I have recently fallen deeply in love with bone broth. Nothing brings me more joy than skipping out of the meat department of my local grocery store with a bag full of sliced femur bones. I can barely wait to get home and fill my crock-pot. And it’s SO SIMPLE to concoct a good bone broth. I’ve tried to really simplify the instructions below to what will still yield a nourishing and delicious broth. Broths can be used as the base to everything from soups and stews to the liquid you cook your rice in.
In Chinese Medicine we recognize something called “essence” that isn’t acknowledged in the west. Essence is the fuel that you are born with and that gets used up as you get older. Certain times of life require much more essence; stress, pregnancy and labor, demanding lifestyles, and extreme physical exertion. We call symptoms such as low libido, fatigue, apathy, mental slugishness, and signs of premature aging Kidney Essence Deficiency. Incorporating a steady stream of bone broth into the diet can help replenish this essence. So drink up!
– Broth is a liver tonic (or liver supportive) that helps the body to detoxify during a cleanse, and in fact at any time it is eaten
– Bone broth contains minerals such as calcium, silicon, sulphur, magnesium, phosphorous & trace minerals in an easily assimilable form. These minerals are pulled out of the bones by using a vinegar solution prior to cooking. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in bone, it is also the most abundant mineral in the body. When our bodies are low in Calcium during situations such as fasting, aging, immobilization, postmenopause, and caffeine usage, they steal it from our own bones causing weakness and atrophy
– Bone broth treats digestive disorders such as reflux, ulcers, IBS, colitis, Chrohn’s disease, and food allergies. It “seals and heals” the gut
– Anemia and other blood disorders respond to broth in the diet as well. Gelatin in the broth is used to tonify the blood. Glycine, a key ingredient in gelatin, plays a vital role in the blood
– The collagen in bone broth can be considered for use in the following conditions: poor wound healing, soft tissue injury (including surgery), cartilage and bone injury (including dental degeneration), and cellulite reversal
Cooking Suggestions
1. Broth recipes stress the quality that can be obtained from using marrow bones and highly cartilaginous parts of animals. These parts will be joint areas, like chicken feet and beef knuckles, trachea and ribs, or hooves, skin and femur bones.
2. Place bones into a large stock pot or crock pot with celery, carrots, onions & garlic and cover with water and 1/4 c apple cider vinegar. Let stand for one hour. This helps to leech out important nutrients from the bones.
3. Heat slowly. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for at least 6 hours. Remove scum as it arises.
4. Cook long and slow adding in fresh parsley during the last 10 minutes of cook time. Chicken bones can cook for 6-48 hours. Beef bones can cook for 12-72 hours. A long and slow cook time is necessary in order to fully extract the nutrients in and around bone.
5. After cooking, strain the stock into a large bowl and let cool in the refrigerator until a layer of fat forms on top. Discard this layer before eating. Broth will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days. You can also portion it out into smaller containers and freeze for future use
*Photo by rakratchada torsap at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
