Bone Broth is a great way to ingest healing ingredients for a youthful look and feeling. Remember when you were sick, Grandma would make you home made chicken soup (probably with then entire chicken-neck, organs, you get it). Well, that chicken soup was basically bone broth! Yes, it does help you get well, and keeps you young.
Bone broth, made from free range, organic (preferred) chicken or beef – bones and joints included, simmered for 24+ hours (crock pot easiest), then cooled and ingested, helps provide the body with essential nutrients to lubricate joints, heal tendons and ligaments, smooth skin, and improve hair and nail textures.
Here is a simple recipe found online that you can use to make your own bone broth:
- Simply place a big bunch of bones in a crock-pot or a big stockpot, cover them with cold water and set the temperature on low heat so it doesn’t do much more than simmer.
- Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the cold water to help draw the nutrients from the bones.
- You can roast your beef bones beforehand for 25-30 minutes at about 375oF (190oC) and then use them to make your stock. This technique makes a much darker stock with a roasted flavor.
- You can easily mix things up and use bones from different animals all in the same pot.
A lot of people will tell you to skim the froth that forms at the surface of a stock as it cooks, but it’s harmless. Skimming the foam or “scum” as it’s sometimes called, is simply a matter of culinary preference and is done to create a clear broth or stock. If you don’t mind the way it looks, leave it and all the goodness that it might contain.
People also like to remove the congealed fat that forms at the top when the stock is cooled. You can leave it in or pull it off, whichever you prefer. If you’re eating grass fed and pastured animals, the fat will be healthy for you.
Seasoning should be done near the end of the cook time or you can wait to season your stock as you use it in recipes.
- Add fresh herbs and spices in the last 10 minutes.
- Dried herbs and spices or spice powders can be added during the final hour.
- Vegetables can be added according to their size, giving them enough time to cook.
- An important rule when it comes to stock making is don’t add any salt. If you plan to reduce it to make soups or sauces, the salt concentration can easily become too high if you add it at the beginning. Only add salt to the end product you make with the stock, not to the stock itself.
After your stock is cooked, it’s a good idea to cool it quickly because bacteria will multiply rapidly.
Putting the hot pot directly into the refrigerator will raise the refrigerator temperature to unsafe levels for food. Instead, take the whole pot and put it in a sink filled with cold water.
After it has been cooled, separate what you plan to use right away and put it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about a week. Use the smell test. If it smells good, it should be fine. If you’re not sure, re-boil it to kill any bacteria.
Store the rest in the freezer. If you’ve made a very large pot, it’s convenient to store the remainder in one cup portions so you can defrost them as needed. Can also pour cooled bone broth into ice cube tray for easy use later!
Enjoy!
Wellness Rising 