Ok, so if you’re a vegetarian, then this recipe is not for you. Bone broth has many potential health benefits, including:
- it’s rich in vitamins and minerals
- it may help with joint health, reducing joint pain, because it contains collagen
- it may help improve digestion and reduce inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms
- it seems to help manage inflammation
- it supports immune health
If you’ve been checking out trends in the food world, then you’ll know that old is new again, as bone broths are all the rage right now. Kobe Bryant was prescribed it for an ankle sprain, and he and the Lakers have been eating it regularly since to heal injuries and recover faster. No longer a young player, perhaps he’ll be using that (and hopefully some acupuncture too) to heal his newly torn rotator cuff.
What makes a bone broth different from regular stock or broth? Bone broths are cooked for longer, 12-ish hours stovetop and 3-4 hours in a pressure cooker, pulling out more of the collagen and making for a thicker jelly-like consistency. Regular stock uses the bones too, but is not cooked as long, so is less gelatinous. Regular broth is quite thin and is often made by cooking the actual meat, rather than the bones.
What’s different here? I included the herb astragalus root, called huang qi. It’s an energy tonic that is not a stimulant. It’s most recognized in the West for supporting a healthy immune response, but in TCM we also use it to support digestion, reduce edema or prolapse, help relieve numbness, reduce shortness of breath, and more. It’s a Qi tonic that raises Spleen and Stomach Yang Qi, supports Wei Qi (defensive/immune energy), supports Lung Qi, and helps generate fluids.
Bone Broth with Leftover Bones and Veggie Scraps Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large pot, slow cooker, or pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 chicken carcasses (about 2 lbs) OR 3-4 lbs of beef bones include skin, cartilage, feet, scraps, or knuckles
- scrap veggies you can even freeze veggies that you haven't used up (e.g., I always have leftover parsley and coriander, as I can never use the whole thing)
- 4-5 garlic cloves chopped; optional
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 pinches sea salt or Himalayan salt you can add it later, if you want, to taste
- 10 cups water
- fresh herbs optional
- 2-3 pieces astragalus root optional; you can find this in Chinatown, Chinese herb shops, and some specialty grocery stores; it's also called huang qi; this herb helps support immune health and is an energy tonic (but not a stimulant)
Instructions
- chop veggies
- If you're using beef bones, you may want to blanche them first to help remove impurities. To do this, submerge the bones in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
- If you're using raw or blanched beef bones, preheat oven to 425 degrees F and roast the bones for 30 minutes. You may need to flip the bones so they brown equally on each side. You can skip the roasting, if the bones have already been roasted when cooked. Optional to roast the veggies too for added flavour.
- Add all your ingredients to your large pot, slowcooker, or pressure cooker.
- For the stovetop pot or slow cooker, cook on low heat (covered) for 24 or more hours. I feel like the slow cooker is the much safer option. But, if you're doing stovetop and are nervous about leaving it on overnight or when you're out, you can take it off, refrigerate, and then restart. Cook in pressure cooker for 3 hours and let it release pressure on its own time, ideally.
- Remove the big chunks and strain it with a fine mesh strainer. Pour the liquid into jars. Keep refrigerated or you can freeze extra.