Homemade Bone Broth (good for the body and soul!)

Homemade bone broth is ah-mazing. If you live in Northwest Arkansas, you probably saw that it was all the rage over the winter. I made a batch in November and should have posted it then, but better late than never! Bone broth is great for a myriad of issues. Remember when Chicken Soup was the magic cure for whatever ails you? Well, in my opinion it still is.

Bone broth is simple but it is also incredibly nourishing and nutrient rich. I recommend it to those people who experience chronic low energy and fatigue. I also think it should be a staple for women (and men) who are trying to get pregnant. And because it is so gentle on the digestive system I recommend it for people who get sick a lot (low immunity) and patients going through chemo.

I used chicken to make my bone broth, but you can use beef or fish if you like -just follow the same general steps. Here’s my step by step homemade bone broth!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole free-range chicken OR 2-3 lbs of all chicken parts (farm raised, free-range is best. Factory farmed chicken doesn’t produce the same results and has less health benefits)
• gizzards (optional)
• 4 quarts cold filtered water
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• Salt
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch parsley

 

I used a whole chicken. If you can’t get that, you can buy several chicken pieces (thighs, wings, etc) just make sure they have the bones.

 

I cut the chicken in several large pieces. You can even see the bag of organs (liver, heart, etc- it all goes in!).

 

Fill up your large stainless steel pot with 4 quarts water and place the chicken pieces in.

 

Add the 2 Tblsp of vinegar. I used apple cider vinegar but plain regular white vinegar is fine too.

 

Let stand 30 minutes.

 

Add onion, carrots and celery.

Bring to a boil.

 

Remove scum that rises to the top.

 

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 7 to 10  hours. The longer you cook the broth the richer and more flavorful it will be.

 

As it got closer to the end cook time, I salted to taste.

 

About 10 minutes before finishing the broth, cut up the parsley and add it to the pot.

 

At the end of 7-10 hours turn off the heat and let cool.

 

After it’s cooled a bit, I used a slotted spoon and tongs to remove the bones.

 

After this long process I like to get as much bang for my buck as possible. After getting rid of the bones, I strained about half of the original pot into another large bowl. This way I have both an amazingly healthy and nutrient rich chicken broth AND chicken soup.

Let the broth chill in the fridge until the fat rises and congeals on the top. Skim off the fat and keep it in a closed container in your fridge or freezer if you’re going to store it for awhile.

I put the chicken soup in single serving containers and keep in the freezer. That way it’s a great meal for me to grab and take to the office for lunch. If you don’t want chicken soup you can also keep the cooked chicken for other dishes like enchiladas, pulled chicken sandwiches, etc. However you use it, it’s going to be delicious.

That’s it! A healthy bone broth that you can use by itself or make the base of other dishes. Cheers!