Make Delicious Nutritious Bone Broth
Bone broth is simply broth made from bones, it can be made from beef and pork but I personally prefer the taste, versatility and nutrition profile chicken makes. Chicken bones such as necks and feet make the most gelatinous and collagen dense broths, but you can save any chicken bones and carcasses from the chicken you cook at home and reserve them for broth making. I save these in one freezer bag with veggie scraps until I have enough to make a batch. Its an excellent way to use up what normally would end up thrown out to create something incredibly nourishing, tasty and versatile. I generally do both - save bones and veg scraps in addition to purchasing chicken feet so I can reduce waste while also making my broth very collagen and amino acid rich!
Traditionally all soups, and broth or stock used in cooking would actually be made this way.
You can use your bone broth any way you would normally use chicken broth in a recipe, add it to soups, risotto, sauces, gravies, sip it on its own, sip it with some veggies and miso, steam veggies, cook rice with it etc. some people even add it to smoothies.
How to Make Bone Broth
Making bone broth is very simple
Purchase some bones from your butcher such as chicken feet, or necks and backs. or simply save the bones from your roasted chicken (including legs and wings) I typically save my bones plus use additional feet to get the thickest most collagen dense, thick broth. You will add these bones to a large pot, slow cooker or dutch oven. If you had any herbs like rosemary cooking with your chicken you can include this as well!
Combine this with a few veggies for flavour (I typically will reserve all carrot peels or ends including the greens, celery scraps and hearts, onion ends and peels, bits of herbs that i didn’t use up, I save these in a large bag in the freezer with the bones) you can do it this way or use fresh veggies. Then simply top this up with filtered water just until bones are covered (about 12 cups ).
Then add 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, for some acidity which breaks down the collagen and makes it more abundant in the broth, add pepper and herbs for flavour.
Bring this all to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cover. Cook for at least 12 hours, or until reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, leaving you with about 8 cups of bone broth. The more it reduces, the more intense the flavour becomes and the more collagen is extracted. I literally leave it on the stove at a very low simmer over night until I am ready to divy it into jars and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
The broth is strained from all the solid bones and veg which get composted.
Bone Broth Benefits
Bone broth is high in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids - the building blocks of protein. It also contains bioavailable collagen, which can be very healing for the gut lining, and all other connective tissues including hair, nails, bones and joints.
Because broth is liquid and easy to digest, these nutrients are easy for the body to absorb, making them more available to the body especially for those with digestive issues.
Full Recipe
Ingredients
600 g whole chicken feet, neck or backs - fresh or frozen
plus any additional chicken bones reserved from whole roasted chickens and varied bones saved from drumsticks and thighs etc
*i strongly suggest using organic, pastured raised chicken bones
12 cups filtered water
1.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
veggies: roughly 1 whole large carrot, 1 celery heart or 3 small stalks, and one cooking onion with the skin
(or use your reserved veggie scraps: carrot ends and peels, celery hearts and ends, a few ends of cooking onions)
4 or more whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
a small bundle of any of one or a few of the following herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley
sea salt to taste - add last
*tip: make sure you have plenty of bones, only about 1 : 4 veggie to bone ratio.
and in your pot the water is only just covering your bones, too much water will make weak, bland broth, which will still have all the benefits although less potent.
Method
To a large pot or dutch oven, add all your bones, veggies, pepper and herbs (Note: This can also be done in a Crock-Pot or Instant Pot.)
Top with filtered water just until covered (about 12 cups). This should reduce down by about 1/3 or more, leaving you with about 8 cups of bone broth.
Add apple cider vinegar, which is added for acidity to break down the collagen and makes it more abundant in the broth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 12 hours, or until reduced by 1/3 ish, The more it reduces, the more intense the flavour will become and the more collagen will be extracted.
Strain and discard the bones. Season with sea salt to taste. Either use immediately or store in glass jars and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 months. Ensure to leave an inch at the top of the jars to allow for expansion in the freezer, or your jars could crack.
Proper bone broth should gelatinize when refrigerated because of the collagen content. This is what we want! When reheated it liquifies again, just like any store-bought chicken broth.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of bone broth but making it yourself is not feasible - I highly suggest https://shorbabrothbar.com/ Mithalee’s shorba bone broth is made locally, is incredibly high quality and full of flavour!
