Homemade Bone Broth

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Bone broth has so many health benefits and is a delicious way to add protein, COLLAGEN, and micronutrients into your diet. There are lots of different varieties available to buy at the store, but what if you could make it for yourself? I promise that it's not hard at all and once you have homemade bone broth, you won't ever want to buy it again.

While bone broth is delicious, taking pictures of it is not pretty. I'm not sure if I could have made this aesthetic in any way, but hopefully the bone broth recipe I'm sharing will make up for it! 

When I started making homemade bone broth, it was also around the time that I started roasting whole chickens in the oven. That's a whole other post that I need to write, so don't freak out too much over that part. If you roast chickens already, you're set with the bones that you'll need to make the bone broth. If not, you will need to get some from your local butcher or you could even use the carcass from a roasted chicken you buy at the store. If you buy raw bones, be sure to roast them at a high temp in the oven. It helps to create more flavor and to make the bone marrow more available.

I don't have any special equipment to make bone broth, but I did add an extra CROCK POT (from the thrift store) to our collection, so we can make two batches at once. I normally roast two chickens at a time, so it only makes sense to make bone broth right away with the bones. I know you might not cook to such scale or have a need for that much bone broth, so you can always toss extra bones (and veggie scraps) into the freezer until you have enough to make a batch. We've done that plenty of times, but I tend to lose track of what we have stored away, so now I just make the bone broth right away.

If you don't feel like making bone broth for yourself, a great place to source it is AZURE STANDARD! I love Azure Standard. It's a natural foods coop (no membership fee) that is focused on providing the healthiest foods to its members. If you're interested in being able to procure healthy foods for your family without having to drive all over creation to do it, I can't recommend Azure enough! 

What You'll Need to Make Homemade Bone Broth:

CROCK POT

Large bowl

STRAINER WITH HANDLE

LADLE

TONGS

Ziploc freezer bags or JARS for storage

Ingredients to Make Homemade Bone Broth:

Chicken bones or carcass of one chicken

3-4 whole carrots

4-6 celery stalks

1 whole onion - chopped

Whole garlic cloves - I use a whole head, but you can add to your taste

Splash of apple cider vinegar

Salt + pepper

Water

Steps to Make Homemade Bone Broth:

1. Add all the ingredients to the CROCK POT
2. Top with water until everything is submerged
3. Cook on low for 24-36 hours
4. Strain out as many of the ingredients as possible
5. Place STRAINER over empty bowl and LADLE bone broth over it, catching any pieces of veggies or bones that remain
6. Repeat step 5 until you have the crock pot emptied
7. Let cool and store in ziploc freezer bags (freeze flat for storage) or JARS

Storing the bone broth in baggies isn't the most ideal situation, but it has worked well for us. Once filled, I lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet, place in the freezer, and then arrange them once fully frozen. If you're a canner, you can certainly preserve the bone broth that way. That's a skill I haven't learned yet, though, so I'm stuck with freezing or using it up right away. I've been planning our meals so that after I make bone broth, I make soup of some sort...using the broth. It's also a delicious and easy way to break your fast...or if you're on the go and need something healthy to eat.

It's always such an accomplished feeling to see all the broth strained and ready to be stored. I'm still very new to making food from scratch and preserving it, but I've found that the more things that I can get really good at (like making bone broth), the more confident I am in tackling other things. I also love that I know exactly what goes into the bone broth that we make. Yes, I can find organic options at the store, but for a bit of work and a fraction of the cost, I can have full confidence in my homemade bone broth.

If you decide to try making homemade bone broth, I'd love to see! Share to your INSTAGRAM and be sure to tag me!