Bone Broth: You really do need to make it!

wheatlessgirl66

Having read about the nutritional value of bone broth from several sources, I finally made my first batch yesterday. Now, I'm a soup maker from way back, so I'm very familiar with the idea of homemade broth. I just had never made broth in the manner of a long-simmered bone broth. I started with a whole chicken that had not been feed antibiotics, etc. I also added chicken backs, necks, and wing tips, as well as onion, celery and carrot. I followed the recipe for Classic Chicken Bone Broth in "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon and cooked it for 6 hours. At the 4 hour point, the chicken was cooked and falling apart. The delicious smell that had filled my house for four hours had me longing for a taste, so I filled a mug, salted it, and drank the delicious, golden broth. So, so nourishing and good!

Making the broth is simple, even for a person who isn't very comfortable with cooking. There's lots of information online about the nutritional benefits of bone broth as well as recipes with great instructions. You'll find a sample of one here http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/broth-is-beautiful/ --written by Sally Fallon.

I'm sold on bone broth and plan to make beef bone broth next. Have you made it? Share your tips and tricks and any physical benefits you've experienced by drinking it.

Fat4Fuel2

I made broth all winter! Now that it's summer, I'm not as into it because I don't want hot food when I'm already feeling hot. I made beef bone broth! It was super easy! The trick was to roast the bones for about 20 minutes before putting in the water to simmer. Also, I would add more water halfway through the week and a few more bones so it was a "never ending" batch.

Sugarbeat

I would if I could handle the smell of boiled chicken. I can eat chicken all day but put it in a pot or slow cooker and it makes me gag.

Twibbly

Sugarbeat, I use a pressure cooker. Still smells, but not for near as long!

Kitnthecat

I've said before in other posts, so please excuse me if I have said it too much....but bone broth is the best ! Even way back when we called it stock or soup broth it was still good, it tasted great and helped us feel better when under the weather, and I firmly believe that it is an excellent addition to a healthy diet. Soup has always been my favorite food, and I have been making it since I was a toddler playing with a bucket of rainwater adding some assorted leaves from the garden......It is part of my weekly routine.

There are many ways you can make bone broth, so I won't go into too much detail here, but use my family tradition as a base, and have improved my method through trial and error and resources such as Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book.

Bones are precious and should not be discarded before using them to make broth. I save all bones from all the meat I cook, and put them into freezer bags in the freezer as I collect them. When my bag is full, I make broth....chicken, turkey, goose, beef, pork, a nice beef/pork blend, even fish stock. I also get grassfed beef bones for free from my farmers, along with other animal parts like pig head, pig and chicken feet, chicken gizzards and liver, beef liver, etc, and fat to render tallow and lard. I like to use as much of the animals I buy as I can. Lucky for me that not everyone wants the feet, but they make great soup too.

Even if you can't get the bones and parts that I can, you can still collect the bones from any roasted meat, or any piece of meat that you cook. I find that I always have a collection of bones on hand, and don't even need the extras I get in order to keep in good supply. You can choose to roast the bones first or not, whatever you prefer. You can use the slowcooker, pressure cooker or a pot on top of the stove to make bone broth.

I prefer to make mine on top of the stove and will generally boil mine for 8 - 12 hours, depending on the type of bones I use, and how much time I have. I don't have a pressure cooker, and have found that the slow cooker is just too slow and I can;t get the depth of flavour I am looking for, but some people like to use it, so go with what you like.

I cover my bones with cold fresh filtered water and add a splash of apple cider vinegar, and bring to a boil. Skim the scum that rises if any, and discard. After a few hours, add a few stalks of celery and a whole onion for flavour. I used to use carrots too, but now don't want to use them. I add more fresh cold water as the day goes on, always making sure it keeps cooking at a slight boil.


Numerous uses for bone broth:
- to drink on it's own by the mugful
- as a base for other soups...a great stock makes a fabulous soup
- as an addition to cooking and to make sauces
- as a drink while fasting
- reduce more liquid and freeze in ice cube trays for your own bouillion cubes that you can use anytime
- Chill and freeze in mason jars in the freezer for future use.

I have several flavours of bone broth in my freezer at any given time, that's how important it is to me. I place a label on the top of each jar with the type of broth and date I made it, so I can keep using the older jars first. They never get freezer burned. Just remember to keep about 1/6 of the jar unfilled at the top to allow for expansion when freezing. I never salt until I use it, so the jars go into the freezer with plain broth. I salt when drinking it or when cooking.

It really doesn't take a lot of effort to make, and it makes the house smell wonderful. And the flavour and quality is far superior to any store bought broth, and contains no MSG, or sugar or any other weird stuff, so it's good for you and you are getting animo acids and minerals as well. I can make our favorite cauliflower cheese soup in about 20 minutes if I remember to take a couple of jars of broth out of the freezer the day before.

lol, I thought I'd keep this short, but I clearly haven't. And I'm sure I've forgotten something, but this is it briefly....lol.

GrannyMayOz

Thank you so much everyone, I have never done this in my life. We're heading into winter so I am going to get some bones and give this a try. Very excited to follow all the awesome advice here!

jumanajane

I'm drooling just reading your post Janice...and it's 45C here today!

LemonMarmalade

I bone broth. I make ours in a pressure cooker so I don't have to smell it!
I love to thaw a serving, heat it up, put it in the blender with butter, cream with spices. It's perfection. My husband and kids love it.

Kitnthecat

You can truly make anything with the broth. I make all kinds but do like a cream soup most of all. I have a Vitamix blender and can make a quick soup with leftover meat and veggies and cream.

Or if you don't want to blend it, you can make a quick cream of anything soup on the stove. Saute any veggies you like ( mushrooms, celery etc) in butter in a small pot, add chicken broth just to cover and simmer. Add HWC and season, you can even add more butter at the end. Leftover chicken is great to add too. You could either mash or blend or leave ingredients intact, whatever you like. I sometimes make myself just one bowl of mushroom soup this way ( my kids won't eat mushrooms) and since it is so easy, I can cook from scratch for one serving if needed.

Twibbly

Kitnthecat wrote: »

You can truly make anything with the broth. I make all kinds but do like a cream soup most of all. I have a Vitamix blender and can make a quick soup with leftover meat and veggies and cream.

Or if you don't want to blend it, you can make a quick cream of anything soup on the stove. Saute any veggies you like ( mushrooms, celery etc) in butter in a small pot, add chicken broth just to cover and simmer. Add HWC and season, you can even add more butter at the end. Leftover chicken is great to add too. You could either mash or blend or leave ingredients intact, whatever you like. I sometimes make myself just one bowl of mushroom soup this way ( my kids won't eat mushrooms) and since it is so easy, I can cook from scratch for one serving if needed.

Huh. I think I just found my lunch.

jumanajane

Lol, I think we sing from the same humn bool! This is just what I do especially with broccoli or mushrooms and cream and lots of black pepper. A quick whizz and........yum!

jumanajane

Arrgghhh.HYMN BOOK!!!

Sk8Kate

@Kitnthecat why do you leave out carrots now? Would parsnips be ok? If you're straining in the end how much carbs are actually left behind? I was going to use onion, celery, carrots, & parsnips with beef soup bones.

wheatlessgirl66

Um....can bone broth cause discomfort and bloating? Like 1-1 1/2" on waist and tummy, each? I had 3.5 cups of it yesterday. I found people on the GAPS website that have trouble with it, but I don't think I have as many GI issues as they have. Just wondering. I've never had that happen when I made soup.

Twibbly

wheatlessgirl66 wrote: »

Um....can bone broth cause discomfort and bloating? Like 1-1 1/2" on waist and tummy, each? I had 3.5 cups of it yesterday. I found people on the GAPS website that have trouble with it, but I don't think I have as many GI issues as they have. Just wondering. I've never had that happen when I made soup.

What did you make it with? Some people have issues when they make it with veggies for seasoning. How did you drink it? With cream, butter, straight, etc?

People who have issues with histamines tend to have problems with bone broth as well.

Kitnthecat

Kate I leave the carrots out d/t sugar content, but I suppose you could put the carrots and parsnips in as there should not be many carbs left behind. I stopped buying carrots, parsnips, etc, so don't have any on hand anyway now. But I definitely use what I have most times, especially when not aiming to lose weight. Just watch me in July and August when I'll likely throw a lot more veggies in my pot, and add parsley as well at the end ( until it resembles my childhood bucket.) I forgot to mention that I strain all bones and veggies out at the end and throw them out before drinking the broth.

No Ellen, I haven't noticed bloating when drinking bone broth. Did the GAPS people say that it would subside in time ? I know that broth is the basis for the GAPS diet. I may not have bone broth daily, but when I make it I will drink as much as you had yesterday and don't experience any discomfort.

wheatlessgirl66

I used 1 lg onion, 2 stalks celery and 2 peeled carrots, per the recipe in "Nourishing Broth." I strained all that out and drank the broth straight, with salt.

What I read is that some people have a problem with broth that is cooked over an hour or so because like you said, @Twibbly, they have histamine issues. Maybe I'm one of those and didn't know it. I'm miserable, though, so I'm going to lay off the broth and see if it sorts itself out.

Thanks for your help!

Kitnthecat

Hope you feel better Wheatless !

Twibbly

Kitnthecat wrote: »

You can truly make anything with the broth. I make all kinds but do like a cream soup most of all. I have a Vitamix blender and can make a quick soup with leftover meat and veggies and cream.

Or if you don't want to blend it, you can make a quick cream of anything soup on the stove. Saute any veggies you like ( mushrooms, celery etc) in butter in a small pot, add chicken broth just to cover and simmer. Add HWC and season, you can even add more butter at the end. Leftover chicken is great to add too. You could either mash or blend or leave ingredients intact, whatever you like. I sometimes make myself just one bowl of mushroom soup this way ( my kids won't eat mushrooms) and since it is so easy, I can cook from scratch for one serving if needed.

So, I did it a bit differently. I put a block of Kerrygold unsalted butter in the pot & melted it. Added minced garlic and the big carton of mushrooms, then cooked until cooked through. Poured in blender (glass jar), added a 8 oz Mason jar of bone broth, put lid on, covered plug hole with a paper towel. Blended until smooth. Poured back in pot, warmed back up, added salt and pepper.

Have y'all ever had chicken friande at La Madeleine? It tastes so much like the mushroom sauce they put over it. I'm in love.

Freezing it in 4 ounce containers, plus one more slightly larger container I'm going to take to my mother.

I think I found a new beef topper.

Kitnthecat

You can do it any way that works for you, sounds good !

Sk8Kate

So how do we figure out numbers/macros for this? Mine is boiling away on stove right now.

Twibbly

Unfortunately, there really isn't a definitive answer since it varies from batch to batch.

Sk8Kate

I added recipe to my list. Not sure how accurate their numbers are, 3 net carbs. I strained everything out. Has anybody canned theirs? It's already cooked, so should just have to process 20 mins or so, right? I've only ever canned beet pickles, pickled carrots, salsa, relish, & apples (same principle I'm assuming).

wheatlessgirl66

I've never canned meat or broth, but you might want to google for info because I think broth is a lower acid food and the procedure is different. Might need a pressure cooker? Lots of people just freeze it.

Artemis68

Sk8Kate wrote: »

I added recipe to my list. Not sure how accurate their numbers are, 3 net carbs. I strained everything out. Has anybody canned theirs? It's already cooked, so should just have to process 20 mins or so, right? I've only ever canned beet pickles, pickled carrots, salsa, relish, & apples (same principle I'm assuming).

From what I understand about canning... which isn't a lot, but I have a Bernard Canning 101 book that I practically memorized last year...canning a meat product is completely different. You'll need a pressure canner to reach the proper temps. I'll look for my book later to see if they have direction for canning broth and get back to ya. :-)

Sk8Kate

Thanks. Never thought about different temps. Haven't got pressure canner, so may need to rethink this.

Kitnthecat

How did your beef broth turn out Kate ?

I just store my broth in the freezer, but I have two medium sized chest freezers, one for pork, beef, sausages, bones and other meat, and one just for poultry and jars of broth. Even so, my freezers get full. I'll only make and store as much as I have space for.

I just guess for logging it. Some of my broths turn out fattier than others.

Sk8Kate

@Kitnthecat the broth turned out pretty good. Needs more salt, but tasty. I logged it at 18 cals, 3 net carbs, 1 p, & 0 fat. Think these are a little off. Pretty sure has fat (develops good thick layer when cool) & since I strained it don't think carbs are that high ( 4 med carrots, 1 c sliced parsnip, 2tbsp dehydrated onion, & 2tbsp peppercorns). I don't know how to readjust numbers, just put ingredients into a recipe. Made about 4 gallons of broth (have huge stockpot).

Twibbly

I simmer my stock down to concentrate it, then put it in jars. 1 goes in fridge, rest in freezer (leaving a bit of room at the top, of course). I put a bit of the cold, gelled broth in my mug, then add boiling water from my electric kettle, along with coconut aminos, fish sauce, salt, whatever.

Kitnthecat

Yum, I've got to have some tonight.