How to Make Bone Broth

Bone broth is very popular with many people living a ketogenic lifestyle. It is well known within the keto community for its health benefits. Bone broth is great source of minerals, amino acids, collagen and gelatin. Once you learn how to make bone broth you will find yourself cooking up a batch every couple of weeks. 

How to Make Bone Broth

You can have bone broth on its own or use it to add flavour your meals when cooking. Many people enjoy having a cup of bone broth to start their day, some people add fat like butter to make a bulletproof bone broth and others just like to have it in the freezer to use when cooking meals.

Knowing how to make bone broth is a great skill to have as it will save you from having to rely on buying it. It also means you are able to control the ingredients and add the flavours you like.

Equipment

• Slow cooker or large dutch oven/large stockpot
• Glass jars for storage
• Strainer
• Cheese cloth/paper towel

Ingredients for How to Make Bone Broth

• 1.5 – 2kg of bones. You can use any animal bones you like. If you want your broth to be packed with collagen, gelatin and glycosaminoglycans try to find bones with lots of cartilage, ligaments, tendons and skin.
• 2-4 Onions, cut in half with the skin on
• 2-3 Bay leaves
• Herbs – add any fresh herbs you have for flavour. We have thyme and rosemary in our garden, so added some to our broth for flavour
• 2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 liters of cold water. Make sure all the bones are covered with liquid. This will depend on the size of your pot, instant pot or slow cooker. We use a 6 litre slow cooker.

Tips for how to make bone broth

• Save bones when cooking to add into your broth. We often will use the carcesses leftover from a roast chicken or the bone from pork belly. Just keep a bag in the freezer you can add to so you can collect enough to make a batch of broth.
• Some great bones to use are oxtail, chicken feet, pigs trotters, marrow bones, soup bones, chicken carcasses or fish heads. Any bones will add great flavour and benefits. If using chicken feet, note that they are usually soaked in bleach for safety purposes and you will need to boil them in a pot on the stove before adding to your broth.
• Using the apple cider vinegar helps release the minerals from the bones.

Serving Suggestions

• On it’s own. Heat and drink. YUM!
• Make a bulletproof bone broth by adding some butter and blending.
• Use when making our meatballs. You can reduce the amount of passata and replace it with the broth. This will also reduce the carbs, so its a win win.
• Use for any recipe that calls for stock
• As a base for soups

Steps

1. Add all of the ingredients into the pot or slow cooker
2. If using a slow cooker, set to high and bring to the boil. Once it is bubbling turn down to low and cook for 24-48 hours
3. If using the stove top bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 24-48 hours
4. Once the cooking time has finished, remove all the large bones and discard.
5. Strain the liquid through a strainer and cheesecloth to remove all little bits of bone and debris. This will leave you with a golden, rich coloured broth.
6. Place in a large bowl and put in the fridge overnight.
7. A layer of fat will form on top, skim that off and you will be left clear liquid
8. Then ladle your broth into your glass jars and store in the fridge or freezer. If storing in the freezer allow some room at the top of the jar for the broth to expand as it freezes.

We hope you found this helpful. Check out our other ‘How to’ posts for more step by step guides.