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Simple Homemade Bone Broth

Turns out, Grandma was a pretty smart lady feeding you chicken noodle soup when you were sick!

Traditionally prepared bone broth is making a comeback ya’ll! Have you heard about the New York drive-thru “Brodo“? It’s like Starbucks, but for bone broth! I’m sure many a “East Villager” are walking around, skin all aglow, tummies warm and happy, sipping on their traditionally prepared, grass-fed broth in a to-go cup!

Often called stock or broth, this “doctor in a cup” is the cream of the crop when it comes to health and wellness. It’s also one of the best foods to consume if you think you might be suffering from Leaky Gut Syndrome or experiencing allergies, skin irritations and occasional intestinal upset. 

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Stocks are chalk full of nutrition, which we covered in depth in this post. But a step many people skip when making homemade broth is not adding an acidic medium before cooking. Adding something like apple cider vinegar 20-30 minutes before cooking draws minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium out of the bones, cartilage and marrow and makes them easily assimilated by our bodies. On top of that, the electrolytes are drawn out from the vegetables as they cook. Adding vinegar is a simple step with huge benefits.

The gelatin in bone broth aids in digestion, is soothing to the gut and allows the body to properly absorb and utilize the proteins, minerals and nutrients from other foods as well. We use it to cook all sorts of food for added nutrition.

As if this weren’t enough, broth is an excellent source for amino acids such as proline and glycine, two amino acids our body creates naturally when in ideal health. If, however, you’re not the epitome of health, and frequently suffer from stiff joints, skin diseases and other collagen, connective tissue and cartilage disorders, the additional amino acids from bone broth could prove extremely beneficial for joint health.

Glycine also helps normalize liver function. And we all know that the liver’s job is to cleanse and detox our body, so it could probably use some extra support! Because there are environmental toxins lurking around every corner, none of us are exempt from needing a little detox. Let’s give our liver the support it needs by adding some bone broth into our diets!

No Time to Make Broth?

You’re in luck! High quality collagen peptides or beef gelatin added to hot or cold drinks will give your gut a healthy boost (but you won’t even know it’s there!). Meanwhile, your joints, skin, hair and nails will thank you too! Better yet, keep some Kettle & Fire broth stocked in your pantry. Kettle & Fire cooks their broth just like grandma did. Not only that, but they package it up and ship it right to your door! Just heat it up, sip on a cup each day and start reaping the benefits.

Pressure Canned Homemade Bone Broth

Simple Homemade Bone Broth

Turns out, Grandma was a pretty smart lady feeding you chicken noodle soup when you were sick! Bone broth, when properly prepared, is filled with vitamins, minerals and vital nutrients to help you get (and stay) healthy.
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Course: Soups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours 42 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 42 minutes
Servings: 2 quarts
Calories: 85kcal
Author: Full of Days

Ingredients

  • Bones from 1 whole pastured chicken
  • 12-16 cups filtered water
  • 3-4 cups veggie scraps or 1/2 diced onion, 1-2 diced carrots and 1-2 diced celery stalks including leaves
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley
  • 1-2 Tbs apple cider vinegar with “the mother”
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Add water, chicken bones (including giblets), veggie scraps (except parsley) and apple cider vinegar to a pot and let sit for 30 minutes. Do not turn the heat on, the vinegar needs to work on the bones to get the most nutrition possible into your broth!
  • Bring pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and allow to simmer (covered) for 24-48 hours.
  • The last 20 minutes of cooking, add in your parsley. As if your broth wasn’t healthy enough, parsley will add even more vitamins and immune support.
  • After 24 hours, check to see if the bones crumble easily when pinched between your fingers (this is a good sign that all the minerals and marrow are now out of the bones and in your broth!). If the bones still feel firm, continue cooking for an additional 12-24 hours.
  • Allow broth to cool and carefully strain through a metal sieve into your jars.

Notes

  • You can start enjoying the benefits of broth immediately! Broth may be stored in the fridge safely for two weeks, or you can pressure can it to store in the pantry.
  • If you would prefer, you can remove the lid the last few hours of cooking and reduce your broth down to a concentrate. Then, freeze this concentrate in ice cube trays to be added to soups, sauces and gravies as needed.
  • If you notice your broth doesn’t “gel” when chilled (turn into jello), you can add in extra gelatin for extra gut healing support.
  • We use bone broth weekly in soups, stews and sauces. And we also cook our rice, pasta and some veggies in broth (instead of water) for added nutrition. If you’re feeling sick or run down, warm up some broth and sip on it throughout the day, it really is a doctor in a cup!
  • If you want the amazing benefits of bone broth, but just don’t have the time to make it, there are some great options for you! Skip that broth-flavored-water at the grocery store, and check out a company like Kettle & Fire! They’re making batches of bone broth the way grandma used to, and they’ll ship directly to your doorstep!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 85kcal | Protein: 20g | Sodium: 150mg
Bone Broth 101 for Easy Traditionally Prepared Homemade Bone Broth

Money Saving Strategies for Making Bone Broth

  • Anytime you peel a carrot, skin onions or garlic, or dice up some celery, save the peelings, skin and leaves and store them in a container in the freezer. Next time you make bone broth, add these to the pot and you’ve just flavored your broth at no extra cost!
  • Buy whole pastured chickens (local/organic when possible). Whole chickens costs less per pound and you’ll also receive the organs with your bird (referred to as giblets, gizzards or offal). These organ meats will add beneficial vitamins and nutrients to your broth that your body will thank you for later.
  • If you can contact the farmer butchering your birds (or, if you have an Asian market near by), you may be able to talk them out of the feet and heads (possibly for free!). It may sound strange, but these parts of the bird are full of gut healing gelatin. It all depends on whether you can get over the “ick” factor of handling chicken feet! They are a strange deal, but they get my vote of approval!
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Showing 15 comments
  • Avatar
    Shelby @Fitasamamabear
    Reply

    We love bone broth- so healing! Thanks for your recipe!

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      Thanks, we love it too, Shelby! And you’re welcome!

  • Avatar
    annette
    Reply

    Where do you get beef bones at..? I tried large grocery store chains and they do not sell them.

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      Hi Annette! If you’re wanting to get grass-fed beef bones (which I highly recommend over commercially raised beef), you’ll probably need to dig a little deeper than your grocery store. We request ours from the butcher when we buy half a cow. We store them in the freezer and make batches throughout the year. If you’re not sure of any farmers that raise grass-fed/grass-finished cattle in your area, my recommendation would be to contact your local Weston A. Price Chapter Leader. Do a quick google search for your area and you should be able to find contact information for them. They might be able to help point you in the right direction for your specific location. Best of luck!

  • Avatar
    Mellie
    Reply

    Help please! I just put regular vinegar in this!!!!! Is this gonna be screwed up or should I proceed? I only put in 1 tablespoon. Gosh I’m an idiot! My bones are in it along with the veggies and everything too right now in the 30min wait before I put it on the heat!
    Thank you in advance, I really want this stock too. I looks delicious and I know it is full of health benefits too.

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      You should be fine, Mellie! It’s really for the acidic value of the vinegar…we just LOVE our ACV (because there are additional benefits)! Here’s to yummy bone broth!

      • Avatar
        Mellie
        Reply

        Oh gosh thank you for responding so quickly! I appreciate that a lot! I will continue on then and I will let you know how it comes out in about 24hrs or so 🙂
        Thank you again for your fast response, your help is greatly appreciated!

        • Kelsey Steffen
          Kelsey Steffen
          Reply

          You’re welcome! We just so happened to be checking comments this morning…in the future, if you’re hoping for a quick response, go like our facebook page and send us a message there. We monitor our social media channels more frequently!

  • Avatar
    Heather
    Reply

    The ACV was the game changer in getting my broth to gel! Great tip often left out of other articles I’ve read!

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      Definitely! After making beef broth and chilling it in the fridge I could tip my jar sideways and it wouldn’t budge! ACV draws out all that good gelatin! I forgot to mention you can add in extra collagen or gelatin if you have a quality source…I’ll make sure to go back and add that into the post!

  • Avatar
    Mia White
    Reply

    I didn’t know about the vinegar, thanks!

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      You bet! If you’re using beef or wild game bones, let the vinegar/bones sit in the cold water for an hour before turning on the heat. Beef bones are more dense than chicken bones!

  • Avatar
    Tammy
    Reply

    Thank you! I use a similar recipe for bone broth that my great-grandma taught me. Her heritage was Native American Indian, and she always told me how much healing is in the broth. How did she say it, traditional medicine. 🙂 I am thankful that I can now hand this recipe down to my children and hopefully my grandchildren. Thanks for the “geeky” science behind why the bone broth is so good for me! I am actually making some right now from a very large turkey leg harvested from BIG TOM this fall. Hey Kels, how bout those turkey feet?

    • Kelsey Steffen
      Kelsey Steffen
      Reply

      Our ancestors knew so much more about traditional remedies from nature than we do. Did she also teach you to start with acid to help break down the bones and draw out the minerals? And Big Tom’s feet got added to the pot a while back! 😉

      • Avatar
        Tammy
        Reply

        She may have, but I didn’t remember that step, until you reminded me a while back. 🙂 I was fairly young when she taught me… I believe I was standing on a stool next to her. Such a precious memory!

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