Bone broth is the hot new health drink and as the name implies is made from bones – knuckles, necks, shins, wings, marrow, tails – simmered in water for a long period of time. The long simmer extracts the protein, vitamins, minerals, and collagen from the bones to create a nutrient dense broth that is said to heal your gut, make you look younger and sleep better, boost your immune system and a whole lot else.
Bone broth starts off like stock; bones and aromatics simmering in water, but typically a stock cooks 3-4 hours and a bone broth will continue bubbling away, sometimes as long as 24 hours.
Sourcing the ingredients is probably more important that the preparation. It can be made using the bones of any animal – beef, bison, lamb, veal, poultry or fish – but it is important that they are naturally raised and healthy. Since the point of the long simmer is to extract the minerals, which you will end up drinking in concentrated form, you want to make sure that you use quality bones from grass fed cattle, wild caught fish or farm raised poultry.
I make chicken bone broth because those are easiest bones for me to find and I generally use a good quality-stewing hen, a poule, preferably organic. These are older laying birds, passed their prime. They are not good to eat (tough as nails!) but their firm muscles, as well as their bones, skin and cartilage are packed full of flavor and nutrients. When using a hen, I cut it into pieces and throw the whole thing into the pot.
If I can’t find a hen, my second choice, is a free-range chicken, poulet élevé en liberté. Again, all the better if it is also organic (not all organic birds are free-range). Free range birds in France live a minimum of 12 weeks and having spent most of their days pecking around out of doors have built up flavorful muscles with some texture and strong, nutrients rich, bones. These birds are expensive, but produce great results. Generally, I roast these chickens first, remove the meat then use the carcass for the broth.
For some, the quality of the gel is the hallmark of a successful broth. A gelatinous stock has body, is slightly sticky and is the sign of a nutrient rich stock. So, I also like to throw in a couple of extra chicken feet and the neck too – these are jointy bones (a real term!), rich in cartilage and containing lots of connective tissue, a sure-fire way to increase the gelatinous texture of the final stock.
Sometimes you can buy chicken feet prepared, but if you are using them straight off the chicken you will need to dress them yourself. It’s a simple matter of rubbing them with salt, scalding them in boiling water for 5-10 seconds, then removing them to a cold-water bath. This loosens the scaly membrane so it can be peeled off without too much difficulty (in theory). After that, you can chop off the talons and they are ready for the pot.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty basic; besides water, some vegetables and spices. I also add cloves, some star anise and coriander seeds. However, these are very specific flavors that you may not like or want in a your broth.
Cooking times vary according to they type of bones you are using and the chef. I like to bring my chicken broth to a boil on the stovetop, then cover the pot and place it in a low oven for 6-8 hours, leaving it to gently simmer without me having to keep an eye on it. It also minimizes the amount of steam in the kitchen.
Bone broth can be a delicious warm drink, a base for soups, stews or sauces and a flavor boost for cooked vegetables and grains.
Ingredients
Instructions
