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Looking for some Bone Broth 101 tips...


JimS

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Hey all,

I've been wanting to experiment with making bone broth, but don't really know where to start. I know, I know... Google is my friend. But, I'm here now. Does anyone have a favorite recipe, blog post, website, etc that goes over the basics?

Thanks,

Jim

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Hi Jim,

I love bone broth and make it regularly. I just used some fresh beef bone broth to make a delicious Whole30 soup. If you aren't sure whether you'll like the taste of bone broth, you can add some meat. In the last batch I made, I threw in two bone-in beef shanks along with my bones. This addition makes the broth meatier and darker, and more palatable if you aren't a fan of straight up bone broth.

Beef Bone Broth

2-3 lbs beef bones (I usually use feet, but marrow or knuckle are supposed to be good too)

optional: 1-2 lbs meaty pieces like shanks

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into segments

cold water

1 bay leaf

thyme or rosemary as desired

If you have the time, roast the bones in the oven for added flavor. You can roast them at 350 until browned. If not, no worries- I usually skip that step. Place the bones in a large slow cooker and pour in vinegar. Add vegetables and fill the slow cooker until there is about 3/4-1 inch of water above the bones. Add spices.

I like to simmer broth on low for at least 24 hours, but I'd check it at 12 to see what you think.

When broth has reached desired consistency, turn off the slow cooker. Strain broth into a large pot and then transfer to jars. If you want your broth to be as free of tiny bits and pieces as possible, you can strain it through cheesecloth. I'm cheap and don't mind, so I skip this step. After you have transferred the broth to storage jars, place them in the fridge. Refrigerate them overnight. In the morning, you will see a layer of solid fat on top. This will be a whitish-yellow color, while the broth itself is brown. Skim off this layer. Voila, broth!

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If you're intimidated, start easy...2 lbs grass fed meaty beef bones, 2 or 3 garlic cloves, with 1 gallon water in a big crockpot. Boil on high then set to low for about 24 hours. It's great for deglazing pans and making sauces. Cook some lamb in a pan, then in 1 tbsp leftover fat, sauté a leek and deglaze with 1/2 cup broth and 1/2 cup oj. Reduce and top your lamb with it.

Here's a great post though I find Diane's recipe too garlicky for me.

http://balancedbites...bone-broth.html

Here's my personal blog post

http://eatingforidiots.com/post/19957754110/bone-bronth

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I save all my veggie scraps in a zip lock bag in the freezer and use those to give it more flavor. There's also no reason not to use different bones together. This weekend I made my tastiest batch yet with chicken, beef and lamb. I drink it every morning but also, yes, you can cook with it. :) I actually just bought a bigger slow cooker so I can make more broth at once, since I've been going through it so fast. :)

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Some more tips:

- you want your broth to be gelatinous when it's refrigerated. That indicates that it's glycine-rich.

- skim the fat off the top once you've refrigerated it. It's not the best fat to be consuming

- make sure you don't cook the bones in there too long, as you can easily burn your broth (I've done it) and then your broth tastes crappy the rest of the week.

- I prefer to use filtered water

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So this is something I have been wanting to venture into. I am saving bones from the grass fed ½ cow I purchased. So far I have a couple t-bone bones in the freezer and plan to add to that as I work my way through the cow. Couple questions…Can I use these t-bone bones and other bones as I come across them or are their specific bones I should use? Do the bones need to be “clean†or if there is a little meat/fat left on them, is that ok? Not sure why, but I am super nervous yet excited to make bone broth.

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You can use bones from meat you've cooked, and the left over meat on them will just make it taste, well, meatier. :) You might want to buy some specifically for your broth though, as knuckle bones have more marrow and thus will make for a more nutritious broth. I save any bones I use in cooking but also get some just for broth. Just ask your butcher if you don't see any out and they'll get you some. I was nervous the first time too but it's really so easy. Slow cooker + water + bones + spices + vinegar + 24 hours = broth. :) I give the solidified fat I skim off to my dog and she loves it. Then I freeze it into ice cubes so I can just grab what I need. WELL worth the effort, and it feels good to be using as many parts of the animal as you can.

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When you put it in the fridge overnight, just the fast rises and hardens and it's super easy to just take it off. The remaining broth has all the gelatin good stuff. A good batch is wiggly like jello. :) But even if your broth is still liquid when you cool it, it's still super healthy. I just get extra excited when it turns out with the more jello consistency - it feels like it's Super Broth or something.

I got even a bit more hard core on this last batch. After it had been cooking overnight, I took the chicken bones out and smashed them up with an ice cream scoop to make more of the marrow accessable. (Please keep in mind that until January, I had been vegetarian for 18 years and had never even cooked meat, let alone smashed up the bones.) I put that all back in and cooked it for another 8 hours or so. That batch turned out thicker and more wiggly than any others I've made, so I think that was a good move. :)

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My bone broth recipe - http://www.wholelifeeating.com/2012/02/pressure-cooker-bone-broth/ - is a little different from some. I don't make mine with vegetables, but do add a can of anchovies. Also, I haven't noticed any fat to skim off and almost always have a very jello-like broth when it is cold.

I typically scoop my bone gelatin into a cup and heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes before drinking it.

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  • 8 months later...

- make sure you don't cook the bones in there too long, as you can easily burn your broth (I've done it) and then your broth tastes crappy the rest of the week.

Any thoughts on how long is "too long"? Nourishing Traditions says a beef broth can be simmered for up to 72 hours. I'm thinking of doing about 30 hours on my current (first!) batch, and don't want to mess it up.

Thanks!!!

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If you don't eat a lot of meat with bones in, have a chat with your local butcher/chicken shop/supermarket. Some places give away bones for free, some sell them super cheap. Sometimes you can get awesome "reduced to clear" specials which are great for bone broth.

If you haven't tried it, gelatinous broth is much better than the kind without, it's glossy and tasty :) Chicken bones are really easy for first timers and you can use cooked bones from a whole chicken.

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@Tristan-- I let my chicken broth go as long as 48 hours, so long as the bones are covered with water. If I am going to do a broth this long, I do it on the stove top, as I actually had a crockpot crack due to the liquid level getting too low on a long simmer like that. I use a heavy bottom pan--and beef bones as long as 72. A good rule of thumb, NT style, is to let the bone broth/stock go until the bones disintegrate when snapped or pushed. At that point, you have gotten all the good things out of the bones--make sure to use the ACV to get the minerals out! Also, to keep from burning your broth, keep it at a low simmer, just enough to have bubbles come to the surface of the pot--think La Brea tar pits or Hawaiian lava-- and make sure you keep the water level over the bones and stir occasionally to keep anything from sticking on the bottom. I make my mondo batches in a 12 qt stock pot, and i am looking at bigger when I move.

OH! And if you can't find chicken feet or the thought is too icky, you can add raw pig trotters (feet) to your stock, if you are not adverse to pork. They don't add a porky-ness to the broth, but do make it very gelatinous. Just one or 2 depending on how much stock you are making.

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Nomnompaleo does a FAB bone broth--and she's got tons of photos too. It's made in your slow cooker or crockpot, so you just dump the bones and water, etc in, and leave it alone over night and even the next day if you want. Here's the webpage for you: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/3615609338/slow-cooker-beef-bone-broth

Now you've got me thinking I'll make some, too!

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My bone broth recipe - http://www.wholelife...ker-bone-broth/ - is a little different from some. I don't make mine with vegetables, but do add a can of anchovies. Also, I haven't noticed any fat to skim off and almost always have a very jello-like broth when it is cold.

I typically scoop my bone gelatin into a cup and heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes before drinking it.

I just got a pressure cooker for Christmas and have been afraid to use it! Will start with your bone broth recipe because I've been making bone broth weekly for months and I know it will come out good no matter what. Great way to inaugurate the pressure cooker!

Thanks, Tom.

Terez

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I am making bone broth today with chicken necks ($3 a kg) an onion, stick of celery and a carrot. It as been simmering for about 4 hours and I will give it maybe 2-3 more.

I have some lamb and pig bones in my freezer to try next.

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One of my favorite tips for any kind of stock is to save the aromatics for the end. When I add my onions, carrots, etc., in the beginning with the bones, I just don't get the same flavor. Here's what I do about once a week:

1.) Dump bones into crockpot, cover with cold water. I keep leftover bones in my freezer, and usually hit up WF for some extra raw necks and backs. Add ~tbsp. of apple cider vinegar, let sit for 30 minutes.

2.) Turn crockpot on low, and let simmer for 12-16 hours (usually overnight). I skim and remove any foam that comes to the top in the first hour or so.

3.) Add aromatics. I keep a freezer bag with all of my onion ends, carrot tops and leaves, celery ends, etc. I add these in 6-8 hours before I expect the stock to be done. Don't let the water level get too low, or let the onion tops stick out of the water. The parts sticking out of the water can burn, leading to an unpleasant taste.

I've had some great results with keeping the veggie pieces in the freezer. Recently (pre-w30) I made nom nom paleo's sriracha, and kept all of the pepper tops and some of the seeds in my stock bag. My next stock was really spicy and flavorful - helps to mix things up!

I have stock almost every morning for breakfast. I use a large thermos. I heat my stock on the stovetop in the morning, add to my pre-heated thermos, and then drop in two beaten eggs and a little salt. It tastes like egg drop soup, and keeps me full well into the afternoon. Now that I'm doing w30, I'm adding some spinach to get some veggies in with my breakfast. Sooo good.

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