The benefits of bone broth are endless. This nutrient dense, immune supporting, “liquid gold” is a staple in our home. When sourcing and selecting bones, it is imperative that they come from a healthy animal that was raised responsibly. Since you will be extracting the majority of the nutrients out of the bones, they must be from high quality animals raised organically and exclusively grassfed and pasture raised. Look for grassfed beef, bison, lamb, pastured chickens, duck or turkey, or even carcasses of wild caught fish.
Ingredients
4 pounds of bones or 2 pastured chicken carcasses
2 chicken feet and/or heads
Vegetable scraps or chopped vegetables such as onion, carrot, celery
5 whole peppercorns
2-4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
Herbs such as thyme, rosemary, bayleaves, etc. (optional)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
If you are using raw bones, especially raw beef bones, roast them first in the oven. Place them on a cookie sheet or 9 x 13 in a 350° oven for about an hour before adding them to your stock pot. You will know when the bones are adequately roasted when they are fragrant and browned. This makes a more flavorful broth. Failure to roast beef bones could lead to an off-putting flavor in your end product.
Place your bones of choice in your stock pot along with veggie scraps and vinegar. Cover with good, filtered water. Simmer on low heat for 24-48 hours, skimming off the foam and adding more water as needed.
For the last 30 minutes, add garlic and herbs if you are using them. When your broth is done cooking, strain out the bones and ladle into jars to cool. Broth can be kept in the refrigerator if it has a layer of fat on top as a protective layer for up to 6 months. Once the fat layer has been broken and broth exposed to air, use within a week. I also like freezing my broth in silicone ice cube trays and then transferring the broth cubes into freezer bags. This makes grabbing some cubes for a recipe or mug of broth very easy.
