Chicken Stock “Bone Broth”
Last week I was away at a resort to try new recipes, work on the blog calendar, and just work on my businesses in general. The first thing I did when I arrived at the resort was to get a big pot of chicken stock – or “bone broth” – going. I knew I was going to need stock for several recipes and I was also coming off influenza that I caught from someone near and dear to my heart (not mentioning any names) so I wanted some bone broth for its healing properties. If you missed my earlier post on the differences between a broth, stock, and bone broth, click here.
I am going to give you the recipe for what I understand to be the most nutritious way to make chicken stock or “bone broth.” Even with this method, there are still two styles of making this. Some people like to roast the bones for a few hours, some don’t. I don’t. I prefer the non-roasted flavor. But if you want to roast the bones with the veggies ahead of time, by all means do so.
Special Ingredients
There are a couple “strange” or unusual ingredients in bone broth. The first is chicken feet. Chicken feet contain a lot of cartilage, which is necessary to create one of the main healing ingredients in the soup. The second is apple cider vinegar “with the mother.” That means it is raw, unpasteurized, generally organic, fermented in a natural way AND there will be gut healing bacteria and raw enzymes still in the vinegar. You will usually see “the mother” settled at the bottom of the container. I use the Bragg’s brand. Now there are other brands. I just know Bragg’s and trust their process. The vinegar is necessary to extract the nutrients out of the chicken.
Making The Broth
We start with extracting the collagen out of the cartilage and other nutrients and imparting flavors. This is a long process. I wouldn’t ever go less than 12 hours for this part. Generally I simmer the broth about 24 hours.
Broth after 20 hours of simering
We will finish by adding parsley to impart its nutrients – which are damaged by long cooking. Making bone broth is simple, but takes a long time. After removing the solids we quick cool the broth to keep the nutrients and to prevent bacteria from growing.
Place pot in an ice bath to cool the broth quickly
While the broth is cooling, get your containers ready. I’m going to use all this bone broth to make other recipes, so I will just refrigerate it all.
That’s it. It’s EASY, but it takes a day to make good bone broth. You won’t regret it. It is DELICIOUS!!
Here’s the recipe.
Learn to make a healing bone broth the right way. This is the base recipe, add what you want to make it your own.
- 3 lb Chicken parts - backs, necks, wing tips, etc. preferably pasture raised, organic
- 3 ea Chicken feet, (Asian or Mexican market)
- 1 large onion, papery skin removed, quartered, roots and all
- 3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped - tops and bottom included
- 1 ea carrot, coarsley chopped, unpeeled, base included
- 1/2 - 1 tsp peppercorns
- 2 ea bay leaves
- 1 TB salt, optional, depending on use
- 2-3 TB apple cider vinegar, Bragg's or similar quality
- 4 QTS cold, filtered water
- 1 bunch parsley, rinsed
- 1-2 cloves garlic, cut in half
- 1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
- 1-2 sprigs oregano (or a tsp dried)
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Put all ingredients EXCEPT the parsley in a stainless stock pot. Let stand approximately 30 minutes to an hour,
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Bring to a boil, then IMMEDIATELY turn down the temperature to a simmer. Watch for scum. Remove any scum that rises to the top.
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You may partially cover after the first couple hours. There shouldn't be any more scum at this point.
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Allow to simmer at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours.
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Add the bunch of parsley. continue simmering 15 minutes more.
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Use a slotted cooking spoon to remove as much of the vegetables and bones as possible.
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Remove to a colander that has been placed over a clean bowl to strain out more of the liquid.
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Cool the broth quickly using an ice bath and stirring frequently. A proper ice bath will cool the broth to 40 degrees in about 20 minutes. A larger recipe may take a little longer.*
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Add the strained broth from the colander.
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The temperature should be about 40 degrees before storing the broth. The broth will be the consistency of soft-set Jello at this pont.
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Discard bones and vegetables. They have exhausted their nutrients and flavor.
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Use a fine mesh strainer to strain the cooled broth into containers. Refrigerate or freeze, as desired. You may remove the fat that accumulates** or stir back in.
- *DO NOT place in the fridge, freezer, or out in the cold to cool. For safety, please use an ice bath to cool your soup to 40 degrees quickly and safely.
- ** I remove the fat and freeze the "disk" in a ziplock bag. Then when I need to fry some chicken for a stir-fry or other use, the added flavor of the chicken fat is AWESOME. If serving cornbread with a chicken dish, you can use the fat to butter the pan. I don't make cornbread, but I assume you can use the fat in place of some of the butter or other fat.
- If this broth was made correctly, the use of wing tips and feet along with the apple cider vinegar will pull the collagen out of the chicken. The broth should be like jello once it's cooled. In fact, by the time you cool it to 40 degrees, it will already be like soft-set jello (see picture when taking the temperature). The collagen is healing to the gut, to your cells, to your joints, and may even renew your skin and strengthen your nails. Drink a cup or two daily for best results.
Please comment below when you’ve made the Bone Broth and tell me how you like it!!
