It's officially Winter and stocking up on some flavorful herbal bone broth is essential for getting through healthy and strong. It warms the body and soul to sip on something so nourishing. Bone broth is a mineral rich liquid made from simmering bones to extract the nourishment from them. Benefits include improved gut health, boosted immunity, glowing skin, strengthening of hair and nails and reduced inflammation. Although there is a little work involved it will be well worth the effort to have this on hand for sipping, adding to soups, chilis, rice ect. We will be roasting the bones to create a much bolder, richer flavored bone broth. You can also use bison, lamb, poultry or fish bones. So remember to save and freeze your leftover bones and veggie scraps.
What you need:
4 lbs of Beef bones (local, grass fed)Chilled water
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Onions
Head of garlic
Carrots
Rosemary
Thyme
Parsley
Bay leaves
Calendula petals
Peppercorns
In a large stock pot, set the bones and chilled water just enough to cover with 4 tablespoon ACV (this helps to release the nutrients from bones) and let sit 15-20 min. Turn the stove on high and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 min. Remove the bones and put them on a baking sheet with veggies and coat everything ghee. Cook at 450 degrees for about 30 min or until the bones and veggies are nicely browned. Remove everything from the pan and put back into the stock pot. Cover with chilled water bring to a boil, then back down to a simmer. Skim off any foam that rises to the top and discard. Add in fresh herbs and simmer for 6-9 hours. Strain and enjoy!
You can also store the broth in the fridge for about a week. Or if you would like to freeze the broth, cool to room temperature and store in recycled, clean yogurt containers or zip lock freezer bags. Be sure squeeze all the excess air out and stack them in the freezer. If you want to freeze them in jars there are a few rules to prevent the jars from breaking. I have learned the hard way! All my hard work, only to open the freezer and find jars broken :( The wide mouth pint jars are best. Fill the jar just below the max fill line. Cool slowly and completely. Once cooled, apply the lid LOOSELY and store in the fridge overnight to 24 hours. Now you can move your jars to the freezer. Tighten the lid once frozen. The broth expands up and down while freezing. When you are ready to defrost the broth, loosen the lids and thaw SLOWLY to prevent the glass from breaking. But sometimes, despite our best efforts glass jars break anyway.
*When selecting bones for broth you will need high quality bones from animals raised organic, grass fed, home grown or wild caught since you will be making a highly concentrated broth you want the animals to be as healthy as possible.
