Liquid Gold, Bone Broth

Pho, one of my favorite meals

One of my most requested recipes is my bone broth recipe. When friends and other see on my social media feed me posting pictures of drinking bone broth or eating pho, I have multiple requests for my recipe. I have posted it before, it needs to be updated.

Broth isn't difficult to make, it does take time to figure out the spices and combinations you like, cooking times, pressure cook or allow it to simmer on the stove for days. Once you have it figure out, the time you spend actually "making" the broth is minimal. Most of the time is the broth cooking and cooling. It is a labor or love in some ways, but so worth it. Some of the deepest nourishment you can give your body is bone broth. 

There are two ways you can cook bone broth, pressure cooking or long, low and slow on the stove, like 72 hours. I prefer my broth in the pressure cooker, Instant Pot. Once I used the Instant Pot and pressured cooked my broth, I didn't look back. It is more coinvent, safer, and I do truly like the taste better.

Ingredients:

variety of bones, I like to use beef, pork and if I have it on hand, chicken. I use pigs feet, knuckle bones for the collagen and bone with marrow, you can also use chicken feet, any bones work. I like the flavor better with a variety of animal bones.

2 cups white wine vinegar

half a large onion

4-5 cloves of garlic

3-4 inches of ginger

2-3 cinnamon sticks

small handful of whole pepper corns

7-8 whole cloves

2-3 star anise or 2 tsps anise seeds 

2-3 TBSP salt

2-3 TBSP sugar, I use raw sugar

5-7 whole all spice

small handful of fennel seeds

3-4 whole cardamom pods 

3-4 Bay leaves

Several shakes of fish sauce, if you like it saltier, add more

3-4 TBSP raw apple cider vinegar

glass of wine, optional

How to:

Soak your bones overnight in the vinegar and water. You only need to do this with fresh bones. Where I use the Instant Pot, I can typically get 3 batches of broth and 1 batch for Otto, my dog, out of my bones.

In the soaking water, vigorously boil the bones for 10 minutes. Scum will come up to the top, this is the impurities, scrap it off if you like.

Allow to cool for a few minutes and then dump the water, be careful of the steam as you dump your pot. Rinse the bones and clean the pot.

Add the bones back into the pot.

I take the time to bloom my spices, heat them up on the stove top. This wakes them up, begins releasing the oils to add more flavor. It is not necessary to do this step, but I do highly recommend it. I also char the ginger, onion and garlic, again not necessary but adds so much flavor. This only takes a few minutes to do. I do this while the bones are boiling the first time and the next batches while I am straining the broth into containers. 

Heat a pan on the stove top. Once hot, add the ginger, once charred on the first side, add the onion. Once these begin to char, add the rest of the spices, and garlic, accept the Bay leaves and anise seeds if using those. Stir every so often so not to burn everything. Once the spices become fragrant, turn off the burner and add the Bay leaves and anise seeds, allow those to heat up. Dump this into the pot of bones.

Add the sugar, wine, vinegar, fish sauce to the pot.

Fill the pot with water. You want to cover the bones plus a good inch or two over the bones.

Place the pot into the container for pressure cooking. The first batch I do about 80-85 minutes, the second 85-90 and the third 90 plus. Once it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will go to low naturally and will sit for 10 hours. I allow the broth to go the full 10 hours of sitting. Then allow it to cool for several hours. Broth stays hot for a long time. Before putting it into container, plastic or glass, be sure it has fully cooled. 

Once cooled, strain broth through a sieve. Discard the onions, ginger, garlic and spices, leave the bones. 

If making another batch, begin again.

I generally start my broth in the late afternoon, evening so it cooks, sits and cools for the night and day. Then I can strain it and begin again. 

When I make Otto's batch, I take out all the onions because these are toxic to dogs. I leave the ginger and cinnamon sticks in there. I cook his for 90 minutes. If there is any marrow left in the bones, I give this to him. He loves it!

variety of bones, beef and pork feet

Bones soaking for the night in vinegar and water

as the bones boil, the impurities will come to the top, 

you can scarp this off

boil vigorously for 10 minutes

dump the water, vinegar

clean the pot well and rinse the bones off

I begin with the ginger once it begins to char, 

add the onions and garlic

add the rest of the spices and heat until fragrant,

worth the few minutes it takes to bloom the spices

add the bones and spices, seasonings back to pot

add sugar

add the wine, if using, fish sauce

and raw apple cider vinegar 

cover the bones with water

the first batch I pressure cook around 80-85 minutes, 

depending on the bones

the second batch, 85-90

third batch 90 plus

After pressure cooking, I allow my broth to sit in my pot for the 10 hours on low, then it turns off. I allow it to cool for several hours. By the end, it is in the pot for about 16-18 hours.

Once the broth has cooled, strain it into a 

container, discard everything but the bones, 

begin again. I usually do three batches with the 

bones, then make a batch for Otto.

I use my broth in a variety of ways: 

I drink it in a mug, best way to warm up and stay warm on a cold winter day.

Pho, one of my favorite meals.

Soups, stews, roasts, any recipe that calls for broth, stock, I use my bone broth.

It does freeze well. I don't recommend freezing in glass. There is so much density to the broth it expands significantly and breaks glass. Personal experience. Food grade plastic, collagen containers , or yogurt containers work very well. Make sure the broth is fully cooled before putting it into the plastic. Leave a good headspace for expansion, several inches. 

Enjoy this liquid gold and all the health benefits. Your gut, joints, bones, hair, skin, nails, everyone of your trillion cells will thank you for eating bone broth.

In courage, gratitude and kindness

Jenn