Gut Loving Bone Broth
I love bone broth.
It is rich in collagen, glutamine and minerals making it great for gut and skin health.
You can use up old veggies that are withering away in the fridge so food doesn’t go to waste.
& it tastes amazing.
Whenever I make a roast chicken I will throw the bones into a silicone pouch and into the freezer for when I want to make a batch.
It is so cheap to make compared to what you buy in store, and frankly tastes a lot better. I like to throw it together first thing in the morning and go about my day with it bubbling in the background - all you really need to do is check it every so often to make sure it isn’t reducing too fast and topping it up with a little water as needed. How easy.
You can get creative with the ingredients throwing in whatever veggies, herbs and spices you have lying around. But these are some staple ingredients that will guarantee a great broth. If you want to bump up the collagen and gelatin more, you can add in some chicken feet. I have even used some organic chicken wings that were on sale at the store. Your broth should set in the fridge like jelly, this is how you know you’ve made a great broth.
Ingredients:
1 whole organic chicken
1-2 whole bulbs of garlic, gut through the middle (skin on)
Leek, spring onion or a brown onion, chopped in half or roughly chopped
2 carrots, skin on. Chopped into big chunks
A few sticks of celery, chopped into big chunks (save the celery leaves. I chop them roughly and cook them in a soup with the broth once it is strained)
Herbs (I like fresh thyme and dried bay leaves, sage is nice too just a little stronger in flavour)
2 teaspoons of whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Filtered water (enough to cover everything in the pot)
Optional: 1 inch knob of ginger (skin on), 400-500g of chicken feet or wings (they're a great source of gelatin), extra chicken bones from a roast chicken, ½ a lemon (skin and all)
Salt (only add a pinch of salt at the beginning of cooking. Add salt to taste at the end of cooking. If you add salt in at the beginning, you run the risk of it reducing and becoming too salty.
Method:
Add everything into the pot, and cover with water
Bring the water to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 2 hours.
After 2 hours take the chicken out (checking it is cooked through) and remove the cooked meat from the bones. I save this meat to make a soup with at the end of cooking with the broth. But you can use this for anything you’d like. Alternatively, if you are just using bones skip this step.
Put the bones back into the pot and continue to simmer for up to 4-12 hours (depending on how much time you have). The longer you simmer, the more you’ll extract from the and the deeper the flavour will be. Keep an eye on the broth, you may need to add a little extra water the longer you simmer it.
Strain through a fine sieve when done (give it some time to slightly cool before doing this step)
Season now with salt, to taste
Store it in the fridge in a glass jar or container for up to 5 days, it freezes well too just leave some room in the jar or container for it to expand.
