Simple Bone Broth

Intimidated by the idea of making your own bone broth?  I gotcha covered.  This is the simplest recipe and is a great introduction to making your own.  The health benefits of this long-time used, the wonderful liquid is plentiful. It makes an excellent addition to an omnivore's diet. It supports digestion, heals and seals the gut lining, boosts immune function, helps bone and joint health, and may even improve the look and feel of your skin. It is quick to make it in the Instant Pot (just two hours) but is easy to make in the slow cooker or in a large pot on the stove as long as you have a bit more time. The recipe below is for the slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Author:  Stephanie Selinger

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 12 hours or longer (slow cooker variation), 120 minutes (Instant Pot)

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 roasted chicken carcasses (approx. 2 lbs. of bones); include any leftover skin or pan drippings

  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, quartered (unpeeled is fine!)

  • 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

  • 4 celery ribs, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces

  • 3 carrots, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces

  • 5 sprigs of fresh parsley (optional)

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons peppercorns (optional)

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon per pound of bones)

  • 2 to 2 1/2 quarts pure, filtered water

 

Soup

Directions:

  1. Add all of the ingredients except the water to a 6-quart (or larger) slow cooker or Instant Pot.* Slowly add the water, ensuring that you don’t go above the liquid limit for your slow cooker or Instant Pot.  Feel free to add more water to the line if you have the room. Cook on low for 12 hours (or longer!) or use manual setting on Instant Pot and change timer to 120 minutes. While still hot, use tongs or slotted spoon to remove large pieces from broth. Then pour broth through a wire mesh strainer to remove the remaining solid bits.

  2. Let cool and then ladle into glass containers.

  3. Broth can be refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. For extended storage, it should be frozen. It's convenient to freeze it in 1- or 2-cup portions for easy use in recipes or for drinking.

USES: This broth can be used in soups, gravies, or any recipes calling for chicken broth. It is an amazing and healing elixir to drink all on its own too.

NOTE: This is a salt-free broth. If desired, add high quality sea salt to taste.

*If your slow cooker or Instant Pot is smaller than 6 quarts, you can half the recipe by using 1 chicken carcass and half of the remaining ingredients.

 

Stephanie Selinger