Bone Broth (aka, Do You Kitchen?)

We’ve been using “kitchen” as a verb here recently, referring to the ability to be comfortable in using this part of our homes as the primary driver of our health, creativity and wellness. Good food does more than fill bellies and lift the spirits; a body nourished with good food just feels better and works better on our behalf.

Bone broth is a staple in our kitchening practices, and an all around workhorse for its versatility in cooking and health benefits. This nutritional powerhouse is renowned in Chinese medicine for supplementing blood, supporting digestion and boosting Kidney Jing energy (the seat of longevity and reproductive function). We often recommend it to those looking to conceive for this very reason.

Bone broth is a rich source of major and trace minerals, collagen (promoting gut health, working as an anti-inflammatory, and plumping skin) and amino acids.

I like to simmer up giant batches of broth on the weekends, using the kitchen scraps that would otherwise go to waste: namely, the ends of carrots, celery, and onions. (Tip: Collect these little bits of vegetables and bones whenever you cook, and add them to a bag in your freezer for later use. It’s also a great way to use up all of those tiny little garlic cloves on the very inside of the bulb that are too small to want to peel for other recipes.) The smells that waft through the kitchen on these days are divine.

As for bones, using the leftover ones from a cooked whole chicken (including bones, cartilage and any skin) is the easiest method. However, feel free to collect other bones from pork, beef or fish, and make your broth with whatever is on hand. Like our other recipes, quality is key: prioritize free range &/or pastured sources here.

The methods below are mostly hands off, and the end product is far better than what you often find on store shelves. (I promise!)

The Simplest Bone Broth

1. Add the following to your pressure cooker, slow cooker or stock pot:

• Bones and cartilage from one whole cooked chicken, or the equivalent in beef/pork/fish bones

• 1 onion, quartered

• 3 each, carrots and celery stalks, chopped into 3” pieces (don’t worry about peeling the carrots here; just a wash will be enough)

• 6 garlic cloves, or more to your liking (no need to peel, but feel free to use your chef’s knife to smash the cloves first to release their flavor)

• fresh or dried herbs such as rosemary, thyme, parsley and sage (1/2-1 T is more than sufficient if using dried herbs; start low and adjust up in the future)

• 1 T kosher salt

• 1-1 1/2 tsp of peppercorns

• 1-2 bay leaves

2. Cover the broth ingredients with at least 2 inches of room temperature filtered water, or to the “MAX” fill line on your pressure cooker. Add 1 T of apple cider vinegar and let rest for 10-15 minutes to increase the mineral release from the bones.

3. Cooking instructions:

• Pressure cooker: 2 hours at high pressure (12.0 PSI), with natural or manual pressure release

• Slow cooker: 18-24 hours on low

• Stove preparation: Bring to a boil, then simmer (covered) for the duration of cooking time. If possible, start this first thing in the morning and let it simmer into the late evening. A low and slow cook will also bring you to the holy grail of broths, which is one that gels up when cooled. In the pre-pressure cooker days, I’d often leave a batch of broth to cook for 18-24 hours on low in a slow cooker; the collagen breaks down but takes time, so the more you can devote to this process the better!

4. After your cooking time is complete, strain the broth and cooked solids through a fine mesh sieve, saving the ingredients to make a second batch. Season the strained broth to taste with sea salt or Kosher salt; Kosher salt is a little more forgiving in this regard. (Keep in mind with adding salt that flavors will intensify after a day or two, so what tastes perfect today might be too much tomorrow. In a pinch, this can be remedied by adding some water to your cooked stock.)

5. Allow the strained broth to cool slightly before storing in the refrigerator or freezer. Mason jars or freezable containers/bags work well for this purpose if not overfilled prior to freezing. (Tip: if using bags, place your bags lying flat onto a cookie sheet and freeze. Remove the bags after freezing, and they can be “stacked” more neatly in your freezer like books. If you haven’t frozen in Mason jars but would like to do so, be sure to not fill above the “shoulders”/rounded portion of your jar, so as to prevent expansion and jar breakage.)

6. As a tip, it’s often best to use the bones for multiple batches, keeping in mind that the first batch will have the strongest flavor and be best for drinking (if you choose to do so), while subsequent batches will lose some potency of flavor and are better for cooking or making soups, etc. Chicken bones will often last ~2 batches in a pressure cooker, whereas stronger bones (such as beef) will last 3-5 batches. To make a second batch of broth, add your strained ingredients back to the pot, topping off with a bit more of the vegetables, aromatics and other seasonings.

Uses:

It’s probably clear by now that bone broth falls in the “everybody, all the time” category of our recommendations, right? However, there are also times where this golden pot of sunshine goes above and beyond. Preparing bone broth and freezing it ahead of time is a great way to keep this nutrient-dense, healing staple ready at a moment’s notice.

• Bone broth is a fantastic source of minerals (many of these later becoming electrolytes) and trace minerals (perfect for the week of an egg retrieval/post-retrieval recovery/lining preparation during FET cycles); electrolytes help with fluid balance moving fluid in and out of cells and they promote nervous system function.

• “Recovery” phases, such as during/after the period, after intense sweating or exercise, and following childbirth or a pregnancy loss (you can even add Chinese herbs such as astragalus or red jujube dates while cooking to increase the broth’s blood and Qi boosting properties)

• Supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes — bone broth is rich in glycine, a precursor to glutathione. People who may especially benefit from this include those with known MTHFR mutation(s), autoimmune diseases, and/or those coming off strong medications, such as the ones needed for IVF and FET preparation. (Glutathione is known as the “mother” of antioxidants, aiding in tissue repair, immune regulation and detoxification, by way of binding to and aiding in the breakdown of foreign substances such as medications and other compounds in the body.)

• Extra credit/fun stuff — use your cooked broth as the base for this (truly, unbelievably delicious) pho broth for sipping or soup.
  

Happy kitchening!