Bone broth deliciousness
It’s a bone broth kinda day. With claims that it improves digestion, protects your joints, clears skin, IMPROVES SLEEP and is great for your immune system, it’s my go-to for days like this when it’s a little chilly and I’m not feeling super great. It’s also SUPER comforting. To me, holding on to a not-too-hot mug with broth, tamari and green onion is the equivalent of curling up in front of a roaring fire. It makes me feel so looked after. The Food Doula, Lindsay Taylor, a woman on a mission to help pregnant and new mothers/birthing people, considers it a “postpartum healing tonic - one that I wish would be served to new mothers after delivery as hospital policy.” (Taken from her marvellous cookbook, The Food Doula.) She states that when the bones are simmered for a long time with a bit of acid, “easily absorable minerals and amino acids such as collagen-forming gelatin infuse in the broth. All those minerals mean bone broth is like an electrolyte replacement beverage - without the food colouring.” I’m sold! Although… After just reading and typing this, I realise that I don’t add any acid. Lindsay adds apple cider vinegar. I will totally do that next time.
It isn’t an exceptionally consuming effort to make. This is part of why I love it. I love how you can make this really zero waste and with such little effort. This is the way I make it:
Whenever I buy fresh chicken, I always get organic thighs, legs or drumsticks. It works out so much cheaper than a whole bird and the darker meat is my favourite anyway. I then make sure to keep the bones AFTER cooking and freeze them. I’ve tried with raw bones and it didn’t have that depth of flavour that I love without them being roasted. I have a Ziplock bag in the freezer at all times to collect not only the bones, but also the bits of onion, ginger, garlic, carrots and whatever else I fancy that would otherwise be wasted. I even keep the chicken juices from roasted chicken in that bag. I’ve tried it with apple and lemon too which has also been delicious. Every batch I cook tastes a little different. Just make sure that everything is cool/cold when it gets put into the freezer bag.
When I can be bothered to put a batch on, I get my bag of bones and veg scraps and put them in my Instant Pot, filling to the maximum line with plenty of room for liquid. (I used to make this in a slow cooker back in the day and it was equally as delicious).
Fill with cold water to just below the line and add any herbs or spices you’d like. My go-to is cardamom pods, bay leaves, peppercorns and sea salt.
I then put the appliance on to pressure cook for as long as I fancy that day. Usually 3-4hrs. When that’s done it’s pressure cooking, I wait until the pressure naturally releases and then put it on the slow cook for a minimum of 3 hours. Last night I put it on overnight for 12 hours. Let the times work around you. This isn’t an exact science and so you don’t need to worry.
I’ve found that by cooking it like this, the bones completely fall apart and I feel confident that I’m extracting as much nutrition from them as possible.
I balance a sieve over a large bowl and ladle the broth and bones to remove all the bones and veggies and squish them down to get as much out of it as possible.
Decant to jars and done.
Sometimes I put some straight from the fridge into a mug and microwave but more often than not I reheat on the stove.
A super quick and healthy meal you can make with this is to add frozen mixed veg and once they are nearly cooked, I add rice noodles. I always add tamari because I always crave the salt.
Enjoy!
