How and Why To Make Bone Broth

January 3, 2021

There’s no denying that a bowl of some steaming hot soup has a special ability to warm us all up from the inside out. Chicken noodle, clam chowder, or cream of mushroom. there’s something for everyone. Now with winter here and no better time to stay healthy, a new addition to your arsenal of homemade soups is none other than some nutrition-filled bone broth.

Bone broth is different from regular broth because of the long-simmering that offers more time to infuse a plethora of nutritional health benefits in each sip. Just to name a few benefits as researched by the University of Nebraska, it helps decrease inflammation, soothes joint discomfort, and increases skin elasticity. What’s even better is that if you use leftover grass-fed and pasture-raised bones from NIKU Farms, you’ll get much more nutrition and flavour than regular grain-fed options. 

If you haven’t been saving your NIKU Farms bones and vegetable scraps – start freezing them now! Your leftover chicken bones and cartilage, lamb ribs, beef short ribs, all of these would be perfect for making some gelatin and nutrition-rich broth. Once you’ve saved up two to three pounds of bones, you’re ready to get brewing. Follow this Wholefully recipe by Cassie Johnston and you’ll have the perfect soup in three hours. 

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken, turkey, pork, beef, lamb, or other bones (try to get bones that have lots of connective tissue—feet, knuckles, necks, backs, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 4 cups roughly chopped carrots, onions, and celery (or scraps)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Filtered water

Instructions

1. If using leftover pre-roasted/cooked bones, move onto the next section.
2. If using raw bones, preheat oven to 215°C. Layout bones in one layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Stovetop:

1. In a large soup pan or Dutch oven, place the bones, apple cider vinegar, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt.
2. Fill pot with filtered water until it covers the bones by about an inch. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
3. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to as low as your stove will go. You want it to just be barely bubbling. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook for 24 hours for poultry bones and 48 hours for red meat bones. If cooking overnight on the stove makes you nervous, you can place the whole pot (covered) in the fridge overnight, and restart the cooking time in the morning.
4. When cooking time is up, strain through a fine-mesh sieve, and transfer to jars for storing in the fridge or freezer.
5. Once chilled, the broth should be jiggly and have a layer of fat on top. Scrape off the fat and use it for other purposes, if desired.

Instant Pot:

1. In the basin of an Instant Pot, place the bones, apple cider vinegar, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt.
2. Fill pot with filtered water until it covers the bones by about an inch (or to the max fill line on the Instant Pot—whichever comes first). Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
3. Close lid and turn knob to sealing, set to cook on low pressure for 3 hours for poultry bones or 4 hours for red meat bones. When time is up, let the pressure release naturally.
4. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve, and transfer to jars for storing in the fridge or freezer.
5. Once chilled, the broth should be jiggly and have a layer of fat on top. Scrape off the fat and use it for other purposes, if desired.

Slow Cooker:

1. In the basin of a slow cooker, place the bones, apple cider vinegar, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt.
2. Fill pot with filtered water until it covers the bones by about an inch. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
3. Cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook on low for 24 hours for poultry bones and 48 hours for red meat bones.
4. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve, and transfer to jars for storing in the fridge or freezer.
5. Once chilled, the broth should be jiggly and have a layer of fat on top. Scrape off the fat and use it for other purposes, if desired.