If your bone broth is thickly-gelled like Jell-O, and even thicker yet so it doesn't even jiggle, you will know that you have perfected the process. It requires the correct amount of...
- Collagen-rich bones
- Water and vinegar
- Cooking time
"Animal bones, tendons, ligaments, and other flexible connective tissues in the body contain a protein called collagen. Collagen is the main (and most abundant) structural protein in the human body." Source: Kettle and Fire Bone Broth The animal parts that are used to make bone broth are the same ones that tend to break down in our body as we age (bone marrow and cartilage).
Here's what you'll need:
Bone Broth Ingredients and Utensils
For Cooking Down Bones to release their collagen, there are 3 choices:
- Pressure Cooker
- Stove Top
- Crock Pot
My preference is a pressure cooker because, with the other two methods, additional water must be added to replace what is lost through evaporation. Therefore, flavor and collagen concentration is reduced. (I own an Instant Pot 8-quart IP-DUO8O Model).
For Bones: In our central Minnesota locale, SuperOne Foods has a good selection.
- Turkey and chicken: necks, backs, wings, the carcass after roasting a whole bird (for a turkey, portion into two parts and freeze half for later), chicken drumsticks (Costco family-pack sells for $0.79/lb or watch for sales at regular grocery stores), and chicken feet (Walmart sells 9 per Styrofoam tray).
- Beef: Knuckles, femurs, neck bones, and oxtail (sometimes labeled "beef tail").
Note: You will portion out the drumsticks into quart freezer bags w/ 4 per bag, then place those bags into a gallon freezer bag so that you can locate them more readily in the freezer. Likewise, portion the chicken feet into quart bags w/ 5 per bag, then tuck any stragglers leftover at end into the bags which will make 6 in a few bags rather than 5. Place each bag into a gallon freezer bag as you did with the drumsticks.
For Veggies:
- Celery
- Carrots
- Onion
- Garlic Bulb w/ individual cloves to break off
For Seasoning:
- Dried or fresh parsley
- Dried or fresh rosemary sprigs (adds amazing flavor- fresh if possible)
- Whole peppercorns
For Cooking Water:
- Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with the 'mother' to help draw collagen from the bones.
For Straining:
- Stainless steel wide-mouth funnel w/ handle (Suggested: Norpro Stainless Steel Funnel with Handle for Regular and Wide Mouth Jars available on Amazon)
- Large mesh strainer to set inside funnel (a. not double-mesh, as it clogs too easily and b. It's advantageous for it to be taller than the funnel, as it holds more solids to expedite the straining process)
- Long-handled soup ladle
- Two-quart (8-cup) glass batter bowl with a lid and measurement markings to mix vinegar with water and store bones in fridge if using them to make a second batch of broth
- One two-quart wide-mouth canning jar with lid
- One peanut or almond butter jar w/ lid
For Weighing Bones:
- Digital scale (Use the “weight converter” on https://www.coolconversion.com to convert ounces to pounds.)
For Record-Keeping:
- Notebook to keep track of type of bones, weight, and combinations that worked well so it can be repeated.