Homemade Bone Broth

I couldn’t be happier that ‘Bone Broth’ is having a moment. To be honest, I’ve been making it for over 20 years but simply called it stock. You cannot beat homemade broth and although you’ll find it now in many supermarkets or food shops, making your own is a ritual I’ll recommend to anyone who is serious about cooking and eating nourishing and healthy food.

It probably is one of my all time favourite things to make and eat and I hands down attribute my lack of ailments and illnesses to religiously consuming my homemade bone broth on mostly a daily basis.

With winter and the colder months approaching fast, I thought this might inspire some of you to make this at home for yourselves and your family. It’s deeply nourishing and has been used as a remedy in many cultures. I’ve always referred to eat as my Jewish penicillin. It’s full of vitamins, minerals and collagen. It’s also great for your skin, really, it’s an all round cure-all remedy.

There are many different ways of making bone broth.  Some people literally use bones and cold water and that’s that. Here I share my tried and tested version.

The first thing I would recommend is a large stainless steel cooking pot. I bought my 10 liters one many years ago. If truth be told, I had my kitchen built around my super sized fridge. It had to house my 10 liters pot. Many people recommend to decant the boiled bone broth into containers and freeze it. I can’t be doing with piddling around. My pot will last for up to 10 days in the fridge.

Now to the bones. You can use many varieties and mix and match. There isn’t a bone I haven’t used. These days I stick to beef, veal bones and, when I can get some, bone marrow. If desperate I’ll supplement with chicken carcasses. What’s really important here is the quality of the bones. Honestly, your broth is only as good as your ingredients. Naturally reared and organic bones are the best!

For years I used to get all my bones for free but since homemade bone broth or stock is in vogue, most butchers and farmers now charge for them. It doesn’t bother me as it’s all an investment into my health. A 10 liters broth costs me less than £10, so divide that by 10 days and it’s roughly £1 a day to stay off catching colds and other ailments. I’m sure that if you were to look online you could buy a box of bones from organic farms.

I buy my beef and all bones for broth from Woodlands Jersey Beef. Their grass fed beef is the best I’ve ever had and could not imagine going anywhere else.

Method:

Place your bones in your pot and cover with bottled or filtered spring water (I don’t use tap water). Bring to the boil. You’ll see a layer of foam, as seen here below. Skim it off and wait for more to form. After a while it’ll stop and you’re ready to add the other ingredients.

Ingredients:

Turnips and swedes
Onions
Leeks
Celery with leaves on
Carrots
Parsley
Bay leaves
Grey sea salt
Peppercorns
A splash of apple cider vinegar (don’t always use it)

These are my staples. Sometimes I’ll add some herbs or other vegetables I have got handy but mostly I don’t veer off from this.
Now add all your ingredients, bring it to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer on low for anything between 6 hours to 36 hours. I tend to leave it on for at least 24 hours.

I love the aroma that fills the air as the broth simmers away. It always gives me the feeling that all is well with the world. For me, the healing starts when it’s on the stove.

Once it’s done I put the pot with lid in the fridge. The reason it keeps for so long is that a layer of fat will form on the surface and I leave that undisturbed while scooping out some of the broth each day. Ladies, do not worry about the fat content. These are good fats and terribly important for us. Of course, feel free to decant the broth into glass jars and freeze.

That’s it! Sounds complicated? It’s not, I promise. I don’t give measurements because I just throw it all in. Just make sure you have enough bones and some of the vegetables and you’ll be ok. Just experiment. There’s no right or wrong. Find your own magic way to make it.

You might ask what does she do with all that bone broth?

* During the colder months I like having a mug of bone broth for breakfast.  I throw in some raw mange tout and chestnut mushrooms. I add either grated fresh ginger or fresh horseradish for extra taste and immune fighting properties.
* Making quinoa or braising vegetables.
* Making daily soup.
* For any roast or stews.
* When on my own I like making a soup based meal. I throw in some kelp noodles, vegetables and some salmon for protein. Then I top it with mange tout and some coriander.

Here was my breakfast this morning.

Have you ever made bone broth?