Bone Broth Recipe

My grandma used to make bone broths every week, as a base for all of her soups.

Grandma’s soups, especially her chicken soup, were so good for our health because bone broth was the foundational basic ingredient.

Bone broth has potent nutritional properties.

The collagen from the broth can help to reduce inflammation in the body since the stalks are alkalinizing. Plus, it remineralizes the body and strengthens bones.

It’s a great boost for the immune system and supports healthy adrenal function and a healthy gut. And remember, anything that helps reduce inflammation in the body is good for hormone balance.

You can use make bone broth from chicken, turkey or beef bones. Find a good butcher and request only organic, nonGMO fed, hormone-free, antibiotic-free sources.

You can make bone broth with just water, vinegar and bones. I add a little salt to pull more flavor into the broth

Adding whatever vegetables are in season will add more flavor, aroma, and antioxidants.

When adding vegetables, aim for 4-6 cups of vegetables. Typically, I will use carrots, celery and onions as staples. I use vegetable scraps, too, like potate peels, stems, and stalks.

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Mushrooms have medicinal properties and should be added, as well.

Peppercorns, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme add antioxidants, flavor, and aroma.

Keep it Simple:

It’s hard to make bone broth “wrong”– keep it simple. For example: use left over bones and vegetable scraps. Just find your largest soup pot, throw everything in it, cook, strain, and enjoy.

You don’t need to chop anything neatly or nicely; you can leave the skin and meat on the bones, the ends on the carrots, the leaves on the celery stalk, the skin on the garlic cloves, the skin on the potatoes, and it’s better if you don’t chop up the herbs (easier to strain them out), and instead crush them a bit.

Ingredients for a basic bone broth:

1 whole chicken, including bones and skin (free range, organic if possible)

*post Thanksgiving, you can use turkey bones and organ meat once you’ve carved, served and stored left-over meat. This is great way to use the whole turkey.

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4-6 cups of vegetables and/or vegetable scraps, which could include examples of the following:

3 carrots, roughly chopped

3 celery sticks with leaves, roughly chopped

4 potatoes, halved, unpeeled

Include:

2 large onions, roughly chopped (white onions have the most flavor in bone broth); I have used green onions and red onions if I dont have white or yellow onions on hand. Leaks work great, too!

6 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed open

1 c mushrooms with stems

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs thyme

1 tsp pink himalayan sea salt

1/2 tsp whole peppercorns

1 bunch of parsley

Directions:

Cut the chicken into several pieces. It is best to have chicken that has bones and skin.

Place chicken pieces into a large stainless steel stockpot. Cover with the cold water.

Add vinegar and vegetables (except herbs), fill pot with water, and let stand for 30 minutes.

Bring to a boil, remove scum that rises to the top.

Reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 24 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. Add more water as it evaporates from the pot to keep the ingredients covered.

Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and refrigerate. (When they’re cool, take the meat off the bones and store the meat in resealable bags in the freezer for other recipes, such as soups, salads, enchiladas, sandwiches, and curries.)

Strain the broth into a large bowl and place in the refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and can be skimmed off. (If it’s just a little bit of fat, I leave it in the broth. If it’s a large amount of fat, I skim it off.)

Store bone broth in glass mason jars in your fridge for 3-4 days.

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