Eat the Broth!
I have been getting a lot of messages lately about confusion about how to make your broth. I believe that broth is something that we all need every day-the amount that you need may depend on the type of healing you are wishing (needing) to achieve. Lately, I have been sending countless emails to people trying to walk them through to process of making the broth. So-I guess my first blog wasn’t giving you enough information on how to get that rich, gelatinous broth that we all need. I am sorry for that! So I am going to walk you through this again. It is important to know how to do this (for yourself) at home. Here we go…
First question I get is: do I (ARK) eat this?
YES! I make the broth once a week and I drink it everyday. I love it! I try to get in as much as I can. I always have some at night before bed (helps with sleep) and if I am having any type of muscle meat – I always balance it with the broth. I eat it every day- all day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)! Every day of the year. It is a secret beauty tip (anti-aging…shhhh)! It is healing from the inside-out. Also, It is anti-estrogen and you all know by now what I think about estrogen. (Don’t get me started) I believe that I eat over a quart every day.
Second question : Why I drink it?
Well, I do cover many reasons in the post “Bone Broth Basics“. But, Let me say this. It is healing food! It is good for your skin, your hair, your nails, your gut, your brain. We need it and there is no two ways about it. Truth be told, most peoples’ digestion is pretty terrible. Remember- Hippocrates says: All disease begins in the gut.
What about the gelatin – Can I have the gelatin instead?
Well, the gelatin is great and I love it. I eat it everyday as well. However, it is not as healing as the broth. You see the gelatin is missing one thing that the broth has and that is calcium. We want more calcium! Our diets are all lacking this important micro-nutrient. The broth has lots of easily digestable protein and lots of minerals including calcium. Also, it is anti-inflammatory! In some cases people are sensitive to the gelatin. The broth is good for EVERYONE! There are very few foods that I can say that about. Let me say again it is anti-inflammatory…. and it works. Traditional cultures always ate the entire animal they all consumed bone broth. They were smart. If you look at cook books from the 1960′s everything was made with bone broth. We need to get back to basics.
So to make the Broth this what I do:
First get a big stainless steal pot. I have lots of people that ask me if they can use a crock pot and the answer is: NO. The crock pots are made from materials that I do not consider safe (if you are going to all the trouble to make a healing broth you don’t want to be digesting chemicals) and it is too small to make the quantity that You need. You want a good, big, solid, stainless steel pot. Nothing less! I would suggest using a pot that allows you to make up to 10 quarts. Invest in a good pot… You will enjoy it forever.
Then add bones to the pot. Many people may have a hard time with pure beef bones and it is ok to add chicken bones. Many people are just more used to the flavor of chicken soup. But, for the real benefits you need to use beef bones – so add chicken bones if you wish but, don’t use only chicken bones. Traditional chicken soup will not really help you as much as broth made with meat bones. It doesn’t have the same minerals and it doesn’t have as much calcium. Chickens usually don’t graze and grass and that is what gives the meat bones the extra healing punch (we humans can’t digest the grass). The meat bones make this the healing broth that you need and they give it he anti-inflammatory properties. Don’t fool yourself thinking chicken soup is equal to bone broth. It is NOT!
The type of bones you are really looking for to make a rich gelatinous broth are the knuckle bones and the tail bones. Lately I have been using : marrow bones, knuckle bones, shanks with the meat, Oxtail, rib bones, neck bones, bison soup bones, lamb bones, and chicken feet are always great for a thick stock. I try to find grass-fed, local meat bones and experiment with what ever I can find. Have fun with it!
You can also add bones from leftover meats – so don’t throw those away. I save all the bones from a week and then add those to the other bones that I am planning to use. Lots of people say that the lamb bones really help the flavor so see if you can roast some lamb bones and throw them in too. Each time I make the broth I use different amounts of bones (it all depends on what I find that week). Normally I try to use 8-10 pounds of bones. But, I have found that with just a couple of good bones – I can get a great broth. So for me it is quality over quantity. I always wash the bones first before cooking them. Sometimes I like to roast the bones..especially the chicken feet.. but, it is not necessary at all.
Now I put the bones in my pot. Ideally, you will fill the pot a third with bones. Then fill the pot to the top with filtered water and let the water cook down into the bones with the top ajar. Then I add about a quart more of water and cook the broth down again to the bones. Once the water has really cooked down I refill the pot again with water and then cook for the desired amount of time. That is it! Reducing the broth twice seems to make a perfect tasting broth. It is truly delicious. Julia Child always recommended that you shouldn’t cover the pot with a lid because it can make the broth bitter… So I follow Julia’s advice. If you don’t feel like cooking the water down twice because of time.. don’t. The broth will still be good. It will be GREAT!
In the past I would add vinegar at this point. But, I stopped and don’t recommend this anymore. I do add white sea salt and I like to salt the broth as it cooks. Add as much salt as you wish because that makes this broth even more nutritious. Do not be afraid to add salt!
You can add fresh herbs for flavor. Sometimes I throw in some garlic or some onion and cook it down. A new tip I have for you is to throw in some fresh kale (vitamin K) or turnip greens at the end to kick up the nutritional value with some more vitamins and minerals.
I want to note that I recommend skimming as much fat as possible out of the soup as it is cooking. Skim the foam that comes to the top while you are cooking and as much fat that you see that floats to the surface. In the end, refrigerate your broth and remove ALL the fat. Do not eat this fat! I saw a recent blog post that was recommending doing just that. Toxins are stored in fat. So you better be pretty darn sure just what the animals were eating if you are eating the fat. I throw that away and that is what I recommend you do as well!
I normally bring the water to a boil in the beginning and then let it simmer. Now, the big question people seem to have lately is: How long do I cook it? I cook my broth for 24 to 72 hours. I always keep the pot on a low flame and just let it keep on going. If it needs more water than I add some. I find that my best broths (the most jelly-like) broths are the ones that have simmered for days. I know some people only cook their’s for hours. I say cook it for a minimum of 4-6 hours. But, for me-it just doesn’t seem to make a rich enough broth. Play around with it and see what you get. Do what works for you in terms of the time and the taste.
When you decide your broth is finished, strain the broth so that you only have liquid. I normally let mine cool and then I pour it into glass mason jars. Then I freeze it until I am ready to eat. I always recommend bringing the broth to a boil before eating it after it has been in the refrigerator or the freezer. It is that easy. Don’t be afraid to do it. It is yummy and you can’t mess it up! EAT THE BROTH!
“From time immemorial, soups and broths have been the worldwide medium for utilizing what we call the kitchen byproducts or as the French call them, the ‘dessertes de la table’ (leftovers), or ‘les parties interieures de la bete’, such as head, tail, lights, liver, knuckles and feet.”
Louis P. DeGouy, (1949)