The Benefits of Bone Broth: Part 2
We are grateful to our Lord for the bountiful rains that help grow our garden goodies and the pastures for the animals. We are also thankful for our many wonderful customers like you. Our gardens are almost completely harvested except for the fall crops like butternut squash and pumpkins, and the cole crops like cauliflower and broccoli. We are now taking orders for our pasture-raised, GMO-free turkeys. You can order the turkeys in four sizes. Contact us today to order yours!
Now on to Bone Broth: Part 2. This part details how you can make and use bone broth.
How To Make Bone Broth
Bone broths are easy to prepare at home, very inexpensive (the cost of bones is usually under $3/lb), and are very convenient and simple to make.
Ready to start making bone broth? Start with the recipe below, it involves the long and slow cooking process that allows for the full release of nutrients (amino acids, gelatin and minerals) from the bones.
Bone broth can be made in a slow cooker using this simple technique.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (or the frame of a roasted chicken)
2 sweet bay leaves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
any vegetable scraps you have on hand
filtered water
Instructions
Place one whole chicken or the frame of a roasted chicken into your slow cooker with sweet bay, black peppercorns and any vegetable scraps you have on hand. Cover with filtered water and cook on low for one week.
After twenty-four hours, you may begin using the broth. As you need broth or stock, simply dip a ladle or measuring cup into the slow cooker to remove the amount of stock you need. Pour it through a fine-mesh sieve or, preferably, a reusable coffee filter which will help to clarify the broth. Replace the broth you remove from the slow cooker with an equivalent amount of filtered water. If you’re using a whole, fresh chicken, you may also remove chicken meat from the slow cooker as desired for stir-fries or in soups.
At the end of the week, strain off any remaining broth and discard or compost the bones. The bones from your chicken should crumble when pressed between your thumb and forefinger. Their softness is an indication that much of the nourishment from the bones – minerals, amino acids – have leached from the bones and into the broth you’ve enjoyed all week long. Wash the insert of your slow cooker and start again.
How to use bone broth
• Drink it plain with a little salt, ground pepper and crushed garlic.
• Braised & Roast Meats: Easy Roast Chicken, Salisbury Steak for Grownups, Cider-braised Brisket with Tzimmes, Roast Lamb with Oregano and Lemon, Beef Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables
• Soups & Stews: French Onion Soup, Potato Leek Soup with Dill, Gluten-free Chicken & Dumplings, Chipotle Chile, Black Bean & Chicken Soup, Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Tomatoes, Curried Lentil Soup with Coconut, Onion Bisque with Frizzled Leeks, Egg Drop Soup with Duck, Wild Mushroom Stew, Caldo Verde, Winter Minestrone Soup, Beef Burgundy, Kale and White Bean Soup, Asparagus Soup, Lovage Soup, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, Lentil Stew.
• Braising Vegetables: Braised Whole Baby Beets, Braised Turnips with Parsley
How to Store Bone Broth
Bone broth can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a week. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays, and transfer the frozen cubes of broth to a resealable freezer bag where they will keep for 6 months. Alternatively, consider making Homemade Bouillon.
Typically, all you need to prepare bone broth in your kitchen is a good stock pot or a 6-quart slow cooker and something for straining the broth. To prepare a very clear broth, it's recommended to strain with a very fine-mesh sieve or a reusable coffee filter (using both in conjunction yields the finest results).
• Heavy-bottomed Stock Pot
6-qt Slow cooker
Fine-mesh Sieve or Reusable Coffee Filter (for straining broth)
You can find everything you need for making bone broth at our Camp Hill store. Contact us for more information.
Bone Broth: Part 2 was republished from The Nourished Kitchen.