by Rachel Erb
December 20, 2021
'Tis the season for bone broth. Do you make bone broth? This was something new for us to try. We notice many of our customers buying our 100% Grass Fed beef bones for making bone broth and decided we needed to try it for ourselves. Plus, there are so many health benefits associated with drinking bone broth, so what do we have to lose?
We didn't know quite where to start, so we just found a basic "recipe" online. We tweaked it a little to suit our preferences, and the following instructions are what we came up with, resulting in a delicious bone broth. And the best part is.....it's so easy!!!!
For our 1st batch of bone broth, we used a 6 quart slow cooker (since then we have doubled this "recipe", using a large canning pot on the stovetop). This "recipe" will be referring to the use of a 6 quart slow cooker.
Start off with gathering your ingredients together - this is the fun part (in my opinion). Here's what you will be looking for:
- 4-5lbs WR 100% Grass Fed Beef bones - a combination of marrow, knuckle and neck bones is optimal
- up to 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 celery stalks, chopped up into large chunks
- 3 carrots, chopped up into large chunks
- 3 onions, copped up into large chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, quartered
- up to 4 quarts (16 cups) water
- salt to taste
Place the bones in the bottom of your slow cooker and cover with water. Add apple cider vinegar and let this mixture sit for 1 hour before adding your remaining ingredients. The vinegar leaches the minerals out of the bones during this soaking process.
After your bones have been sitting in the vinegar/water mixture for 1 hour, add in your vegetables - Carrots, Celery, Onions, & Garlic. You could add a little salt at this time as well, but most will be added at the end to season to taste. Add more water to cover your vegetables and fill up your slow cooker.
And now's the easy part. Put on your slow cooker lid and turn on high. Once the water is boiling, turn down to low and let simmer away in there for as long as you wish.....anywhere from 24 - 72 hours. Easy right?
As the contents of your slow cooker simmer away, your house will be filled with the delicious aroma of bone broth.
Here's what it might look like after 12 hours of simmering:
And at 24-36 hours:
At this point, your veggies don't look very delicious anymore. But no worries, you're not going to be eating them anyways, and all the goodies have been drawn out of them into your broth by this time.
We decided our broth was done at about 36 hours - the marrow had fallen out of the marrow bones at this time. It's now time to strain your broth. We first used a big slotted spoon to fish out the large chunks of vegetables and bones, and then poured the broth through a mesh strainer into a large, stainless steel bowl.
The strained out bone and vegetable remnants can even be used - it makes a great treat for you family pet - our farm dog "Jack" sure enjoys his portion every time.
Add salt to taste at this point, and then your broth is ready to go. It can be stored in the fridge up to 5-7 days, or placed in the freezer for up to 6 months.
And now it's time to pour yourself a steaming cup of bone broth, sit back and relax, and enjoy the healing benefits of delicious bone broth. (This broth can also be used in soups and stews).
And there you have it - easy right? My least favorite part is the cleanup - it can be kind of a greasy mess. But once it's done, you're left with some delicious, healthy broth, so it's worth it.
What are some of the health benefits? Feel free to research it sometime. Here are just a few items that I've found of how bone broth can benefit you:
- Improves gut health
- Boosts Immunity
- Fights Inflammation
- Strengthens bones and teeth
- Promotes weight loss
- Improves Hydration
That's a pretty impressive list, isn't it? So what have you to to lose? Can't hurt to try it, right?
And if you're not sure where to find a good source of 100% Grass Fed Beef Bones - we can help you out with that too!!! We've got a great supply just ready and waiting for you to make your own bone broth!
Give us a call at 519-504-5102 or place an order right here on our website! All orders over $300 to the GTA (including Toronto, Mississauga, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, and Stratford) ship Free!!!
Rachel Erb
Author