Bone Broth for Beginners
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This recipe is easily doubled or tripled... if you have a big enough pot. I have also made it without some of the ingredients, including giblets, and it turns out just fine. The important part is to use filtered water (especially if your house is on a municipal water source), and use just enough water to cover the bones.
Ingredients
  • Bones, scraps, and giblets from 1 organic, pastured chicken
  • 2 organic carrots, peeled and rough chopped
  • 2 organic celery stalks, including leaves, rough chopped
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5-10 peppercorns (you can use ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper, but your broth won't be as clear)
  • small handful of parsley
Instructions
  1. Place the bones in a dutch oven and cover them with filtered water. Add the apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 20 minutes while you chop the vegetables.
  2. Add the carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper to the pot.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil on the stovetop, and reduce to a simmer. During the first hour or so of simmering, skim off any foam that rises to the top. Organic and pastured chickens will produce far less foam than conventional chicken.
  4. After about 2 hours of stovetop simmering, cover the pot and place in a 225-250 degree oven. You want it to barely bubble. I leave this to cook overnight.
  5. About 20-24 hours later, add the parsley and cook for an additional hour.
  6. Remove the pot from the oven and let cool for an hour or so.
  7. Place a large metal colander over a large stainless bowl and pour the broth contents through the colander to separate out the bones and vegetables. After simmering gently for so long, the bones should crumble if you crush them in your hand- a sure sign you've gotten all the good stuff out of them.
  8. If needed, pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer to catch all the small pieces that made it through the colander.
  9. At this point, you can refrigerate the broth and use within 7 days, or portion it out into ziplock bags and freeze (freeze flat for easy defrosting). If your broth gels (giggles like jell-o after it's cooled in the fridge), yay! That's a sign it's full of healthy gelatin.
  10. You can drink your broth on it's own, add vegetables and simmer to make an easy soup, use it in recipes that call for chicken broth or stock, use it to cook risotto... the list goes on and on.
Recipe by Pigforkr at http://www.pigforkr.com/jump-on-the-bone-broth-bandwagon/