how to make bone broth

Save Those Bones - Make Bone Broth!

Shelly Oswald

Save money and reduce food waste by saving your pork & steak bones, chicken carcasses & skin, shrimp shells & fish bones, gristle & fat trimmings, veggie & herb scraps to make bone broth.

Making bone broth is SIMPLE if you use a Crock-Pot or Instant Pot where watching it is not as crucial as cooking it on the stove.  Seriously, what do you have to lose if you were going to throw all this stuff out anyhow?

How to Make Bone Broth

  1. Put the the bones, skin, gristle, fat & veggie bits in the pot and use 1 quart of water for each pound of bones & good stuff
  2. Cook 12-24 hours on low in the Crockpot (or 3 hours high pressure in the InstantPot then use a "natural release")
  3. Strain the bones and bits out of the stock while still warm 
  4. Salt to taste or use Old Time Soup Seasoning (1 tbsp parsley, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp basil, 1/8 tsp celery seeds, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/4 tsp salt, 1 bay leaf)
  5. SAVE YOUR FAT to cook with later (you can skim it off after refrigerating it or use a fat separator)  

Tips:

Roast the bones in a pan at 350 degrees in the oven until browned if you want a richer flavor.  Make sure it is a pan you can deglaze with water to get all the brown bits off the bottom to put in your broth pot (cast iron skillets work great for this)
Intensify the flavor with longer cooking.  The Crock-pot version is more intensely flavored than the Instant Pot.
Add collagen with gristle, skin & cartilage. The "gel" is related to the amount of "collagen" makers you put in your pot and the ratio of water to collagen.  all contain collagen.
Broth has many uses.  Make soup (all my soups are based on this), gravy (poutine), pho, flavorful rice, or a healthy drink.

 

You Can Do This!

It is not rocket science and you would be throwing this stuff out anyhow, so what is there to lose? Save your veggie trimmings and bones in the freezer until you have time or enough to make a pot.

Mixing bones from beef, pork and chicken does not break any rules

Just remember:  1 lb of bones & skin per 1 quart of water

    The Benefits of Bone Broth

    Food waste is estimated at 30-40% of our food supply (USDA).  Using your foods to the max saves you money, helps the environment and you honor the animals that nourish us.

    Bone Broth has Collagen

    Gelled Bone Broth

    Bone broth is technically a "stock" that is similar to Gelatin or "Jello".  Gelatin is made from boiling bones, skin and cartilage to extract the collagen - just like making bone broth but more concentrated. It has a high collagen content so it stays "gelled" at room temperature. "Gel" is related to collagen content in bone broth too.

    Bone Broth has Amino Acids & Minerals

    Your bone broth contains the amino acids glycine, proline, valine, lysine, alanine, and arginine (maybe more), which build proteins. It also contains glucosamine & chondroitin, which are good for joints. Shrimp shells & fish bones contain iodine. Higher mineral content can be obtained by adding veggie trimmings.

    Pasture-raised Animal Fats have Benefits

    The fat from pastured animals contains the "good" Omega 3 fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory as well as the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K so make sure you save the fat to use in rice or to panfry foods

    I could go on about the health benefits, fats and gelatin but those are other blog posts!

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