, which dramatically changed the flavor from what I was used to…… But if you are not using an Instapot, it is pretty hard to overcook your bone broth.
STRAINING & STORAGE: Once you have cooked your bone broth, you will need to strain it. I like to use a fine metal colander. The fat content of your broth will depend on the fat content of your bones/scrap material. If your broth is fatty, cooling it overnight in the fridge will allow you to skim the fat from the top of the broth.
A NOTE ON CONSISTENCY: Really great bone broth will be gelatinous when refrigerated. If yours isn’t – don’t freak out, it’s cool. You just made some really yummy chicken stock. Keep experimenting with your bone/water ratio and cooking time until you get your broth to the consistency that you like.
A NOTE ON VEGETABLES: You can really use any veggies you like in your bone broth, but in my experience some veggies have a very strong and specific flavor that can overwhelm the flavor of your broth (ie: leeks, peppers, fennel, etc.). It is all a big experiment and everyone has different preferences, but remember, you will be cooking the crap out of your broth, so a little can go a long way.
