Bone Broth

This week I’m making bone broth.  Stan and I have made consommé, following a recipe by Jacques Pepin, but only when one of us was ill or needed a day with only clear liquids.  Then in The WahlsProtocol, I read how good bone broth is for everyone, and especially for someone with joint pain.  (“Bone broth” is pretty much the same as “stock” or “broth” except it is typically cooked longer to get the most nutrients possible out of the bones.)  Coincidentally it was featured in our local co-op’s January newsletter, and googling “bone broth” brings up many articles and blog posts about how to make it and how healthy it is.

I zipped out to PCC Natural Markets, a co-op in the Seattle area, to buy bones from organic grass-fed happy cows.  Hmm, I’d read about how cheap this is to make, but these bones were a bit expensive at $5.79/lb, I think because they are organic, and marrow bones.  I bought 3 ½ pounds.  Dr. Wahls suggests adding chicken feet for extra gelatin and collagen, and I saw packages of chicken feet there at the store, but wasn’t quite ready to deal with them yet.  I’ll get to it – this business of getting strong isn’t for sissies!

By the way, for any vegetarians out there, Dr. Wahls suggests if you want to start a more paleo diet but don’t find meat appetizing, broth is a good way to get started.  It can be added to soups and other grain or vegetable dishes.  She herself was a vegetarian when she started researching to improve her MS with diet, and she had to get used to eating meat gradually.  (More about her in my post of  12/28/2014.)

So on with the broth.  I’m following the recipe published by PCC in their January 2015 newsletter.  I won’t repeat it here, but mainly you roast the bones for a short while, then let them sit in vinegar and water for an hour, then boil for a few hours to a few days.  I’ll let mine go overnight since we’re lucky to have a burner on our gas stovetop that maintains a slow simmer.  The next day, you add vegetables for the last hour or two and then cool and strain.

Once my broth was strained and cooled, two days after I started, I removed half the fat that had solidified on the top.  The recipe says removing it is optional.  I also added a lot of salt to make it palatable.  The recipe suggests adding herbs, spices, miso or freshly grated ginger and I had some ginger so I’m trying that today.  Here’s my finished product. 

Tastes pretty good, although tomorrow I may remove a bit more of the fat.

My plan is to have a cup of broth every day with my lunch.  This recipe made 8 cups of broth.  With $18 worth of bones, that is a bit expensive, so I’ll look for other types of bones, and also roast a few whole chickens myself.  I also noted Pacific Foods has ready-made organic bone broth for sale, and I may use that some weeks when I don’t have time to make it.  I look forward to stronger, less painful joints, and a side effect of thicker hair, stronger nails and younger-looking skin.  Wow!  I hope it works!