Make your own bone broth.

Making your own bone broth sounds time consuming and complicated...but it is not.  I know in our busy schedules this is the last thing that we may think about spending our time doing...I am here to convince you that this project is very nourishing, cost effective, non time consuming and rewarding.

I made some today and took pictures for you!

 Bone broth provides our bodies with bio-available (very easy to consume, digest and absorb) forms of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and other trace minerals that are so lacking in our diets today. While we can also use vegetable-only broths to obtain certain minerals, without bones in the mix, we won’t get some of the other fantastic benefits.

 Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and trace minerals. It 

contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

 Soup or broth/stock in a can or box is NOT a whole, real, healthy food. There are always additives, fillers or so-called “natural flavors” in those packages – none of which are health-promoting. It’s not the same as traditional broth or stock, which contains many needed minerals.

Why make your own beef stock? If you make a big batch and freeze it, you may save some money. But the main reason is that you’ll get a richness of flavor and texture in your homemade stock that you just can’t buy at the store.

So how can we do this very simply and with very little time involved?...

You will need

3.5 - 4 pounds of been bones

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons of Apple cider vinegar

6-8 garlic cloves

2 Carrots cut

2 Celery cut

1 onion cut

water

salt

AND a CROCK POT!!

I don't use meaty bones, 

(if you do roast them in the oven first)

just toss them in the 6.5 or 7 quart crock pot.

Add the Apple Cider Vinegar to draw out the minerals from the bones.

Put in all the vegetables to flavor the broth.

Just cover with water

Turn the crock pot on high until it is boiling...

then you can turn it to low for the remainder of the simmering time.

Usually I just leave mine on high.

Cook for 

24 hours

48 hour

or even 72 hours.  

You can honestly just forget that you are even making 

rich nourishing bone broth.

That is until you wake up in the morning to this wonderful aroma.

I usually turn the pot off some time in the morning 

of the day I am going to bottle it to let the broth cool.

I always simmer 48-72 hours!

I like very rich condensed broth, so I cook mine along time.

Later in the day when the broth is cool

I pour it into my pint jars(4 or 5)

through a fine mesh filter or cheese cloth

directly into the jars-- 

Leave about 1 inch head space for expansion.

The reasons why I use the jars and not plastic...

BPA Concerns and the jars can be put through 

the dishwasher and they will come out free of ALL fat.

Well the plastic...seems to stay greasy--

so I just stick with the jars.

I discard the remains in the crock pot.

If I had a dog...which I don't...

I would give him the bones for a treat!!

Then cap them with BPA free lids.

I label them.  (important)

Cool them in the refrigerator for a few hours or until morning.

Then into the freezer they go.

You could actually be cooking several crock pots of bones at once.

Say one with beef

one with chicken

one with pork

even one with fish.

(I only have 1 large crock pot!)

Because the broth is very thick

when I use it I always dilute it.

Usually I add about one jar of water to a jar of broth when I cook.

So pick up some beef bones preferably from grass fed cattle and make your own broth.