Greetings! It's been a while but life starting up a farm can be any number of adjectives beyond just busy. I'd say joyful and fulfilling are my favorite out them though. I have oodles to share from our summer adventures and I'll be working on back tracking to catch you all up. Fall isn't much slower for us as we prepare for Winter but I'm determined to get better at this blogging thing to document our journey.
So this all leads me to the Homemade Bone Broth made from our first round of pastured chicken scraps. As a homesteader, I am learning how to live a more from scratch lifestyle. No more buying my stuff the grocery store if I can make it/grow it/raise it myself.
This was the first pasture chicken I raised, butchered, and cooked up for my family. I must admit I was pretty proud, not only because I did it on my own, but because there was a real satisfaction knowing I was serving my family something that was so healthy for them. I also felt really blessed to be able to do this, since I know not everyone has the ability. From this all the bones were saved and put in a bag because I had all intentions of making bone broth with them.
A few days later this chicken was cooked up in the crockpot. Once it was done cooking the meat was shredded for chicken tacos and all the bones were thrown back in the crockpot along with bones from the other chicken. Now this is where I wish I would've had the foresight in knowing that some people would've wanted the recipe for this because I would've taken a couple extra pictures. Honestly, it's really simple though, and depending on how many bones you have you can tweak the recipe - you'll see what I mean below.
Bone Broth Recipe
Ingredients
Bones, carcass from 2 chickens (this is what I used - you can use more, just increase everything else too - will only change the yield which is a good thing!)
2 Medium Onions, Coarsely chopped
2 Celery Ribs, Cut in 1-2 inch pieces (keep those leafy tops on)
2 Carrots, Cut in 1-2 inch pieces (not peeled, just wash)
1 Tbs. Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (this helps draw out the calcium and other minerals from the bones)
1 Bay Leaf
1 head of Garlic, not peeled cut in half crosswise
Sprigs of Parsley
1-1/2 tsp peppercorns
Salt to taste after broth is made
Directions
Combine all the above ingredients in your crockpot or a large stockpot, cover contents with water, and bring to a simmer. You want to be careful not to allow this broth to boil or it will become cloudy and full of sediment. I was not as mindful of this and therefore have a bit of sediment. Thankfully I caught it in time. What is ideal is just a little bubble pop here and there. I learned this thanks to a client of ours that is also a chef. ;)
I allowed my broth to simmer for 12 hours. Some people go for as long as 24 and others go for 3-6. The longer you go the richer the flavor you'll have. I think 12 was a good time frame for my broth, as the color on it was good and the flavor was delicious.
Since this was a chicken bone broth and had already been seasoned in the crockpot. I held off on salting until after my broth had simmered and cooked fully so it wouldn't be overly salty. I found it didn't really need much in the way of salt being added and decided to hold off and add it when it was used in recipes down the road. You'll need to try your broth to see what it needs.
Strain your broth with a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth into your containers and you're all set to go.
Here is my finished product:
There are a couple options you have when it comes to storing this. You can either can it in freezer safe mason jars and store it in your freezer or you can pressure can it. If you pressure can it just follow along with the canning instructions and then it will be shelf stable for your pantry. Since this was my first batch and was only three jars I went with freezer safe jars. I know we'll go through this broth fairly quickly. The next round I'll be pressure canning to put up in the pantry.
The benefits of Bone Broth are vast and the fact it's highly flavorful only makes it that much better! I highly recommend you giving it a try and saving those chicken bones, or other meat bones since it works for those as well, to make your own batch.
Thanks for stopping by and take care!
