Bone broth contains essential minerals, proteins and fat.
When I cut up veggies for salads or stir fry, I save the ends and peels in a zip lock bag in my freezer. Later I use these veggie bits to enhance flavour and vitamin content of the broth. When you make broth you can use it right away or freeze it for using later. I freeze mine in glass mason jars, if you do this make sure you leave room in the top of the jar because the liquid will expand.
Substitute broth for water when you prepare rice, quinoa, stews, soups, gravy, sauces and in stir fried veggies. Also, drink broth with a pinch of unrefined sea salt to increase your daily nutrition; it’s great for balancing your hormone system!
Homemade Bone Broth
Ingredients
You can make bone broth with any leftover bones such as:
- from a roast chicken or turkey
- pork chops, lamb, bison
- fish
- or simply buy hormone free bones at your local butcher shop.
To enhance your broth add veggies such as:
- carrots, celery, zucchini, asparagus, kale
- onions, garlic, parsley, taro root
- peppercorns (pretty much any vegetable or spice)
- Chinese herbs such as Go Qi Zi (Wolfberry), Da Zao (Chinese Date) or Huang Qi (Astragalus Root)
Save the ends and peels of veggies to use when boiling the broth.
Directions
- Put your vegetables and bones (raw or oven roasted for 30 min at 350 deg Celsius) in a large pot or pressure cooker. Add enough water so that it is at least 1 inch above the bones and veggies. Add 1 teaspoon of unrefined salt. Bring the water to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 6 – 8 hours if using a conventional pot or 30 – 60 minutes in a pressure cooker.
- Turn off the heat drain the broth through a fine metal strainer into a large pot. Be careful as the liquid and the pot are very hot. Discard the bones and vegetable ends (these may be composted).
- Let your broth cool either on the counter or in the fridge, once it is cool, scrape off some of the fat that has risen to the top, and discard into the compost or save I the fridge to use when frying in the next 5 days.
- Store your broth in 500ml – 1-litre containers in the fridge for up 4 days or in the freezer for later use. If you are freezing your glass jars make sure you leave room in the jar for the liquid to expand.
- Drink alone with a pinch of sea salt, stir in some egg or add your favorite vegetables. You can also use as the liquid to make rice, quinoa, stews, soups, gravy, sauces and with stir fried veggies.
Enjoy!
Dr. Jeda Boughton is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Registered Acupuncturist in Vancouver. She is also a Registered Herbologist and the founder of BodaHealth.