Bone Broth: How much? How often?

[lisawhip]

So, I've got my first batch bubbling, and I'm a little nervous when it comes to consuming it. How much/often do you need to drink it for ideal benefits? A cup a day?

[Susan W]

What about it makes you nervous? It's nothing but pure goodness. You can have as much as you like. I usually have 1-2 mugs a day. I love starting and ending my day with it. I also make soups with it.

[lisawhip]

Oh, I don't know. The house smells pretty strongly of it, and I'm not sure I like the aroma. But I am not a picky eater by any stretch, so I imagine I'll be fine. I just want to get all the goody out of it.

[Roz Griffiths]

I find adding a little salt when you come to drink it works wonders  And if you decide you can't stand to drink it as it stands, you can always use it to make soup & add it to stews

[Susan W]

Oh, I understand. Are you cooking it with celery, carrots and onion? I also salt mine and put 2 bay leaves and 10 peppercorns in it. I also roast the bones before cooking the broth which gives it a more roasted aroma and flavor. I also cook mine out on my deck in a slow cooker for 24 hours.

No worries though..you could do some or all of that next time if you aren't thrilled with it this time. You can make some great soups with it. Clothes Makes The Girl has an awesome zucchini recipe on her website. It's called Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup. Google it and it will pull up. I make it about once a week.

[lisawhip]

I put in leeks, carrots, fish sauce, and cider vinegar. It's cooling now and smells better already.

[Susan W]

" I put in leeks, carrots, fish sauce, and cider vinegar. It's cooling now and smells better already."

I think it will be tasty. Do salt it a bit. That helps a lot. Taste first because you used fish sauce...great idea by the way.

[lisawhip]

Bone broth update:

 

So it gelled up beautifully, and I just skimmed off the extra fat and it looked great. I started scooping it into containers, and I guess I tipped the bowl too much because it all fell out. It kind of exploded, and there were all these globs of meat jello on the table and floor. I kept stepping in it and slipping on it as I tried to pick up the slippery, quivering chunks. It got all over my shoes and my jeans and even in my hair. I finally got it cleaned up and salvaged most of it. I think I am going to wait a little bit to try drinking it.

 

But if gelling is the marker of success, then it was perfect.

[Susan W]

I am trying not to laugh but the bone broth in your hair was too much for me. Gelling is a TOTAL mark of success. Nice job!! :0)

[Nadia B]

Ahahha priceless. Well done. Bone broth is called meat jello from now on. 

[Guitaze]

^{What is the recipe for bone broth?  I've never made it but would like to try it.}

[Roz Griffiths]

You need some bones

Put them in a big pot on the stove, or in the slow cooker, or a pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover, a good splash of apple cider vinegar (to help leach out the minerals), peppercorns & then optional herbs & veg: veg could be a whole carrot, celery sticks including leaves, onion, onion skins, garlic if you want. Maybe some sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Bring to the boil. On the hob it'll need at least 2 hours, 1 hour in a pressure cooker, in the slow cooker at least 24 hours. Strain out the solids & enjoy

[mamaellen]

I use nomnompaleo's version in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low. She also has a pressure cooker version which I used yesterday to quickly make some for my poor sick friend! 

[Bet]

Bone broth question. I have made chicken bone broth before, always on the stove, and it always gelled quite nicely. Last week I bought some grass fed beef bones and I wanted to make stew, but had to make the broth first. I put the bones in the slow cooker overnight. The broth tasted great, but didn't seem to have that much gel to it. Did I not cook it long enough or hot enough? I may try it on the stove next time.

[XIIxOveR]

Some bones will naturally give you more gelatin than others - e.g. joints with a lot more connective tissue vs. a couple inches of femur.

 

I recently tried adding a couple tablespoons of vinegar to a batch of bones and it seemed to work great.

 

I've never cooked mine in the slow cooker, but I've heard of other people having great success. My initial suspicion is that it would take much longer to break down bone structure in a slow cooker with that level of heat (slow cooker = low and slow). I always simmer mine on the stove and beef bones I'll even simmer overnight or longer (chicken doesn't seem to need more than a couple of hours).

 

I also start off by roasting the bones first. Not only do I get some instant tallow (heck yeah!!) without having to spoon it off the broth - if you're using grass fed bones I highly recommend cooking with this fat - but I think the roasting helps jump start the bone breakdown, plus it adds a little bit more color and flavor.

 

A friend of mine had great success using a pressure cooker (got the idea from NomNomPaleo) - I used that as an excuse to buy a new pressure cooker but I haven't tried it yet :-)

 

Xii

[Bet]

Thanks, I will try the vinegar and other tips! I did roast the bones first, but I might do it longer next time.

[mamaellen]

What is the time/temp for roasting bones? TIA!

[Bet]

I did 400 degrees for one hour. I used this recipe for the broth and stew  http://paleoinapinch.com/post/40718739936/slow-cooked-beef-stew

[mamaellen]

This is a stupid question - but I'm a recovering vegetarian so I'm pretty meat-ignorant. Do you eat the meat from the soup bones? I do with a chicken carcass but what about the beef bones?

[Bet]

Usually it dissolves or there isn't a lot of meat on them.

 

The only time I do eat the meat is when I do a ham stock with a smoked ham hock. Yum!!!

[praxisproject]

mamaellen - I do it the other way around, I make bone broth with my leftover roast-chicken bones If you don't have enough bones for a batch, put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer for later. I find the cooked bones make a tastier broth and I don't have to specially cook the bones. Any red-meat bones I'd recommend roasting first rather than raw in the broth - tastier

You can eat the meat, but it may be bland, tough or stringy (the broth is v tasty!), I'd strip off any meat that you'd rather eat first.

[mamaellen]

I believe the bones I am getting are oxtails. I've googled and a lot of people roast the oxtails, eat the marrow and then make their broth. Thoughts? 

[Vian]

To get all the minerals and gelatin out of the bones, beef bone broth should simmer about 36 hours, whether on the stove or in the slow cooker. Chicken bone broth should simmer for 24 hours, and fish bone broth for 12 hours.

 

Using bones that have been roasted first gives the broth a wonderful richness. It's also a great way to use kitchen scraps like onion skins and ends, carrot skins and ends, celery ends, and any of the same veggies that are wilted or blemished. I also always add a few cloves of garlic that I smash, some whole peppercorns, italian parsley, bay leaves, and a splash of vinegar. I never salt the broth until I use it so that I can control the salt in the dish.

[Tina]

I love bone broth! I only buy whole chickens now and find that I have enough bones to make bone broth after 3 or 4 chickens. I've tried making bone broth from other bones, but I don't enjoy the flavor as much. I'll give it another try soon though. 

 

I make my bone broth in the slow cooker and I always shoot for 24 hours. If I'm feeling especially in the mood, I'll save the bones and immediately start a second batch with the same bones. The second batch doesn't gel as nicely, but it still has a lot of yummy healthy benefits. I pretty much reuse the bones until they mostly become mush. 

 

I always get a little excited when I use my bone broth to make soups, and the soup gels when I put it in the fridge, leaving the meat and veggies suspended in the jello-e goodness. That's some good broth!

 

As far as drinking the broth, I'm not so good at that yet. However, if I make some egg drop soup with the broth, I have no problems drinking a cup or two at a time :0)

[Uni_corndog0625]

I've made a few batches of beef bone broth using oxtail (I think I'm on my fifth batch now) and I never seem to get mine to gel.  I've tried to up the ratio of bone to water, roasting first, adding vinegar, slow stove-top cooking for 42 hrs or so...I've never been able to have mine gel!  Don't get me wrong, I love the taste variations I get each time.  Should I incorporate different bones like chicken bones??  I'd love some input because I really enjoy the project of making the broth in general, I just think I could yield a better product.