17 replies to this topic

[Teaberry]

For centuries women took the meat their husbands brought in, cooked it and then put all the bones in a pot to simmer 24/7. Those with woodstoves just left the pot going all the time as they heated their homes. They did not skim the fat off the top, but left it because it adds nutritious elements to the bone broth.

Has anyone here made their own bone broth before? Do you have any good soup recipes you've used with your broth? I'm looking for good recipes and ideas.

In the past I've always refrigerated broths and then skimmed the fat off the top, but I'm leaving it in now. It's an acquired taste though, so hard for me to get used to.

Bone Broth Benefits
http://bodyecology.c...th#.UJ0xKnZM488

[Annarchy]

We do it in the winter, and I like to use my pressure cooker. Too hot here to keep a fire in the summer.




Here are a couple links:

http://balancedbites...bone-broth.html

http://www.maangchi....pe/ox-bone-soup

http://www.jadeinsti...th-building.php

[Teaberry]

Do you skim the solidifed fat off the top before using? I just noticed in the link I shared that they say to do that, yet I've read other places saying to leave it. Also, do you just drink your broth as is? Or use it in a soup recipe? Mine is beef broth.

[Teaberry]

Do you skim the solidifed fat off the top before using? I just noticed in the link I shared that they say to do that, yet I've read other places saying to leave it. Also, do you just drink your broth as is? Or use it in a soup recipe? Mine is beef broth.

Sorry, I was in a hurry reading your post and now have looked at the neat links you shared. Thanks. It sounds like in those that the solidified fat is removed.

[kappydell]

I make it all the time! I have a crockpot that I keep simmering. The broth is poured into a fat-separating measuring cup (They are on sale at Wal mart right now for Christmas) for easy separation of fat. I use the broth in soups, gravies, white sauces (chicken broth) etc. I keep beef bones separate from poultry bones, pork can go in either one (for me). I put them in net bags that I make out of the netting around the turkeys this time of year, and keep them in the freezer (in a plastic bag) until I have 'enough' to fill a crockpot. Toss the net bag in, simmer away in water to cover, plus a couple TB of vinegar or lemon juice to help the calcium dissolve into the broth. When ready, remove the bone bag, pour into the fat-separating cup and use as desired.

One tip I read in a civil war era army cookbook was most interesting. They advised saving all the bones cut from meats, separating them into net bags, in bunches large enough for the cookpots. Then after simmering 24 hours or so for the next days' soup, they were fished out, the bones dried, and re-used again the next day. Three days the bones were boiled for broth, then day #1 bones were thrown away, and day #4 bones added to bones from days 2 and 3. Obviously this would take at least 4 net bags of bones for the rotation to work, but it made me marvel how much use they got from those bones and I keep it in mind as a way to stretch my soup fixin's even further should the need arise. I can only imagine how many bones an army cook would have to work with!

Edited by kappydell, 16 November 2012 - 03:25 AM.

[indy gal preps]

I have done this for years-just not in the crockpot,but will now try that instead of a big pot.I always do this with the turkey bones,just cover with water and simmer for hours,no seasoning,cool,put in freezer containers and freeze.You can use this for soup or gravy,anywhere you would use broth.

[TheCG]

I don't use a recipe. I've discovered that I don't like the flavor of pork bones in mine (that batch got dumped, it was nasty).

I toss in the carcass/bones, dump in water until it's covered and about an inch below the top of my crock pot, toss in a spoonful or two of lemon juice, turn it on high until it boils, then leave it on low until about the same time the next day.

I cooked it down afterwards last time (reduced it) to about 1/3 of the volume, and it's delicious and takes up much less space in my freezer.

[CrabGrassAcres]

When I was still eating commercially farmed meat, I never ate the fat. It was nasty. Now that I raise all my own animals, I eat the fat and it is good.

I don't normally bother with "making broth". I usually can the meat, bone in and that makes the broth with the meat. For larger animals, like hogs I'll make broth since the bones are too big for the jar. I usually throw the goat bones to the dogs though since I'm not overly fond of goat meat. I feed goat to daughter. She loves it and it works for her diet. I frequently butcher boy kids within a couple of weeks since I dislike wasting the milk on them. Dairy bucklings aren't worth pouring all that milk into. Those bones fit nicely into my canning jars and make lovely meat jelly for daughter.

[Andrea]

<sub>I make bone broth whenever I have bones. I hadn't thought about freezing them before and I never have mixed different bones like beef mixed with chicken. I throw my bones in my largest crockpot along with onions, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaves. I fill it with water and then cook on low for several days or until the bones start to disintegrate - usually about 4-5 days (smaller bones like chicken, I'll break in half before cooking to expose the marrow) During this time, I'll make use of the broth in 2-4 cup increments (I run it through a filter) and just add more water.

I've been wondering if this is safe to can? Does anyone know?</sub>

[Wm.Mike]

Isn"t this just like "stock" making. I use carrots, onion, celery, meat bones and some seasoning, cook for hours till thick then can.

 

Mike

[Mother]

Before I post this I'd like to give a warning. Be sure to check the temperature of foods in your Crockpot or slow cooker to make sure the appliance is keeping them at safe temperatures.  I have found quite a bit of difference between the older and the newer ones. To be safe foods should be kept below 41 degrees and above 140 degrees. Make sure your's does that consistantly over a long period.

 

I make bone broth often. I used to do it on the cookstove in the past but now, like others here, I put the bones in the freezer until I have enough and then put them in the crock pot with water and a bit of vinegar or lemon juice. I usually leave them a couple of days and then take off most of the broth, add more water, vinegar or lemon juice, and cook at least one more time for a couple of days to get a second but weaker broth. I have actually done this up to seven times with the same bones and used the broth but it was pretty insipid after the first couple of batches. Poultry and small bones are almost dissolved after a few batches though and even the larger bones are pretty soft and can easily be crushed and dried for use in the garden so still another way to extend their use. 

 

The first broth I set in the refrigerator overnight and remove the fat. I usually save the fat for cooking if the taste is okay. Otherwise it's fed to our outside cats. The broth is put into ice cube trays and frozen then popped out and put into freezer bags. When I don't have a fresh batch of broth to use, I use the 'broth cubes' for cooking in soups, casseroles, gravies, and etc. DH and I also have a mug of broth almost every morning all winter long. Just three cubes of the first broth in a mug filled the rest of the way with water is usually strong enough for us but it varies with the broth.

 

I strain the bones out and use the second broth undiluted as a drink or put it back into the crock pot for soup. Along with saving bones for broth I also save small amounts of cooked left over vegetables, meats, and vegetable juice in a large container in the freezer, just adding to it as the vegetables come available. I add this with some herbs to my second bone broth along with a handful of dried veggies if there doesn't seem to be enough and bring it to boil on high before lowering the temp to let it simmer all day for a wonderful rich and always different soup. If there is soup left over I often add something to it, bring it to a boil again and then keep it simmering into the next day. This is a variation on the pioneer housewife perpetual soup on the back of the cook stove.  Again, make sure of your temps.

 

I use the same process to make a vegetable broth.  I save the trimmings from any fresh vegetables I am preparing. I use the root ends, stems, skins, and leaves of celery, carrots, onions, garlic, peas, beans, herbs, cabbage, broccoli, and etc. as long as they are clean and not spoiling. I put these in a container in the freezer as well, (without blanching as they aren't in there that long) adding to it until I have enough for a crock pot full. Then I add water and let it simmer 24 hours or up to three days until I get a rich broth that can be used the same way as Bone broth in many dishes. Too many strong flavored vegetables in the broth will give it a very strong taste but then it is still usable for soups.  I freeze this broth in ice cube trays just like the bone broth and it makes it convenient to pull out however much I need. These trimmings can also be added to the bone broth when you are cooking it too for a veggie/meat broth instead. The addition of some herbs enhances the flavor.

 

I've been doing this for so many years that our grown kids tell us it smells like "Home" when they come to visit and when the grandkids smell soup cooking (or bread or cookies baking) they say it smells like "grandma's house".  I don't do nearly as much baking as I used to but I continue with the broth and soup. It's easy and nutritious.

 

[kappydell]

I even boil bones from our KFC chicken when we get it - they add nice seasonings to the broth.

Bone broth:
Bones from chicken and pork for light broth; from beef, pork, and/or veal for dark broth (as many as you have or will fit in the crock pot)
water to cover bones (including liquids drained from canned veggies and cooking liquid from cooked veggies)
white vinegar, 4 TB for each quart of water in the crock. This helps dissolve out some calcium and minerals from the bones.
Vegetable trimmings (wash carrots & potatoes before peeling): peels, celery leaves, onion skins, pea pods (washed), green onion tops, parsley stems, in short anything raw but not moldy, diseased, or otherwise inedible. Brassica family trimmings are simmered in a separate broth.
Salt to taste (draws out nutrients and flavor into the liquid
Combine, simmer in crockpot a good 24 hours or so. Strain and put liquid in refrigerator 12 hours. Any fat will harden and rise to the top where you can remove it by hand. Toss vegetable trimmings, but you can re-boil the bones at least once more.
Taste your broth. If it seems weak, add bouillon cubes to flavor it up (you still have those extra good nutrients in there, even if you cant taste them). I use as a soup base for my whatchagot soups; use as a gravy base; use in my tomato paste spaghetti sauce; and for hot light broths to drink.

Whatchagot soup - (ultra cheap food takes ultra creativity)
Bone broth (free)
leftover cooked veggies (free)
leftover meat, cut up fine (free)
any leftover gravy that 'matches' the broth flavor (free)
a handful of any leftover starches - pasta, rice, barley, etc (free)
cooked dried beans are especially nice to give extra body to the soup
Combine, heat through, dine away. Thicken if you like, using 2 TB flour for each cup liquid in the soup (shake in a jar with cold liquid, then stir in). Season to taste, if it needs it.

Bone broth gravy
2 1/2 cups bone broth
bouillon cube if it is weak tasting (i like chicken, beef, the tomato-chicken from Wal-Mart for a tomatoey gravy)
5-6 TB flour (I like my gravies thick)
Set aside 1/2 cup of the broth in a small jar. Add the flour and shake it until there are no lumps. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 cups broth, the bouillon if you use it, in a saucepan. When the flour mixture is smooth, stir in.
Heat over med heat, stirring often, until it starts to boil, then boil 2 minutes to cook flour, while stirring constantly. Serve.

Cream soup from bone broth
1 1/2 cups bone broth
1 c milk (from dry is OK)
bouillon or soup base (I sometimes use seafood flavor for 'clam' chowder, adding a little dill weed to season)
Heat the broth in a saucepan with the bouillon or soup base flavor of choice. Shake the flour with the milk, then stir in. Season to taste. Add minced leftover cooked vegetables (mushrooms, broccoli for broccoli soup, onions, etc)and meats to fit the soup you are having (minced fish for seafood chowder; minced chicken for chicken-corn chowder, etc. Cook like gravy. (The cream soups are a good place to use cooking water from cabbage family veggies for part or all of bone broth - then chop up cauliflower or broccoli leftovers for cream of cauli soup. Shredded cheese on each serving puts it over the top.)

Drinkin' Broth or Sippin' Soup (whatever you choose to call it, its tasty)
Combine bone broth with soup base or bouillon of choice and enjoy. Good while cooking, to keep from nibbling so much when you are dieting. Low in calories too if not thickened.

Other Uses for Bone Broth
Use as liquid for boiling rice
If mild flavored, may be used in strong flavored jello
Use to baste cooking meats, or as liquid when braising tough meats
Combine with tomato juice for a different hot drink

Im out of ideas...anyone else?

Edited by kappydell, 04 January 2013 - 05:42 PM.

[Andrea]

Thanks for the information Mother!  I need to make some vegetable broth.  Do you think it would enhance the flavor and color of the broth if I roasted some of the vegie scraps in the oven first?  

[Midnightmom]

"Instant" bone broth..........................open a can of chix broth from the store; mix in one packet of gelatin; heat and consume.     

[Mother]

Yes, it greatly enhances the taste of the broth to roast both the bones and the vegetables. It's not necessary if using bones from already roasted meat but even then it adds a depth of flavor. We love roasted vegetables so much of our leftovers for soup are roasted already.

 

Great recipes Kappy. I never use bouillon as it usually contains things like yeast extracts and hydrolyzed stuff. Thankfully most of our broth is flavorful enough without them though the second and third cooking is usually not as great and I use it with vegetables and such. I am surprised though that with the addition of vinegar each boiling seems to set into gelatin.

 

I often use Knox Gelatin in different dishes and curiosity had me going to Wikipedia to see how it was made. I sure wish I hadn't, ugh!  MIght be time to learn how to use my own homemade stuff to make deserts and etc. Should be good in an aspic type dishes and gelled salads if nothing else. Anyone have ideas or recipes?

[kappydell]

I just made some more today. I like having a crock pot full of nice broth to nosh on while I am in the kitchen - it keeps me from cheating on the diet! Today's bone broth is chicken-turkey-pork. Tomorrow it will probably be a vegetable broth, as I am making scalloped potatoes and ham and will have all those peelings (potatoes and onions, plus some older celery) to boil up. The hambone is already stashed in the freezer for another couple of uses. God bless that stock-pot, it is one of my best diet aids! And yes, I do skim the fat, but I clarify it for other uses. Between cooking, grease lamps and soap it all gets used.

Edited by kappydell, 10 March 2013 - 02:50 PM.

[lovinit]

It smells pretty yummy in our kitchen.  There is a chicken carcas, and some dried vegetables, simmering in the crock  pot for Tuesday's lunch.

 

There is  a cyber bowl  full for Mt. R. and anyone else not feeling well.

Edited by lovinit, 11 March 2013 - 05:05 PM.

[Sarah]

Sheep bone is also done this way, along with chicken, pork, beef, and game birds.  Sheep is my favorite, but be sure to skim/refine that tallow you will get later.  The tallow is not flavorful eating , and the tallow has many uses.

 

In the theme of 'never throw anything away!':

 

After you have rendered all the goodie out, five times, not the three noted above, the old timers make 'bone oil', particularly of pork, but any would do, as a liniment for arthritus or as a 'neats foot' oil, or as a carrier for all kinds of leather products, to include dyes and polishes.  (Black soot plus the oil is still the best boot polish!)(The original formula for 'Lincoln Stain Polish', so beloved by our Marine Corp, is this with a black shelack added.)

 

If you find a three crockery bowl set, normally red clay, you might have a bone oil 'still'.  Crock#1, the largest, looks like a flower pot, with a hole in the bottom.  Crock#2 is the only glazed one, and fits the bottom of #1, and catches the juices from #1's hole.  #3 is a top, dished to hold coals, like a dutch oven.  Fill with 'dry' bones, put in fire, baking the remaining oils from the bone.  Product is normally a dark red, and viscious, and has an abbadoir (off-blood) smell.  The bones were crushed after rendering, and often used up to three times with new bone.  This was called 'bone mother', and you might find this term use in a lot of the WWI-WWII cookbooks for jellies, and as a thickening agent for 'wheatless' days recipes and the like. 

 

Grandmother made a lot of the mother.  She would add something to it, not vinegar, and it would be a hardish jelly, great for my beloved apple drops, think lemon jellies.  Sigh: Another lost trick...

 

Trivia: Where does the word 'neat' come from?  Neat is an old world word for 'cattle'.  Now ya know!

 

Sarah

of the Librum.

Edited by Sarah, 12 March 2013 - 08:11 AM.