Bone Broth

Heal the gut and revitalize with bone broth.

I began experimenting with various bone broth recipes over the past year and many of the recipes I tried, rendered a watery broth with no girth or good consistency….

Here’s the secret to making a good bone broth:

A) Use the right bones  

B) Oven roast the bones before beginning the broth itself to fully break down the connective tissues and bone cores..

C) Time on the stove (minimum of 15 to 20 hours of simmering)

I think the hallmark of a good bone broth is a bouncy, jello consistency AFTER it is has been cooled to fridge temperature.

Ingredients:

5-6 lbs beef bones (esp. femur, long bones, joints)

1 onion – peeled and quartered

5 celery stalks – coarsely cut just to fit in pan

1 bay leaf

18 cups (4.5 quarts) water

Seasoning/Flavoring: The easiest way I have found, is to season the broth at the time of serving and thus you can change up the flavor a bit each time you eat it, to make it more varietal… I typically season a 14-16 oz serving with all or some of the following:

• ½ – 1 tsp sriracha hot sauce or ½ tsp mild chili oil (Hot mama Salsa – Chili oil)

• Garlic salt

• Pepper

• Rosemary

Add some of each and figure out what tastes good to you.

Kitchen utensils you will need:

• Medium sized fine mesh strainer, a sieve or cheesecloth

• Large 8-12 quart stainless stock pot

• A dozen large mason jars for storing broth in the fridge or freezing

• Metal funnel (No required but very helpful)

Directions:

• Preheat oven 450 degrees

• Place bones in large roasting pan or large pyrex casserole dish and place in preheated oven

• Roast bones for about 75 minutes 

• Transfer roasted bones into large 8-12 quart stock pot on stove top

• Add 18 cups of water – the tops of the bones should be completely submerged… Add more water if bones are not submerged

• Turn stove to medium high and heat until it boils… then reduce heat to low simmer and place lid on pot

• Simmer the broth for 18-24 hours – checking it occasionally to make sure it is not boiling or on too high of a temperature. Cooking the broth on too high of a temperature such as a rolling boil; will result in too much moisture loss. If you remove the lid to check on it and it is fully boiling, a) turn it down to lower simmer point and b) add more water if the high temperature appears to have reduced the volume of broth so significantly that bones are now above the broth surface.

• At about the 16 hour mark – add the celery and onion to the pot

• At 18-24 hour mark – remove broth from heat and let cool a for a couple hours

• Once it has cooled down to a warm/room temperature… Place mason jars in sink with funnel (one by one) and begin pouring broth through fine strainer or cheesecloth into mason jars. (You can remove the bones at this time with tongs)

If you will be freezing the broth, pay careful attention to the following:

• Avoid filling jars to the top – instead leave an inch or more between the top of the jar and the liquid to allow for any expansion in the freezing process.

• Allow jars of broth to cool down to room temperature before placing in the freezer

• Do not completely tighten the lids until after broth has completely frozen

• Do not run frozen jars under warm after pulling from the freezer… instead let them thaw at room temperature or else in the refrigerator.

• Once broth cools in the fridge, the fat will clearly settle on the top… Before serving, just remove the top layer of fat and simply  heat your broth on the stove top and season.

• The final key step is seasoning… If you choose not to add any seasoning – the broth will be bland.

• Enjoy!