Bone Broth Recipe
Bone broth is a flavorful liquid made from slow cooking animal bones in water along with other flavorful spices and aromatics. The long slow cooking of animal bones in water allows a full extraction of all the minerals and nutrients from the ingredients used, most notably calcium and collagen from the bones that are essential for cell repair and healthy bone maintenance. Bone broth has also been reported to improve your digestion and immune system, maintain healthy joints and muscles, hair, skin, and nails, help keep a healthy weight, keep inflammation at bay, and help your body detox and much more. This is one recipe that you can throw into your slow cooker and let it do its thing for hours while you are away at work or overnight while you catch up on your sleep. Use the ingredients listed in my recipe below as a starting guide. The positive immune-boosting and healing effects on your body make this old-fashioned tradition worth reinventing.
Servings Prep Time
1quart pot 15minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
24hours 15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1quart pot 15minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
24hours 15 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Rinse and clean the bones under water. Pat them dry.
  2. For added flavor, broil the bones on both sides until they are well-browned and fragrant. Roasting the bones is highly recommended for better flavor but is not mandatory.
  3. Once the bones are browned, drain off any fat and transfer the bones to a large pot.
  4. Add the fresh vegetables as mentioned or any additional vegetables to enhance the flavor, like kale, spinach or mushrooms. Avoid using brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, turnips, Brussel sprouts or beets) as these vegetables will lend a bitter taste to your stock.
  5. Add purified water to cover the bones and vegetables.
  6. Add the apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, sea salt, whole peppercorns, onions, and garlic.
  7. Take all of the sprigs of spices and tie them together with a thin string or sewing thread. Place the string of spices on the top of the mixture.
  8. Then bring the water to a boil and immediately cut back to a slow, steady simmer.
  9. Continue to simmer for 12 to 24 hours. Simmering for 24 hours is ideal. Keep a lid on the pot to avoid having to add too much water (but add water if and when necessary.
  10. Through the cooking process, skim off any foam and add water as needed. The fat should rise to the top making it easier to skim.
  11. When the stock is finished simmering, filter through a fine mesh sieve. You may want to do this a few times to get rid of smaller pieces.
  12. Depending on the bones, ligaments and cartilage used will determine how much gelatin remains in your broth. You may not see much gelatin until after your broth has been refrigerated. Either way, it is not a problem if the consistency is just liquid. The gelatin will vary from batch to batch.
Recipe Notes
  1. Bone broth can be made from any types of bones you like such as beef, chicken, pork, lamb or even fish. You can use any proportion of bones you prefer.
  2. I recommend a pot made of either stainless steel or porcelain because the acidic vinegar or lemon juice may cause aluminum to leach into the broth.
  3. Never cook or reheat the broth (or gelatin) in the microwave. There is some question as to the safety of doing so. Certain amino acids may convert into forms that can be toxic to the body when microwaved.
  4. A vegetarian broth recipe is made the same way except you eliminate the bones all together and just use vegetables (for this purpose, start with step 4).