Why I Make My Own Stocks and Bone Broth

In my last post I noted that homemade stock is preferred for my French Onion Soup recipe. Aside from the flavor that it imparts into the soup, homemade stocks (bone broths) are chock full of vitamins and nutrients. Many consider them to be powerful superfoods that can boost our immune system, heal and strengthen our teeth, bones and joints.  In fact, many of our ancestors believed that the vitality from a chicken is transferred to our bodies when we consume chicken soup, which is why it was generally given to the sick.  Modern versions of this healing broth fall short because we have replaced the broth with sodium and color to give the appearance of a health food; however, it’s not real soup.

“Back in the Good Ol’ Days” our grandparents didn’t throw anything away, so when they butchered an animal or purchased meat it was usually still on the bone. Once the meat was removed/eaten they would take the bones, along with vegetables and simmer them to make stock.

The process of making stock is not very involved, but does take some time. Simmering bones (with some meat and fat still attached), vegetables, cold water and a dash of vinegar to help extract calcium (if you have ever soaked eggs shells in vinegar until they turned rubbery you know why this is helpful) is all it takes.

It’s important to note that the key to a nourishing bone broth/stock is getting bones from pastured animals and wild caught fish. Our modern farming practices focus on factory farms where the animals are rarely allowed to move and are fed diets of grain/corn. Remember that old adage, “You are what you eat”? Well it’s more like “we are what they ate”. Animals that are not allowed to spend their lives on the pasture cannot consume grass. The grass is where the animals get their vitamins and minerals from, so if we do not allow the animal its own supply of vitamins and minerals, we will be unable to extract them from their bones during the stock making process. It’s that simple!

 

To make it even easier, I regularly visit Stillman’s Farm (located in central MA) at the Somerville farmer’s market and  purchase their ‘bags of bones’ for about $3.50 a lb. So for about $7 I am able to make 6-8 quarts of stock. That’s much cheaper than supermarket stock in box.

Beef or Chicken Stock/Bone Broth

1 pasture based chicken carcass or 2 lb of pasture raised beef bones

8 quarts of water

3 Carrots

3 Ribs Celery

2 onions

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Remove the scum that forms on the top of the stock with a spoon. Reduce the heat to low and let your stock simmer for about 8-12 hours.

I usually do this first thing on a Sunday morning and let it simmer all day for the best results.

Enjoy!