About a year ago, when I heard the term “bone broth” getting thrown around for the first time, my initial thought was um, isn’t chicken broth already made with bones? Then, I learned that bone broth is different from regular chicken stock because it uses a long cooking time to extract as much nutrition out of the bones as possible and tends to use bones that have more connective tissue—like necks, feet, and knuckles. Basically, regular stock uses the bones for flavor. Bone broth uses the bones for flavor and nutrition.
The resulting bone broth from long-simmering is totally delicious, of course, but even beyond that, it’s a powerful nutritional supplement. In fact, I only started making bone broth regularly after two separate doctors (one functional medicine doc and one naturopathic doc) recommended I start having at least a cup of it a day as part of my Leaky Gut treatment protocol. Bone broth walks the line between food and medicine in a way that few other foods do. And it certainly tastes a lot better than most medicines do!
While bone broth is quite trendy now, it is absolutely not a new food! Healing broths and stocks have been part of the vast majority of cultures for centuries. Chances are if you can speak with an elder in your community, they can tell you stories about healing bone broth and soups from their childhood.
How to do you make bone broth?
While bone broth can be incredibly time-consuming to make (four hours at it’s fastest in your Instant Pot or up to two days using other methods), it is also incredibly simple. To make bone broth, all you have to do is:
Cook or roast animal bones. I like to use organic chicken or beef bones, chicken wings, necks, and feet. The more cartilage in the bones the more nutritious your broth will turn out. Yes, I have a bag of chicken feet in my freezer!
Cover with water in your crock pot [my preferred method].
Add any seasonings or flavorings you prefer. I just cut up a whole onion [skin and all] into big chunks, 3 stalks of celery, 3 cloves of garlic, and a 1-inch piece of ginger. It doesn't have to be perfectly minced, coarsely chopped is perfect.
Cook over very low heat for 12 hours.
Remove any meat from the bones if you've started with a whole chicken vs. just the bones. Leave the bones in the crock pot, replenish the water to just covering and add 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar helps pull all the nutrients out of the bones into the broth.
Cook over low heat for another 12 hours.
Enjoy!
Tip: Strain cooled broth and store broth in glass containers with lids [mason jars work great!] for up to 4 days in your fridge. Freeze in zip lock bags if you have more than you can drink in that time.
How do you use bone broth?
You can use bone broth just like you would any other stock or broth. Many bone broth fans also prefer to drink bone broth straight—as a sipping broth. The long-simmering of the broth gives it a complex, rich flavor that is cozy, comforting, and warm. I personally love having bone broth as a nightcap! The gelatin in the broth helps promote a restful night’s sleep, which makes it the perfect before bed drink. In my house, I drink it daily to soothe and heal the digestive system and when anyone gets sick they're drinking at least 2 cups of bone broth a day to promote healing!
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