BASIC BONE BROTH RECIPE
Basic Ingredients (required to draw nutrients from bones)
•1 teaspoon celtic grey salt or Himalayan pink salt
•1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
•3-4 quarts of water (or enough to cover the bones in the pot)
•2-3 pounds of organically-raised bones (chicken, duck, beef, oxtail, lamb, pork, chicken feet, pork knuckles)
For Additional Flavor (optional) ~ Add or Omit based personal tastes.
•1-2 leeks or 1 onion roughly chopped
•1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
•Garlic to taste, typically 4-5 cloves
•2 bay leaves
•10-12 whole peppercorns
•2-star anise
•3-4 slices of ginger
•4-5 dried shiitake mushrooms
Our Preferred Cooking Methods
Slow Cooker Method: Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker, cover and cook on low. Chicken bones should take 10-12 hours, but beef and pork should be cooked for 24-36 hours. ***when adding Chinese herbs to your broth – add these during the last 2 hours of cooking. – (You can also choose to add your vegetables at this time rather than the beginning of cooking)
Once the broth is cooked, strain it and let it cool a bit. While still warm, skim any fat, impurities, or material that may be floating on the surface. Once skimmed, pour broth through a strainer to remove the bones. At this point broth may be stored in the refrigerator where it should firm up. Broth should gel overnight when refrigerated. At this point we can scrape off any additional fat that may have formed on the surface.
Broth is excellent as a stand-alone warm beverage. When consumed daily the broth can have wonderful health benefits. Broth can also be incorporated into soups, stews, or anywhere that you may need broth in your recipes.
Storage
Broth will last for 5 days in the fridge and for several months in the freezer.
Want to give your broth an additional boost? Add some Chinese Herbs!
We add herbs to our broth in order to enhance or amplify the benefits of the broth. These herbs are typically tonic herbs intended to build and support the natural function and rhythms of the body without turning our broth into a typical medicinal tea. Small batches of herbs selected based on flavor profiles that are chosen to not overpower the broth. While not intended to overpower the broth, herbs can range from “sweet” to “bitter” however we do try to use herbs that our “tastier” than some of the medicinal formulas we send home.
When adding Chinese herbs to your broth – we simply add during the last 2 hours of cooking. – (You can also choose to add your vegetables at this time rather than the beginning of cooking)
***Alternate Cooking Methods***
Pressure Cooker Method: Be sure to not overfill your pressure cooker. Aim for it being about 2/3 full. This is important so it can create enough steam to create the desired pressure. Secure the lid on the cooker then bring to a boil, turn down the heat and allow the broth to cook. The cooking time depends on the size and type of bones you’re using. For example, chicken bones are usually good in about 40 minutes, but beef or pork bones can be cooked for a couple of hours.
Stovetop Method – This is similar to using a slow cooker but allows a bit more flexibility in adding ingredients in stages. Vegetables and spices are typically added only after first bringing the broth to a boil and skimming off the scum that floats to the surface. This is done to help purify the broth (similar to soaking before cooking). Vegetables and spices are added afterwards just to make sure you don’t remove them in the skimming process. Vegetables can also be added for the last 2-3 hours of cooking to keep their flavors brighter.