Making Bone Broth in a crock pot

 

In the dark of the Canadian midwinter, what could be more warming than having a pot of bone broth heating in your kitchen?  The aroma of "soup" cooking is very comforting at any time of the year.

I have always made bone broth in a big stock pot on my stove, but since you are supposed to cook it for a day or two, leaving a pot on a hot burner overnight left me a bit uneasy.  Nothing ever happened to warrant this unease, but still.  I decided to try doing it in my crock pot - I have a quite large one, and have always used it for cooking soup, making chili, etc.  It may make less broth at one time, but not having to "keep an eye on it" made it a relaxing experience.  The picture at the top of the post is the beginning of the beef bone broth I made that day, and below is after two days of cooking.

What a difference!  It was easy to have a large bowl nearby with a sieve over it, and I ladled everything through the that instead of trying to pour it from a pot.  I got 4 plus quarts/litres of delicious, nutrient rich bone broth.  Look at that rich colour!

Bone broth is really one of the most simple things to make, and you can use it as soup stock, when called for in a recipe, or simply heat some up to drink.  I have discovered that it is a great thing to have for my afternoon break because I feel less hungry after drinking it, something that just drinking a glass of water doesn't do for me.

Bone Broth

Ingredients

• Bones (chicken, turkey, beef, bison, ham, etc.)
• Cold filtered water
• Apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons for poultry, up to a half cup for beef, bison, ham, etc.)
• Carrots, large pieces
• Onion, chopped in large pieces
• Celery, large pieces
• Sea Salt - optional (1 teaspoon per large crock pot)
• Optional herbs and spices of your choice.

Method

• Put the bones (about 3 lbs) and cold filtered water into the crock pot.
• Add the apple cider vinegar, and sea salt, and herbs/spices if using. 
• Add any veggies you are using.  This can include onion skins, the ends of carrots, celery leaves.  You can save all these in a bag in your freezer to add to your next batch of bone broth.
• Let the crock pot sit for one hour without heating. This allows the apple cider vinegar to penetrate the bones so more collagen from the bones will go into the broth.  This is what makes the gel that you will see sometimes under the chicken or beef when you roast it.  Collagen is excellent for your bones, teeth, etc.
• Turn the heat on the crock pot to Low, and let the broth cook for 24 - 72 hours.  You might have to add some water in between.  It may take a few hours before it looks like the broth is "cooking", but that is okay.  You don't want it to boil.
• Filter the soup, and keep the bones.  Yes - you can use the bones more than once. I know of some people who keep reusing the bones until they disintegrate.  Of course, they also add new bones after the first couple of batches, and always new veggies to each batch.  I even came across one post that recommended putting cleaned egg shells in the bone broth for added calcium. 

At the end, you will have a beautiful, nutrient rich bone broth.  It may gel, which is great, but it also may not, depending on the amount of bones per water.  Either way, it will still be packed with minerals and other nutrients for your good health.