Who would have ever thought bone broth would be a trendy food?
Our ancestors have been making it and drinking it for millennia. So how is it that something so old and so common has become so new and so… cool?
Bone broth offers some pretty significant health benefits. It’s good for digestion, promotes joint health, gives the immune system a boost, and strengthens skin, hair, and fingernails. Plus it tastes really good! Whether you’re adding it to soups or stews, or drinking it straight, it makes for a tasty, (and healthy!) addition to your diet.
Now you can buy this liquid gold at stores and restaurants and, as I understand it, even from street vendors in some parts of the country. But why pay for bone broth when it’s something you can easily make at home?
So how to make it? Listen, if you’re looking for a detailed, 1 tablespoon of this a 1/2 cup of that kind of recipe, then you’ve probably come to the wrong place. This is a basic, this is how I do it kind of recipe, and you are free to change things up as you will.
I mean, it’s bone broth. It’s not complicated. You can do this on the stove top, but a slow cooker makes it so easy. Here’s what you need:
- Chicken or beef bones
- Vegetables and/or vegetable trimmings
- Herbs
- Seasonings
- Apple cider vinegar and/or red wine
- Water
You’ll want to roast the bones first. And don’t skip this step because it really adds flavor.
When I make beef bone broth, I have to buy bones from my local butcher shop for just that purpose. I sprinkle them with salt and pepper and roast them at a high temperature — 425 to 450 — for an hour or so or until they are well-carmelized. This will be your base for your bone broth.
When making chicken bone broth, I just use leftover cooked bones from past meals. I save the carcasses from rotisserie chickens and bones from split chicken breasts and freeze them in freezer bags. When I think I have enough to fill my slow cooker 1/2 to 2/3 full, it’s time to make broth.
You don’t have to put vegetables in your broth, but I like the added flavor. You can roast those, too, or just use fresh. But I really don’t recommend adding a lot of your best vegetables. Trust me, they will be cooked to death, only to be thrown away in the end.
Honestly, why not just collect vegetable trimmings you would throw out anyway? Most of my peelings and ends and vegetable castaways end up in my compost bin, but I throw some into freezer bags and in two or three weeks I’ll have plenty for a batch of bone broth.
The herb combination I add is probably never the same twice. My favorites are parsley, rosemary, chives, and bay leaf, but I’ll use virtually any herb I have in the cupboard or fridge.
A handful of salt, another of black peppercorns, and good dashes of any other spices that strike my fancy get thrown on top.
Some insist that apple cider vinegar or red wine help draw more flavor and nutrition from the bones. I generally try to add a couple tablespoons up to 1/4 cup. This time I added a secret ingredient as well, just for a little added flavor — leftover pickle juice! Can’t hurt, right? Feel free to experiment on your own. Add soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and various vinegars or even fruit juice. But experiment with caution, at least at first!
When all the ingredients have been added to my slow cooker, I pour water on top to within 1/2-inch to an inch from the rim. I put on the lid and I turn the slow cooker on LOW.
The broth should simmer for at least 12 to 14 hours, but the longer, the better. Most of the time, I let mine cook for 24 hours. When it’s done, I turn it off and allow it to cool. Then it’s time for the straining.
It’s easiest for me to use a gallon pitcher. A little at a time I ladle the broth and vegetables through a fine-mesh strainer and into the pitcher, pressing the liquid from the vegetables as much as possible.
In the end I’m left with close to a gallon of bone broth. When the liquid is completely cool I pour it into jars, top with lids, and put my broth in the freezer. It’s ready then to add to soups, or to heat up in individual servings when cold season strikes!
**Glass jars WILL break in the freezer if you overfill them. Never fill a jar above the shoulder, as shown in the photo below, and be careful not to store jars in the freezer where they can be knocked together.
Bone broth is tasty, nutritious, and easy to make. And with winter and all its potential colds, coughs, and sniffles looming ahead, it’s time I start building up my broth supply. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same!
