Like any recipe, we run through trials and errors. But we only learn by in fact trying! Generally speaking, most bone broths come out tasting delicious. But we’ve compiled up research, tips and tricks so you can create the most nutritionally dense, flavourful healing elixir of a bone broth. Here, we aren’t just creating delicious food, we’re creating medicine.

Helping you learn how to cook up a delicious and nutritious bone broth that is also a healing and medicinal elixir that the entire family will enjoy - that is the purpose of this Comprehensive Guide to Bone Broth.

*Please leave a comment if you have a question – we’ll be checking back and adding to this page over time.*

Ancestral Traditions

Throughout our travels, I’ve been deeply passionate about learning the traditional healing modalities of the different cultures we’ve immersed ourselves in.

Over the last 10 years, my family and I lived in five different countries and walked the lands of others. My wellness practice took turns in all directions, as I learnt the ways of our ancestors.

From traditional healers, herbalists and midwives to chefs, farmers and grandmothers, there is one healing elixir that I saw present in all traditional households. Being the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine and the cure-all in traditional cooking, bone broth is famous for its well-rounded healing properties from soothing sore throats, growing strong bones, nurturing the sick and building robust human beings.

For the purpose of this guide, we’ll be focussing on learning to make the most medicinal, healing broth, as opposed to following the strict rules of gourmet cuisine. But that doesn’t go to say that our broth won’t be extremely nutritious AND delicious. Oh yes - it can have it all! Without all the rules that can sometimes scare people away from taking on the art of making homemade bone broth.

For centuries, almost every culture in history has made healing bone broths to strengthen the immune system, fight off infections and provide a rich source of nutrition. In the 19th century, there are documented reports suggesting that bone broth healed diseases like Dysentery, Cholera, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever and Pleuritis.

“Good broth will resurrect the dead,” - South American proverb

For thousands of years, meat and fish broths played a role in all traditional cuisines - the French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, African, Caribbean, South American, Middle Eastern and Russian all made it. Almost every culture in history has made healing bone broth to nourish the body strengthen the immune system and fight off infections.. In the West, broth was one of the key ingredients for gravies, soups and stews. Even our very distant, pre-industrial revolution hunter gatherer ancestors cooked broths in turtle shells, after their discovery of fire to make foods more bio-available and digestible.

Living in Caribbean and South America for years, we observed the still-very-common cultural healing foods such as fish broth, chicken/pig foot soup (souse), curry crab of Trinidad and Tobago, and sancocho (traditional stew), oxtail soup, chipi chipi (clam soup) of Venezuela, and the one pot stew and sancoche (meats and vegetables cooked in coconut milk) of The Commonwealth of Dominica, where we were making broths from the land and living in our off grid nature camp, until Hurricane Maria came around.

Broth is a huge component of Chinese medicine, where it is known traditionally to be an immune booster, a digestive healer and blood builder. Chicken soup is often called “Jewish penicillin” with reason, as it is known to inhibit cell inflammation and fight off cold symptoms. And most knowledgable of all, your great-grandmother was wise when she made bone broth soups and stews to keep sickness at bay. There is a reason one of the biggest series of books ever was called “Chicken Soup for the Soul”.

Just recently, there’s been a bone broth craze. Bone broth is here to stay as a form of food as medicine. But generally speaking, it never really went away. It was only in the Western World that it was temporarily forgotten, due to the advent of antibiotics, when broths and stocks took on a lesser role in everyday at-home cooking. But we now know that antibiotics nor medications are a cure-all. True medicine comes from food.

How We Stumbled Upon Bone Broth

Over the years, we’ve made loads of stocks and soups, and eventually started making traditional bone broth on and off. We began feeling well. We recognized the power it had, so we dove deeper into the art and science of making bone broth, until we were successfully making a truly healing elixir. Bone broth is now our prime tool for healing and optimum nutrition.

After we lost our home and eco lodge to Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean, we lived in the aftermath period. The conditions were less than ideal for our health. We did what we could with what we had. For weeks, we consumed river and rain water. During this difficult period, there was no fresh vegetables and fruits available country wide, as the entire agricultural system had been wiped out from the intense winds of the category 5 hurricane. We were depending on relief items, which included mostly canned fish and white flour. This was very different from the whole food diet which we were accustomed to.

We foraged dried coconuts that remained on the rainforest floor, but unfortunately contracted a very serious case of food poisoning. Some of us also dealt with a life threatening MRSA infection. We were eventually displaced to our country of birth and separated as a family. We experienced a lot a chronic emotional stress, a huge change in diet and environment and culture shock. In the span of a few months, we foraged and gathered rain water, ate from disaster relief items, airports, hotels, food banks and had a very limited food budget with having recently lost our livelihood along with our home. We were used to drinking fresh spring water, to now drinking chlorinated/fluoridated water (until we got a Berkey Filter).

Our entire family contracted parasitic infections, candida and other bacterial infections. Needless to say, our immune system was very highly compromised and our gut lining destroyed. Trauma, chronic emotional stress and infections made it even more difficult to avoid emotional eating, or simply cutting out sugar and carbohydrates. All we seemed to want was comfort food in this high stress period. Our children, who had been raised off the land on our abundant permaculture homestead, eating everything fresh from bitter greens, wild crabs and all sorts of medicinals from the garden and rainforest, were now your typical picky eating children who wanted nothing but bread, crackers, pasta, fruit or any type of sweets and carbohydrates. We had to retrain all of our palates, heal our guts, fix our gut-brain axis, retrain our nervous system out of fight or flight and create an entirely different internal environment - one which was conducive for healing.

“All diseases begin in the gut” ~ Hippocrates

 

This is where bone broth came in for us. Now, it is a staple in our family’s diet. All of us, including our young children, have it every day along with breakfast, and throughout the day, most days, sometimes on an empty stomach (for healing purposes) or included in recipes. Sometimes we make it light and smooth, other times, especially when the kids have it as a meal, it’s chunky and thick (I take out all the bones with tongs but leave the meat and veggies in).

Along with healthy fats, fermented vegetables and probiotics, fermented dairy, grass-fed animal products, soaked ancient grains, nuts and seeds and a quality old-fashioned fermented cod liver oil, we consume a lot of bone broth - usually aiming for one quart per person per day (except our young children who consume at least a pint), when taking it therapeutically for healing purposes.

It’s a truly medicinal elixir. I credit nourishing broth, cod liver oil and fermented foods with the resilient immunity my family enjoys, even after having relocated from the tropics to frigid winter wonderland. We also practice a number of other unconventional health practices to fight off illnesses naturally and build immunity.

Nature Heals

Nature is an extremely powerful healing tool. Think of how you feel when you are surrounded by nature, and most importantly, when you feel that you are part of something bigger. Imagine what happens when you bring nature into your body, letting it heal every cell. Instead of being separate from our ecology and divorced from nature, let’s be an integral part of the cycle of life.

The animals that sustain and nourish our body become a part of us, and then we eventually become a part of the Earth, giving back. Bone broth doesn’t have to come from a can or box. It can come from the leftovers in your kitchen. Instead of throwing meat bones or poultry carcass into the garbage, you could allow the meal to keep on giving. This is how you stretch your healthy food budget. It’s what our ancestors did because they knew that there were important nutrients right down to the bones in food that nature provides.

Boxed Broth is Not the Real Thing

It would be great if we could pop into the grocery store and buy a box of bone broth. Sure it would taste ok, but the nutritional and medicinal benefits do not come close. While many societies continue to slow-cook bone broth, traditionally, Westerners have become entranced by the fast made, MSG-infiltrated boxes of broth alternatives found at the store, or even worse, broth cubes! In the 1950s, scientists discovered that meat flavours could be mimicked in laboratories, to then be added to inexpensive grain and legume proteins with palatable effect. While the food industry makes profit, we are robed of a respectful tradition, rich organic flavour and deeply nourishing ingredients, replaced by synthetic, man-made “food-like-substances”. As tempting as it may seem to provide quick meals with boxed or canned broths, (even if organic), these are not fresh. They are cooked too fast, at high temperature, lack nutrients, are diluted and skimmed and are missing the most essential component of broth, gelatin.

Also hidden and not mentioned on the label are sugars, GMOs and unnecessary additives. In our fast paced lifestyle, time is very precious commodity, but is passing the idea of homemade broth in the name of time really doing us a favour in the long run? Learning to make broth may seem complicated and overwhelming at first, but like everything else, once you get the hang of it it is a true gift! Transcending the trend of processed broth is not difficult after you’ve tasted your first spoonful of traditional, homemade golden, aromatic and medicinal liquid at home. Trust me, you will never go back.

What is Bone Broth Made With?

As a mother, homemaker, cook, entrepreneur and wife, I thrive on simplicity. The beauty of  traditional bone broth making is that it is simple. There are only five essential elements to making good bone broth. Here is the formula…

BONES + WATER + A POT + A HEAT SOURCE + TIME = BONE BROTH

Everything else about bone broth is negotiable and your preference. Simply put, bone broth is made by slowly cooking bones, pieces of meat, animal parts and often vegetables, herbs and spices with pure water for hours. This traditional practice values the respectful and sustainable process of using all parts of locally slaughtered animals for sustenance, without wasting anything. While we are now accustomed to seeing neatly wrapped boneless, skinless, lean chicken at the grocery store, bones and other animal parts (organs, feet, neck, etc) are actually the most nutritionally dense part of the animal (as all other mammals instinctly know).

Originally, all parts of the animal were used - nothing was wasted - as should be. Animals were slaughtered locally. Their bones, hooves, knuckles, organs, carcasses and tough meaty bits were prized and valued, and went into the stock pot and filled the home with the aroma of love.

Unfortunately, in the West, cultural adaptions have resulted in the usage of the least nutritionally dense parts of the animal - the muscles (meat) - leaving behind the parts that all other mammals value (bones and organs). We are the only omnivores that discard parts. Even if we did eat the parts separately, is the sum of its parts really equal to the whole? Bone broth offers all sorts of nutrients in synergy, which increases absorption.

Today, instead of hunting or slaughtering our own food (and seeing the work that goes into it), we conveniently buy individual cuts of meat, or boneless meat, poultry and fish, and grab fast food on the run, having forgotten many traditional foods, broth being one.

Let’s opt for more nose to tail eating (eating the entire animal) in respect for of these sacred creatures that gave their life to nourish ours, so the cycle of  life may continue.

Bone Broth Health Benefits

The health benefits of bone broth are countless. There’s a reason collagen has always been prized as a supplement, along with the recent popularization of bone broth protein powder. If I went into detail, it would take hours. For now, I’ll go over the primary components. Bones from healthy, pasture raised animals are filled with a rich array of powerful nutrients that are released into the water when simmered at a low temperature.

Seals a Leaky Gut

Consuming traditionally prepared bone broth is the best way to “heal and seal” your gut. And good gut health is the cornerstone of health. Numerous factors, such as bacterial overgrowths, medications, birth control pill, stress and anxiety, pesticides on food, and inflammatory proteins such as gluten, can loosen tight junctions that seal cells off the gut lining together. As a result, the gut ends up with gaping holes, making it permeable like a cheesecloth. That is a leaky gut. When the intestinal lining becomes too permeable (leaky) and allows undigested food particles and disease causing bacteria to leak from your gut and into the bloodstream, the body begins to see these innocent food particles as foreign invaders. It then begins to attack itself. A leaky gut can show up in the form of numerous health issues from food allergies and sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, anxiety and depression, chronic pain, asthma, skin issues, digestive disorders, chronic fatigue and more. A huge part of the population is affected by a leaky gut, also referred to as gut hyperpermeability. The problem is a growing epidemic due to poor food choices, stress, environmental toxins, overuse of NSAIDS, antibiotics, birth control and other medications. The gelatin in bone broth helps heal the mucosal lining of the digestive tract. A healthy gut is the cornerstone of health. Recent research on the gut-brain axis demonstrates that the gut and brain our connected - thus an unhealthy gut is correlated to an unhealthy mind. When your gut and digestive system are healed and working well, you can then digest and absorb nutrients properly. Bone broth is the best thing you can consume to heal and seal your gut.

Helps with Liver Detoxification

Let’s face it. Unfortunately, we live in a toxic modern world. Thank goodness for our liver! But my oh my does our liver have its work cut out. It is quite overburdened with having to detoxify our daily toxic load from our air, our water, our food and even the chemicals created by our toxic thoughts! Luckily, our body is an excellent detoxifier, but we must assist it. In order for our liver to function properly, it needs ample amounts of glycine. And guess where we can find a rich source of glycine? Yes, gelatin rich bone broth!

Fights Infections

Bone broth ultimately helps our body build stronger and healthier cells, as it provides it with a rich source of minerals and amino acids. It also increases antioxidant activity in the body. This study shows consuming bone broth during a respiratory infection reduces the number of white blood cells, which are the cells that cause flu and cold symptoms. In many cultures, bone broth is a known immune booster and infection fighter.

Reduces Inflammation

Glycine and proline, which are found in large amounts in bone broth, are amino acids that are extremely anti-inflammatory. Also, the compound chondroitin sulfate, which is a structural component of cartilage, is highly known for improving inflammatory conditions.

Increases Mineral Consumption

In today’s modern society, our soil has been depleted of its minerals. The large majority of people are deficient in one or multiple minerals from dietary deficiencies or poor absorption (leaky gut). Bone broth offers easily absorbed minerals that our body loves. As bones cook in water, the minerals and other nutrients are extracted into the water for easy digestion. Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, sulphur and other trace minerals can be found in bone broth.

Helps Joints and Muscle Pain

Glycine and proline, which are amino acids found in bone broth, help to build muscle, repair tissue and reduce inflammation. Also known for alleviating joint pain are glucosamine and chondroitin. Bone broth is a rich source of these natural compounds. Recent research shows that the gelatin in bone broth provides almost immediate relief to chronic joint pain. In some cases, it’s proven even more affective than taking an anti-inflammatory pill or cortisol.

Helps Digestion

The gelatin in bone broth is water-absorbing, or hydrophilic, so it attracts water to the area, helping to improve digestion. It is soothing to the digestive track and actually helps repair the mucosal lining. It also makes are food more bioavailable, as it breaks down protein and fats.

Creates Supple Skin

The connective tissue from the bones used to make bone broth has a lot of collagen. This collagen can help our skin become smoother and more supple, especially as we age, when our collagen production decreases. Some even swear by bone broth for decreasing wrinkles and eliminating cellulite.

Helps Repair and Grow Bones

The minerals in bone broth, such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, help our bones grow and repair, but it’s also the collagen that greatly assists in this process, as it acts as the “scaffolding” for our bones. It holds them together.

Promotes Good Sleep

Glycine, which is one of the amino acids in gelatin, has been shown to induce sleep when consumed before bed. It also plays an important role in the neurotransmitters within the brain. Not only does bone broth promote quality sleep, but it also helps reduce daytime fatigue and improve memory.

Why is Bone Broth so Healing?

Overall, bone broth is a well rounded medicinal elixir. It has very easy-to-assimilate, bioavailable nutrients like minerals, vitamins and amino acids, and often times other medicinal compounds depending on the ingredients added. Bone broth is an absolute nutritional powerhouse. Here’s a more specific look at the medicinal and nutritional components of bone broth.

Minerals/Electrolytes

Minerals in the form the body can absorb easily. It is particularly rich in potassium, magnesium, and phosphorous and contains some calcium, silicon, sulphur and other trace minerals. Think of it as a natural form of Gatorade minus the sugar, artificial dies and other preservatives.

Chondroitin Sulphates and Glucosamine

Broken down material from cartilage and tendons - compounds like hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and healing joint pain.

Amino Acids

Broth is extremely rich in proteins like collagen and gelatin, which are broken down into amino acids. Numerous independent studies have shown that amino acids help the body with cellular function, reproduction, and repair. These powerful amino acids are found in bone broth:

• Proline – known as the anti-aging amino acid since it repairs damaged skin. It also accelerates the healing of external wounds. Both proline and glycine are important for a healthy gut and digestion, muscle repair and growth, a balanced nervous system, and strong immune system.
• Glycine – known to have multifarious benefits, including assisting in neurological function, offsetting inflammatory disease, promoting glycogenesis (formation of glycogen from sugar), making other amino acids, promoting detoxification, and combating obesity.
• Arginine – known in bodybuilding circles for its vasodilating effects. It relaxes the arteries and improves nutrient transport. This consequently leads to improved arterial and heart health. Arginine supplementation has also been shown to increase muscle mass while reducing body fat mass.
• Hydroxyproline – an amino acid derivative produced from proline. It assists in the development of the bones, tendons, and cartilage.
• Valine – L-valine supports muscle metabolism during strenuous physical activity. Valine is also a member of the branched chain amino acids, which may reduce liver disease.
• Lysine – helps to treat cold sores. L-lysine also aids in the production of carnitine, which in turn lowers bad LDL cholesterol levels. It may also help in the death of malignant cancer cells.
• Alanine – known for improving physical endurance output. It improves anaerobic performance by delaying the buildup of lactic acid.
• Glutamine - keeps the immune system healthy, helps recovery from wounds and illnesses,  assists in gut healing and to builds muscles.

Collagen/Gelatin

Collagen is a protein that is found mostly in connective tissue and skin. When it is heated (like in making broth), the collagen breaks down into gelatin. Simply put, gelatin is cooked collagen. Both collagen and gelatin is prized as a valuable supplement in the natural health world. It makes the amino acids found in collagen more bioavailable (easier to digest and assimilate). Gelatin is the most highly valued component of broth. This is the substance that causes cooled broth to congeal.

For thousands of years, gelatin has been prized by many cultures as a great healer and nourisher. It dates back all the way to the Chinese culture in 204 A.D. Many have tried to replicate it, but no man-made substance has ever come close. Boxed and canned broth producers tried to add emulsifiers and thickeners as quick fixes, but these do have the same healing and medicinal benefits as gelatin produced and traditional, home-cooked broth.

Gelatin is a very unique food that greatly eases the digestive process, due to its hydrophilic colloid properties, indicating that it attracts water and gastric juices to assist digestion. It does not contain complex full proteins, however, gelatin contains 20 important amino acids that act as building blocks that maximize the use of other ingested protein sources.

As stated by The Weston A. Price Foundation, “Gelatin was probably the first functional food, dating from the invention of the “digestor” by the Frenchman Papin in 1682. Papin’s digestor consisted of an apparatus for cooking bones or meat with steam to extract the gelatin. Just as vitamins occupy the center of the stage in nutritional investigations today, so two hundred years ago gelatin held a position in the forefront of food research. Gelatin was universally acclaimed as a most nutritious foodstuff particularly by the French, who were seeking ways to feed their armies and vast numbers of homeless in Paris and other cities.

The Weston A. Price Foundation also talks about how “the French were the leaders in gelatin research, which continued up to the 1950s. Gelatin was found to be useful in the treatment of a long list of diseases including peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice and cancer. Babies had fewer digestive problems when gelatin was added to their milk. The American researcher Francis Pottenger pointed out that as gelatin is a hydrophilic colloid, which means that it attracts and holds liquids, it facilitates digestion by attracting digestive juices to food in the gut. Even the epicures recognized that broth-based soup did more than please the taste buds. “Soup is a healthy, light, nourishing food” said Brillant-Savarin, “good for all of humanity; it pleases the stomach, stimulates the appetite and prepares the digestion.”

Nutritional Tip:

Research shows that when we consume collagen, collagen levels increase in our bodies. Research also shows that collagen can not form without one key vitamin: Vitamin C. If we have too little Vitamin C in our bodies, they can not produce as much collagen. This is why collagen supplements that come in capsule form often contain Vitamin C as well. These supplements are designed for joint repair and similar conditions. So why don’t we, who are trying to repair our guts, intentionally include Vitamin C as well? My family and I often consume our broth along with a shot glass of water mixed with a whole food based source of vitamin C, such as acerola berry powder, or another fruit or vegetable rich in vitamin C.

Healthy Fat

Nutrient rich traditional fats are found in bone broth. These traditional animal fats, commonly from meat and poultry, are primarily composed of saturated and monounsaturated fats. These fats maintain their integrity when heated, meaning they do not become denatured forming free radicals during the cooking process. This is true as long as the heat remains below the smokepoint. These fats have nourished healthy cultures for millennia.

The Process

The formula for good bone broth starts with bones, animal meat and fat, vegetables and quality water. Bones and meat are oven roasted to form compounds that give flavour and color - the amino acid fused with sugars is called the Mailard reaction. Then all the ingredients go into a pot with cold water specifically, to bring out flavours. Vinegar is added to the broth to extract minerals. The broth is slowly heated up to a boil, and then brought down to a low simmer. Often times, scum will surface. This is a different kind of colloid in which large molecules (impurities, alkaloids, lectin proteins) are distributed through a liquid. In culinary art, chefs remove this effluvium with a spoon. But skimming is optional. Some traditional cooks do not.

Cook for several hours, depending on the type of bones used. Larger animals will take longer than poultry and fish broth. It can be boiled down to evaporate water to save on storage space - water is simple added when re-heated. The broth can then be strained - any bones which haven’t disintegrated can be used again. Depending on personal choice, some chill the broth and remove the fat - we prefer to eat it synergistically with all the other nutrients of the broth. Broth will keep several days in the refrigerate or can be frozen in glass jars.

All About Bones

In many cultures, tribal lineages and Earth based practices, taking the life of an animal to nourish our body is a sacred act. The spirit of the animal moves on, and we must thank it for sustaining our life. This animal will now become a part of our own body. A healthy, animal which was killed ethically and humanely is key - this animal will now nourish you.

For this reason, when possible, our first choice will always be to source high quality bones from grass-fed or pastured, organic, naturally reared animals, or those from animals who were hunted in the wild. Do your best to source happy, healthy animals from your local foodshed. Conventionally raised, factory farm animals are the furthest thing from healthy. (And we don’t want to encourage more purchasing of these unethically treated animals).

Bones on a Budget

I get it. Always eating grass-fed or pastured and organic is not easy on the budget. To be honest, we don’t always do it ourselves. But if we had a choice, we would. However, if I had to choose between consuming bone broth from conventionally raised animal bones or not having bone broth, we would STILL choose to have bone broth.

We’ve lived in many different countries, and sourcing quality bones was always a challenge - more so in some countries than others. But, we were always able to find some kind of locally sourced bones - whether from fish, poultry, beef or wild game.

Ethnic Grocers

We have to pick our battles wisely. With the recent popularization of bone broth in the Western world, the prices of bones keep going up as the demand increases: no matter what state, province or country you are in. Marrow bones will always be the most affordably priced at ethnic stores. Chinatown groceries, Vietnamese, Caribbean, South American and Korean supermarkets will undoubtedly be far cheaper than your local commercial store for one reason only; broth is a staple food group for their ethnic cooking. So start looking there for cheaper bones, although they will most likely not indicate whether it’s organic or not.

Buying in Bulk

Perfecting the art of buying in bulk can save a LOT of pennies. If you have the freezer space, take advantage of the economically friendly deals on bulk meat and bones and stock up. You can acquire your bones from your local butcher or farm either for free or a small charge. Many farms will give you free bones as part of a meat order, others may provide bone boxes which can be ordered in advance and delivered to your door. Go to your local butcher and ask if there are any cuts that are not generally prized by the average meat eaters. Some are often discarded or sold very cheap. Ask for the hip bones which are packed with marrow and usually free – a hip bone makes litres of really good bone broth. Beef and lamb bones are usually free, but many butchers have now started charging a small price due to the influx of bone broth fanatics – shop around and ask. If you know any local fishermen or hunters, you can also enquire about what they do with their bones and parts.

Save Your Leftovers

You can use assorted bones in your broths. So save a mixture of bones from all your meals, from chicken wings to beef ribs and fish carcasses. Don’t be shy to scrape the plates of your guests after a meal - you’ll be simmering the bones for hours so any “germs and cooties” will be killed off! At restaurants, ask the waiter to take home the remains of your meal – but be sure to specify that you want the bones. At Thanks Giving or Christmas, make sure to keep the poultry carcasses of your roast birds after you’ve picked all the meat out. These make wonderful bone broth!

Re-Use Your Bones

You can reuse bones to make multiple batches of broth until the bones go soft. Note that the first broth will probably have more gelatin and fat however. For this reason, we reuse bones but also add a few new ones to the mix each time. Use fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices each time, though. When you are completely done using your bones after a few batches and when they are really soft, nothing goes to waste. Use these to give to your cat or dog, or you can add it to compost to feed to your plants; caution though, as this may attract animals to your compost bin if you live close to wilderness.

Type of Animals and Bones

You can use bones from just about any animal in your local foodshed - beef, veal, lamb, mutton, goat, bison or buffalo, venison, chicken, duck, goose, turkey, or pork. You can also use bones and parts from fish and sea food, saltwater and cold water. Wild game bones are also fantastic - wild turkey, partridge, wild bore, elk, venison, moose, rabbit and hare are all options. The list of bones and animal parts you can use in broth is endless - find out what healthy animals are in your area. Get a variety of bones—ask for marrow bones, oxtail, and “soup bones.” Make sure you include some larger bones like knuckles, or feet (like chicken feet), which will contain more cartilage, and therefore more collagen. You can even mix and match bones in the same batch of broth—some beef, some lamb, some chicken—but know that will change the flavor. Some people prefer to stick to one animal source at once, but we don’t mind the mixes, as our goal is creating medicine.

All About Water

We consume a lot of it. We are made from it. So yes, the quality of our water does matter - a LOT!

What type of water?

Our preferred choice for drinking water and to make bone broth or fresh spring water. If getting spring water is not geographically possible or you have great-tasting tap or well water, feel free to use it. Water filtered with a filter or faucet filter works well for more neural testing. We use a Big Berkey Water Filter and LOVE it! It has been our greatest asset, especially in the aftermath period of Hurricane Maria. I do not recommend bottled water.

How much water?

Generally, you want to use enough water to cover the bones until they are fully immersed. Use Use a good fitting lid. Only if necessary, top up the water levels to ensure the bones remain covered if the water is starting to boil down. The water in regular stove stockpots evaporates more than in slow cookers, so don’t overfill the latter. There is no need to check on water levels if using a slow cooker (approx. 12 hrs) or pressure cooker (approx. 3 hrs) as the water does not boil down or evaporate as the lids are tight fitting. When making bone broth with a full chicken carcass, throughout the cooking time it will eventually soften where you can crush it down.

Reducing water for storage.

Towards the end of the cooking time, simmer the broth over low heat to reduce it to half, or to your desired consistency. Keep it at a very bare simmer - you should see just a few bubbles as it simmers. By letting some water evaporate, you’ll get a more concentrated broth which takes up less space in your fridge/freezer space. Before freezing, make a note that the broth needs to be thinned. When reheating, simply add water to dilute it.

Appearance of Broth

The appearance of your broth will vary based on a number of factors.

Fat

The appearance of your broth will depend on the cut of bone you use. You may end up with thick layer of fat that rises to the top of your broth. Beef bones are naturally fattier. When placed in the refrigerator, this will solidify. It’s a preference wether or not to skim it off for use in other cooking, or to simply leave it and drink it with the broth. See more about this below.

Gel

When cooled, most broths set into a jelly that jiggles when shaken - this is the beautiful gelatin (a bioavailable protein), one of the most prized components of bone broth. If your bone broth doesn’t gel - don’t be too concerned - you’ll still be getting the amino acids, minerals and other nutritional powerhouses regardless. If your goal is to make more gelatinous broth, then opt for the joint bones (connective tissue breaks down into gelatin) as opposed to the meaty bones. Joint bones like chicken feet, wings and necks, cow knuckles and ox tail are cartilage-rich.

Colour

To play with different colours in your broth, you can experiment by adding yellow onion skins. Those along with garlic skin, also come with extra nutrients! Other foods that can add colour to your broth include orange and red heirloom carrots, a bit of fresh or powdered turmeric, some red cabbage, or browning a little tomato paste to add to your broth. Keep in mind that these colourful additions can also change the flavour of your broth, so start small, particularly if you keep your broth going all week.

Ideal Cooking Temperature for Broth

If you have a thermometer, adjust the heat of your broth to the target temperature. If not, adjust the heat to see a few bubbles approximately every minute.

COOKING TEMPERATURE (SLOW SIMMERED) = 208-210 F (97-99 C)

Ideally start by bringing your broth to a boil, but the rest of the cooking time should be a gentle simmer. The setting for slow cookers/pressure cookers is highly dependent on the brand/model. The setting varies between low and high.

Ideal Cooking Time for Broth

Bone broth needs to cook for more or less a minimum of 24 hours, depending on the type of bones, but ideally 48 on low heat. Some try it for minimally 8 hours, and others go as long as 72 hours - experiment for yourself.

Stove Top/Oven/Slow Cooker

• Chicken, turkey, partridge, duck, rabbit bones: 8 to 48 hours
• Beef, lamb, pork, goat and wild game bones: 12 to 72 hours
• Fish heads and fish bones: 4 to 24 hours

Pressure Cooker

• Chicken, turkey, partridge, duck, rabbit bones: 3 hours
• Beef, lamb, pork, goat and wild game bones: 4 hours
• Fish heads and fish bones: 2 hours

What do I cook my broth in?

Bone broth can be made in just about any cooking vessel or gadget that can maintain a steady, long slow simmer temperature of 210 degrees F. And you can even make it in a pressure cooker. These are my favourite ways to make good bone broth:

On the stove (stainless steel/cast iron/glass stockpot): 

Cooking on the stove top (or open fire) is the old fashioned, traditional way of making bone broth. Place your ingredients into a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer it until you’re satisfied with your broth, adding more water if too much boils off. There is no need to stand by your pot for the full cooking period! Simply cook it for a few hours at a time, just like grandma used to do. When you’re in the kitchen or in the environs, bring it to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer. Don’t leave your pot on all night – especially with a gas flame! When you need to leave home or go to bed just turn it off and let it cool without lifting the lid. Tell the entire family not to take a peak! This creates a heat seal and keeps bacteria out until you resume cooking. This method works in a cool kitchen out of direct sunlight. Between simmers, don’t leave it for more than 8 hours.

Our favourite healthy-safe cooking stockpots:

1. Lagostina Stainless Stockpot
2. Cuisinart Stainless Stockpot
3. Update International Stainless Stockpot
4. All-Clad Stainless Stockpot
5. Calphalon Stainless Stockpot

Slow cooker (ceramic/stainless steel/cast iron inner, stand alone plug in appliance):

This can be thought of as the easier way to cook bone broth. Simply add all your ingredients and enough water to cover into the slow cooker, and set it on high. Once it starts to bubble vigorously, set it on low and let it cook for the duration of the cooking time. Most modern slow cookers can be left unattended. You can turn it on before work and come back to the perfect base for quick meal, or leave it on overnight, so you can wake up to a pot of broth.  And you can always enjoy a broth before its “complete” cooking time - within a few hours it will be very flavourful and within a few more hours, it will be nutrient dense.

Our favourite healthy-safe (lead-free) slow cookers:

1. Instant Pot Ultra
2. VitaClay Smart Organic Multi-Cooker
3. Cuisinart Multi-Cooker

Pressure cooker (cast iron/ceramic, stove or stand-alone plug in appliance):

This is the fastest and simplest way of making bone broth. It’ll cut significant hours off your cooking time. It is a non-traditional more modernized way of making broth, but some debate that the pressure (like high altitude cooking) preserves more nutrients due to the shorter cooking time. Add all your ingredients, use enough water to cover the bones, close the lid and cook for the duration of the cooking time.

Our favourite healthy-safe (lead-free) pressure cookers:

1. Instant Pot Ultra
2. VitaClay Smart Organic Multi-Cooker (does not cook with pressure, but can cook fast)
3. Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker
4. Cuisinart Stainless Pressure Cooker

In the oven (cast iron/stainless steel Dutch oven/stockpot):

Ovens are great at maintaining a steady cooking temperature. You can use a Dutch oven or an oven-safe stockpot and cook it just perfectly in the oven. Add all your ingredients and cover them with water in your Dutch oven or stockpot. Bring it to a boil on the stove, then cover it with a lid and cook it in the oven for the duration of the cooking time, adding more water if necessary. Make sure the lid is heat proof and tight fitting so that the broth doesn’t evaporate. Stay in the environs for the first few times you do this, so you can adjust the heat and know when to add water as needed. You may let it go overnight or while out, but proceed with caution.

Our favourite healthy-safe cooking Dutch ovens/oven-safe stockpots:

1. Lagostina Cast Iron Pot
2. Cast Iron Dutch Oven
3. Lagostina Stainless Stock Pot

Turkey Roaster (cast iron/ceramic, stove roasting pan or stand-alone plug in appliance):

Turkey roasters make preparing large amounts of any kind of bone broth a snap. You have nearly perfect temperature control with a turkey roaster, so no more scorched broth flavors as in a crockpot. Place all your ingredients in your turkey roaster and cover with water and cook for the duration of the cooking time, which will vary depending if you are roasting in the oven or using a stand-alone pull in appliance.

Our favourite healthy-safe cooking turkey roasters:

1. All-Clad Stainless Oval Roaster
2. Viking 3-Ply Stainless Oval Roaster
3. Precise Heat Multi-Baker/Roaster
4. Hamilton-Beach Roaster Oven

CAUTION

Please DO NOT ever cook bone broth in Teflon (or other non-stick) and aluminum cookware. There are health risks associated to cooking in these toxic cookwares.

Teflon and similar non-stick cookware -  made with fluoride compounds known collectively as perfluorinated chemicals or PFCs. They produce a toxic gas when heated to over 500 degrees Fahrenheit. One PFC known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) is linked to tumors, cancer, birth defects, liver damage, hormone imbalance, reproductive issues, and other health issues. And it’s everywhere these days. One study from the CDC found it in the blood of 98% of Americans tested.

Aluminum Cookware - When salty or acidic foods like tomatoes are cooked in aluminum the food picks up a metallic taste. Even worse, you may be ingesting some of that aluminum which leaches out when the pan is heated. That can lead to heavy metal poisoning or brain conditions like dementia.

HOW TO MAKE BONE BROTH FOR HEALING

Bone broth is a phenomenal traditional healing remedy. It’s rooted in almost every culture in the world, and was especially prized by grandma.

Since adding this healing elixir in our life, I’ve seen tremendous improvements in my family’s wellbeing. From minerals, fat-soluble vitamins and collagen, bone broth is loaded with rich nutrition.

While this recipe is very general and encourages mixing and matching bones and other ingredients, the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook is our go-to reference for nourishing traditional cooking including a wide array of recipes for beef, chicken, turkey, duck and fish broth.

BONE BROTH RECIPE 

Ingredients:

Makes approx. 4 quarts

Bones - 4 pounds of bones from healthy, pasture-raised animals:

Farm-raised, free-range, pastured animals give the best results. Many conventionally raised animal bones will not produce stocks that gels. Wild animals are also great, and exceptionally nutrient rich. Ask your butcher to chop larger bones into smaller pieces, ideally 2 to 3 inches thick. Smaller bones expose more bone marrow and allow for easier absorption into broth. Choose from a variety such as the following:

• Whole free-range chicken or turkey carcass (including bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings, gizzards)
• Chicken feet (particularly rich in collagen)
• Beef marrow bones or knuckle bones (labeled soup bones)
• Beef neck bones or meaty rib bones
• Oxtail
• Calves feet
• Lamb bones
• Pork bones
• Partridge bones
• Wild game bones
• Fish heads or fish carcasses (including heads, of non-oily fish such as sole, turbot, rockfish or snapper)
• Chicken or turkey feet
• Oxtail

Vegetables or vegetable scraps

2 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped (add the peel to the broth for extra nutrients and colour) 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

4 garlic cloves, halved (add the peel to the broth for extra nutrients and colour)

1 bunch fresh parsley (stems and all)

Several sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed

Other herbs and spices: sage, rosemary, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, etc (optional)

Unrefined sea salt to taste (optional)

2 to 4 tablespoons Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (or Organic White Wine Vinegar)

Water - 4 quarts (16 cups) spring water or filtered water (with a high quality filter like this one):

The amount of water you need depends on the amount of bones you have. You need just enough water to completely cover the bones. The amount of water you use will also depend on the size of your cooking vessel; you can halve the recipe if you have a smaller pot.

Equipment:

Baking sheet

Scale (can do without)

Chef’s knife and cutting board

Large stainless stock pot or slow cooker

Large wooden spoon

Strainer

Ice

Directions:

If you are using beef or lamb bones, roasting the bones first will produce a much better tasting bone broth. Roast them at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes to an hour, or when the bones turn dark brown.

Place your bones in a large stockpot or lead-free slow cooker (like this one). Pour the apple cider vinegar over the bones. Add just enough cold water to completely cover the bones. This is important! Adding too much water is the most common mistake of making bone broth. Often times, too much water is the reason why your bone broth did not gel.

Let sit for one hour. The apple cider vinegar will help pull the minerals out of the bones. After the hour is up, add any vegetables, herbs & spices, if using. Turn the stove to medium high and let the water come to a slow boil. If any foam floats to the top, skim it off (this can be difficult to do if using a pressure or slow cooker).

Turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting, cover and let cook for a minimum of 8 hours. You can also use your stand alone pressure/slow cooker or turkey roaster, or cook bone broth in the oven. These methods are the same, but cooking time may vary. It takes time to pull all the wonderful nutrients and minerals out of the bones so be patient!

Follow the recommend times below for the best tasting and most nutritious bone broth. Letting the bones cook any longer than 3 days can sometimes result in a burnt tasting broth.

• Fish heads and fish bones: 4 to 24 hours
• Chicken, turkey, partridge, duck, rabbit bones: 8 to 48 hours
• Beef, lamb, pork, goat and wild game bones: 12 to 72 hours

There should always be just enough water to completely cover the bones. If you need to add any more water to your pot, add hot water only. Once your bone broth is done cooking, remove the lid and skim off any foam that has risen to the top. Strain the bones, vegetables and herbs out of the broth. Let cool.

Store in a container. Bone broth keeps for 5 days in the fridge. It also freezes very well and keeps for months in the freezer. We usually freeze half my bone broth and keep the other half in the fridge to use for the week.

Superfood Ingredients to Try in Bone Broth

Bone broth is already phenomenal when it comes to health benefits, but if you want to take it even further, you can create a truly nutritious, healing elixir by adding in a few superfood ingredients to your broth.

Here are some ideas that work well in broths. Start small, as some of these ingredients will change the flavour of your broth:

Apple Cider Vinegar (like this one):

With a low ph, it acts as a solvent, helping to pull calcium and other minerals from the ingredients of your bone broth, making them more bioavailable for your body to absorb.

Seaweed (nori, kelp, wakame, kombu, etc):

Contain iodine, which is an essential nutrient for healthy thyroid function.

Wild/Medicinal mushrooms (polypore mushrooms like chaga, reishi, and turkey tail as well as varieties like shiitake and crimini):

Improve functioning of our immune system in a manner that protects us from bacteria, viruses, and cancer. Note: to get the full effects of the glucans in fungi, they must be cooked. Mushrooms as contain selenium, B vitamins, iron, and zinc.

Miso (fermented soy paste):

Contains beneficial probiotic bacteria; mix into broth when slightly cooled.

Ginger:

Supports the immune system and is an inflammatory modulator.

Turmeric:

Contains anti-inflammatory agents and anti-cancer protective factors.

High Vitamin Butter Oil (we love this one) or ghee:

High in beneficial compounds like CLA and butyrate as well as fat-soluble vitamins A, E and K.

Astragulas Root:

Considered one of the top herbal tonics of all time in Chinese Medicine, prized for its ability to restore health and extend life.

Green Apple:

High in pectin, a soluble-fibre beneficial for digestive health.

Garlic and Onion (and their skins):

Both garlic and onions are rich in nutrients and immune boosting properties.

Chicken Feet:

Very rich in collagen which breaks down into amino acids, the building blocks for body fascia.

Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage; recipe here):

Rich in beneficial bacteria that assist in digestive healing and immune boosting; serve on top of broth or soup when serving, not to kill probiotics.

Ashwaganda:

Well known for its ability to support and heal the adrenal glands in times of chronic emotional stress.

Nettle Root:

Used as a general tonic for health and a good source of plant based iron.

Maca Root:

Works as a powerful adaptogen in the body, provides valuable nutrients and increases stamina.

Cooling Broth Quickly 

When finished cooking, cool your broth as quickly as possible. Hot broth left to cool at room temperature for too long can be a breeding ground for bacteria - and not the good kind. This will also make your broth keep longer. The entire pot of broth would take much too long to cool if we simply placed it in the fridge, creating a perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. After straining your broth, you can add a few handfuls of ice, stirring it until it has reached room temperature or cooler. Then place in fridge to safely cool for the remainder of the day. Because your broth is so intensively flavour, there is no need to worry about it bing diluted the ice. To remind you - please don’t put screaming-hot broth in your fridge! Not only will it invite bacterial growth, it will raise the temperature of the refrigerator and potentially contaminate the rest of its contents. Another method is to make an ice bath (water and ice) in your sink and strain your broth into another pot or metal bowl. Then set the bowl in the ice bath, stirring to chill. Cool until the broth is at a comfortable temperature for handling. Do not let broth cool below 160 degrees without refrigeration.

Storage

Once your bone broth is chilled, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 3 months. Dividing the broth into smaller portions will make it easier to use up as needed. Use glass, ceramic or stainless steel jars/bowls/jugs or Pyrex style dishes when storing broth in either a fridge or freezer.. We like to store our broth in mason jars. Be wary of using very fine or fragile glass. Allow the broth to cool completely before covering with the lid ensuring that it does not touch the broth. Some glass containers come with plastic clip-on lids which are very useful – again avoid the plastic touching and allow the broth to cool completely before covering. Once your bone broth is chilled, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 3 months. Dividing the broth into smaller portions will make it easier to use up as needed.

How to Season Your Broth

Different herbs and spices are what add creative and distinctive flavour to broth. Traditionally, chicken broth was seasoned with parsley, sage and thyme. Also, onions, garlic and dry mustard were used for beef broth. You can use any of the suggestions below in combination, according to your personal desire:

Fish broth - onions, parsley, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, celery

Chicken or rabbit broth – parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, shallots, celery, carrots, green onions, chives, turmeric, peppers, marjoram, summer savoury, onions

Beef broth – leeks, carrot tops, ginger, turmeric, peppers, dry mustard, onions, garlic, paprika, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, chives, shallots.

Venison or game meat broth – dry mustard, paprika, onions, garlic, turmeric, hot peppers, green pepper, celery, dill, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, marjoram, allspice, dry mustard, horseradish, thyme.

What about salt? 

I do not recommend refined table salt. I do however, add and encourage the use of unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt. The salt I add, if any, depends on how I’ll be using my broth. If I add salt at all, I add it very minimally. Keep in mind that if you add your salt at the beginning, and then need to reduce the broth, the salt flavor will become more concentrated and strong. If you plan on using your bone broth it for soups, stews and sauces, the salt concentration can become very high. Instead, when ready to drink your broth or use it in a recipe, season to taste.

Key Steps to Making Great Bone Broth

Roast your bones. It is a simple, but optional step, that can greatly amplify the rich, meaty flavour of your bone broth. It adds that extra dimension of unami (savory) taste to your bone broth. Just crank your oven up and roast your bone until they have deeply browned. You can do this at a bold 400˚F for 30-60 minutes, or until your bones turn dark brown. When complete, don’t forget to scrape the fat and juice off your roasting pan with a little water and add this into your broth.

Soak the bones with cold water and acid. Traditionally, this cold soak was practiced to help draw the minerals out of the bones, and to help break down the collagen. Adding the acid (like vinegar or lemon juice) is what helps to extract the minerals. We suggest using a mild-flavored vinegar, like apple cider or rice wine, as white vinegar can taste too strong for a mellow broth. Ideally, soak your bones for 1-hour prior to cooking.

Allow Time and Patience

For all the minerals to be leached, the marrow to be released, the collagen to breakdown into gelatin, the bones to soften and the rich flavour to become alive, you want to cook your bone broth for multiple hours, depending on the type of bones you are using. The rule of thumb is that the cooking time increases for larger bones.

Skimming the Scum

After bringing your broth to a boil, you may notice some fluffy white foam that collects at the surface of your broth. This is referred to as “scum.” It tends to have a negative connotation, but really, it’s just protein from the meat and bones in your broth. The heat changes the outer surface of proteins, and causes them to change shape or denature. It happens to all proteins when exposed to heat during cooking. This is an area of debate. It is mostly a personal preference. Some will argue that it is essential to remove the scum because it contains not only amino acids, but also impurities and toxins. Reportedly, there is a huge difference between using conventionally raised animal bones versus pastured certified organic or wild animals. The latter produces very little scum.

Gourmet chefs often taught to skim the scum off with a fine mesh strainer, to remove the impurities which could affect the taste and appearance of the broth. But that was a rule from the days of crystal clear broth. Remember, the purpose of our broth is to make food as medicine, to nourish our body - not to please high paying customers and make gourmet sauces. The so-called scum isn’t evil. It’s just proteins. We cook bones to benefit from their proteins, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. We personally don’t skim the scum. The fat eventually rises to the surface of the broth and those misunderstood proteins become a source of flavor and color. By all means, if you feel that the scum changes the flavour of your broth, or that you can taste the “evil”, please go ahead and skim it. But ultimately, if you are using clean, high quality bones, you want to nourish the whole person with the whole food, so don’t throw away the outer layer. It’s also the easy way out!

We talked to some of our traditional food colleagues and did some research. We found that some of the most renowned traditional cooks don’t skim the scum, but that most of them highly recommend using bones from quality, pastured organic animals. Generally speaking, if the scum is from happy healthy animals, leave it, but if it’s from commercial feedlot animal bones, skim it. Some of the scum will be from bone marrow, and toxins are held in fatty tissues (adipose and fatty organs like bone marrow). Eating marrow and gelatinous meats (organ meats) from a commercial animals is not ideal. There can be lots of toxins in those tissues. Although, there have been people who can only afford to eat commercial meat who do not skim or remove anything and heal quite well. To skim or not to skim is the question, but there is ultimately a lot of factors that come in, and some bio-individuality that will be a factor in deciding to skim or not to skim the scum.

To Skim or Not to Skim the Fat?

Our ancestors ate foods whole - they did not separate them. Even in the Caribbean, I still saw this. Nobody was skimming. Gourmet chefs had attention to detail, but I always ask “what did our distant ancestors eat?” This could vary based on the climate. In Nordic or simply cold climates traditional peoples ate a lot of fat. And in climates where people did not get enough sunshine in the winter time, it was crucial to consume saturated fat and animal products that would increase vitamin D levels, which people were not getting from the sun during shorter days of the year, like in the winter.

Nutrients work in synergy. Thus, fat soluble vitamins are best absorbed when taken along with fat. When we talk about whole foods for the whole person, we understand that the sum of the parts is never greater than the whole. Eat the whole broth, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and fat together. If you have gone to the trouble of getting bones from pastured, grass-fed animals, why remove the fats? They are very healthy. Bone marrow is approximately 80% fat in a healthy animal. If you want the bone marrow nutrients, you need the fat. Some of the nutrients in broth require fat to be properly absorbed. Ultimately, I don’t want fat-free broth for my family. I want delicious medicine.

In terms of taste, it is really a personal choice. Generally speaking, the fat in broth can be quite pleasant and warming, especially when consumed in the winter. In the summer or in a warmer climate, I could see how a lighter broth could be preferable when consuming large amounts for healing. One reason some people skim the fat is if they are fasting. With intermitting fasting specifically, some fast on bone broth, but without the fat as this would require more digestion. Bone broth is permitted during a fast, but not if it contains fat. Based on our experience in the Caribbean and South American, the fat is not commonly skimmed. If the fat is too heavy for you, go ahead and skim it and save it to cook with. However, avoid eating any broth fat that tastes “off” (rancid fat has a distinctly unpleasant taste)! Eating animal fat or using it to cook is tried and true. Saturated animal fat is not only one of the most nourishing fats for our body but it is also stable in medium heat.

Some would argue that the fat from broth should not be consumed because it contains toxins, especially if you are using bones from conventionally raised animals. However, any toxins stored in the fat would now be in the broth as well. Buy organic when possible, or as wholesome as possible. In our modern world, there is going to be some contamination in almost all commercial foods, but at some point, you have to do the best you can, and let it go. Luckily, if we keep our overall toxic load low by living a heathy lifestyle, our body should be able to detoxify us from small amounts of toxins. If you are ill, especially with an auto immune disease, cancer or other chronic condition where your body is burdened with toxins, definitely priorities grass-fed and organic bones from animals raised in non-industrial-polluted areas that are free from heavy metal contaminants.

If your goal is to make a gourmet sauce with your bone broth, then by all means, skim the fat to keep your sauce from breaking (when the oil separates from the sauce). In gourmet cuisine, traditionally it was customary to skim the fat from the broth to be saved for other uses. Some people just skim because they find the taste of fatty broth undesirable. It’s a personal preference. Ultimately, if you enjoy leaving the fat it, go for it. You’ll be getting all the nutrition in one dish.

If you prefer skimming the fat, after cooking and straining, simply let your broth sit in the fridge for several hours, until the fat rises to the top and hardens. Scrape off the fat with a spoon and store it in a small glass jar. Your broth is ready to go. And in the theme of traditional cooking, wherein no part of a meal goes to waste, save the fat as a nutrient dense cooking fat. Not only is this sustainable and affordable, it’s also an incredible source of pure animal fat to incorporate into your diet. This is especially beneficial in the winter time, when our body needs rich nourishment to sustain us. Animal based saturated fat is highly prized in most cultures. It’s only in the last 50 years that “politically flawed nutrition” and the “diet dictocrats” created a lot of misinformation around saturated fats in order to gain financially. We were made to believe that replacing these nourishing fats that our ancestors thrived on for centuries was less superior than highly inflammatory, man-made hydrogenated vegetables oils. Now, the truth is finally coming out into the masses, and we are seeking healing by going back to our roots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my broth look like meat Jell-O?

The collagen from the bones broke down into gelatin. That is GREAT! Gelatin is very healing and nourishing. When the broth is cooled, it will be jiggly. No worries - when you heat it up to consume it it will return to a liquid state.

Why didn’t my broth gel?

Commonly, it is one of two reasons. First reason - you might not be using enough bones (or enough of the right type), or you simply are adding too much water. Bones with more visible cartilage will yield more gelatin. Second reason - you may not have cooked your broth long enough. The longer the cooking time, the more gelatin will break down into the broth. The larger the bones, the longer you’ll want to cook them. 

Can I take from and cook broth all week long?

If you have a slow cooker that can keep a constant temperature, you can certainly make broth all week long. It’s a continuous “take-add” method that can be referred to as “perpetual broth”. But you will need a slow cooker, or two! The slow cooker is the traditional cook’s best friend. It is the most time-saving tool. Generally, we make a large batch of bone broth in a stockpot, enough to last us about 2 weeks, and save the slow cooker for daily meals. If you want to make “continuous brew” type bone broth, then this is when it is beneficial to have two slow cookers (we like THIS one and THIS other one), so that daily meals can still happen in the other one.

For your perpetual broth, you simply make your broth according to recipe, but then keep cooking it all week long, removing broth to consume daily, while also adding bones and water regularly. You’ll want to ensure you are checking it daily.

To make your week-long broth, you’d start by adding the frame of a roast chicken or assorted meat bones in your slow cooker and covering it with filtered water (we love our Berkey filter - we got ours online here), toss in your vegetables scraps, herbs and spices, salt (if using any) and turn the slow cooker on. To take out broth to be consumed, you simply pass it through a reusable coffee filter to help strain out any floating herbs, chicken skin or pieces of bone to result in a healing broth. As you take, you give. The more broth you consume from the brew, the more water you would add to continue the process throughout the week, to ensure that every bit of goodness has been pulled from your bones. Some will add bones throughout the week, but it is not completely necessary if your current bones haven’t fully broken down.

Veggies or no veggies?

In some specific gut healing protocols, like the GAPS Diet protocol, it is wise to start making bone broth with only the animal products, and then begin to gradually add in vegetables after leaky gut has been healed. Generally speaking, vegetable are a nutritious and flavourful addition to make a wonderful bone broth that acts as a healing, medicinal elixir.

What kind of veggies should I use?

We use any vegetable scraps, but proceed with caution around sulfurous (brassica/cruciferous) veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts, as they can add bitter or sour flavors to bone broth. We’ve used everything from broccoli, turnip peels, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, green peppers, spinach, collard greens, and mustard greens with no problem. We tend to have adapted our palates and have gotten our children accustomed to eating bitter foods (so good for digestion and liver health)! Experiment with these types of veggies to see if you like the flavor they add to the broth.

In traditional French cuisine, there is a trio called Mirepoix, describing the holy trinity of savory vegetables traditionally used to flavor bone broth. This traditional onion-carrot-celery is in ratio of 2:1:1. Our family prefers these flavors best as they blend well together while not attracting too much attention away from the meat flavor. We may also add in garlic, herbs & spices, medicinal mushrooms, sea vegetables and other superfoods, depending on the type of meat and bones, and the healing medicine I want to create.

How should I cut up the vegetables for making bone broth? 

Generally speaking, the more surface area that is exposed in vegetables, the more opportunity for more flavor and nutrition. There is no correct way to cut vegetables for bone broth. It is simply dependent on the desired flavour and outcome you want. If I’m in a rush, a give the vegetables a rough shop and through them in. If I want a stronger vegetable taste, I’ll throw my veggies in the food processor until minced and add them to the broth. Generally speaking, I dice my vegetables in approx. 1 inch size pieces, which gives the broth a well balanced flavor.

Should I put my broth on acid?

Acid (vinegar, wine) is added to bone broth to help extract minerals from bones and break down collagen in gelatin. Acid also tenderizes meat (like in a marinade) and encourages the release of its delicious juices. We use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar mostly because it is a quality organic vinegar; not particularly because it is a “live” vinegar, in this case. It’s a great probiotic vinegar with the mother included, but these beneficial bacteria are destroyed in the cooking of the bone broth. The most important aspect is that you consider the level of acidity in your vinegar. Ideally, you want an acid in the 5 to 6% acidity range. The percent acidity is listed on the label. Braggs apple cider is 5% acidity. White wine vinegar can be around 6%. Simply choose a vinegar which has a flavour that you enjoy. Some people simply choose to use organic white vinegar, but we don’t because we clean our house with it - so we don’t want the taste anywhere near our food.

Some people even add half a lemon with the rind included (contains pectin). Lemon juice has 7% acidity. Use what you have. And it’s important to mention that even without any acid, you can still make a great broth. Some people just completely opt out of putting their broth on acid.

Should I reuse leftover chicken bones from last night’s roasted chicken?

Please do! We hoard all sorts of bones and animal bit leftovers in our freezer. We also ask my dad for the bones of fishes he catches and animals he hunts. If anyone opened our freezer, they may mistake it for a morgue! You can also scoop up tasty juices, leftover meat and fat, or browned bits left in the roasting pan for sake of keeping. These will add wonderful flavour and nutritious density to your broth.

Note: While adding the remnants of a roasted chicken certainly adds character and helps improve the nutritional value of your bone broth, not to mention the no-waste benefits, there are a few drawbacks. Using leftover bones from animals previously cooked may result in less gelatin and collagen in your bone broth. These nutrients tend to dissolve into the meat or into the pan during roasting and are consumed. You want everyone to enjoy all of the chicken, of course, but you may run short on gelatin when making bone broth. Adding chicken feet and/or additional animal parts can help make up for the lost nutrients.

It’s broken down bones - why is the calcium level not impressive?

Traditionally made bone broth will have more calcium than the boxed or canned stuff, but your average cup will contain something like zero to 19 mg of calcium and six to nine grams of protein. This is not entirely impressive, especially compared to the calcium that leafy greens, well cooked beans or raw fermented dairy can provide you. Thus, adding vegetables to bone broth will increase its calcium level.

You may be thinking: "why are there so many testimonials of people restoring brittle bones,  healing broken bones, repairing joints, healing osteopenia (low bone mineral density), reducing inflammation all with bone broth?” Well, dairy indeed does have more calcium than bone broth, however bone broth is in fact an excellent bone builder.

The key is the collagen in the broth which holds the building blocks of bone. The collagen fibrils form the “scaffolding”, which is the structure of the bones. You have to have the structure in place. Without that structure you can slap on all the minerals you want but you’ll be building brittle, chalk-like-bones that break easily. So it’s the minerals + the collagen that make bone broth so healing, for our bones and all sorts of other bodily processes.

Why bone marrow in broth?

Bone marrow is considered a sacred, energizing and regenerative food all over the world. It is very primal, can involve sucking and licking in some cultures and is the ultimate carnivore’s food. It provides building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and has a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut. That is why it’s great for the digestive tract and has been known as a traditional folk remedy for centuries. The bone marrow, along with the gelatinous soft tissues around the bones provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system.

How do I release the marrow into the broth?

Extract the bone marrow out of large tubular bones while they are still warm. You can do this just after the bones have been roasted, or when the bone broth is done cooking. You can break the bones (with a hammer or meat cleaver) before cooking to release the marrow if it's not already released. If done at the end of cooking, it’s best to simply tap the bones strongly on the side of the pot so the marrow falls out right where it's wanted. If it doesn’t fall out, you can get every little bit out with a chopstick or a nutcracker (the long thin pokey ones).

No “Rules” in this House: Simply Guidelines

In my household with two homeschooled children, we always encourage guidelines as opposed to strict rules. I tend to be pretty free-range in terms of food and medicine making.

Rules are pretty much out the window, as there are so many factors that come in, like where you are in the world, ingredients, climate, environment, values, intention, philosophy, etc. I really love The Broth Whisperer’s perspective on this. On his blog, he writes the following:

Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there were Very Strict Broth Rules. If broth wasn’t prepared a certain way, didn’t have a bright color, wasn’t almost as clear as water, and had more than moderate meat flavor, it was a failure. Big Spooky Chefs sometimes yelled at Little Chef Wannabes for not following the Very Strict Broth Rules. Cookbooks written during that time hailed the Very Strict Broth Rules and warned against the hazards of not following them. Home cooks quaked in fear when confronted with the Very Strict Broth Rules, and decided to just outsource their broth needs to the grocery store. There, among the brightly lit aisles of processed foods, shoppers bought canned and boxed broth. Sure, store-bought broth tasted oddly of metal or old shoes, but thankfully it was at least yellowish and mostly clear. Soon there were even pre-packaged store-brought broth labeled bone broth but lacking in nutrition and ingredients of home made broth.

But then a few rebel home cooks decided that they wanted something different from broth, and so they started making something different: bone broth. Bone broth had very few rules compared to the broth made to please Big Spooky Chefs. Bone broth was delicious, easy to make, and ridiculously full of nutrition. In fact, bone broth was truly a completely different food from broth and stock: the bolder color, the thicker texture, and oh, the tiny yet visible flecks of umami! Word got around that bone broth was so satisfying that people started not only cooking with it but also drinking it. Once they began drinking it, more people wanted to start making it themselves. But… wasn’t it scary to make, neighbors whispered to one another over fences? No, it didn’t have to be scary or even hard, said the rebel cook known as the Broth Whisperer. “Making bone broth could and should be easy… and fun,” she said.

Armed with knowledge, regular people started making bone broth. They started making big batches of bone broth, using and reusing bones to show their respect for the ingredients. Some of the Big Spooky Chefs got mad and swore that no good would come from this bone broth stuff… because people were making it wrong! Yet the bone broth drinkers grew strong from their libations. And little by little, they went through the Very Strict Broth Rules and discarded the rules they didn’t want or even need to follow. They had fun in the kitchen deciding what flavors were delicious, and they felt smart and capable. Throughout the land, the people clinked mugs of bone broth together and enjoyed their new-found culinary freedom. A whole new world was beginning.

Or at least that’s my dream.

What To Do With Bone Broth

Our family tries to consume bone broth every single day, with some breaks here and there. You can keep it simple and start your morning with a delicious, healing warm mug (I love THIS one) of bone broth like you would have coffee or tea, or you can get creative and add it in all sorts of recipes from smoothies to soups and stews.

Using bone broth in recipes will help you get more of this nutritious food in your diet every day. Learn how to use it regularly and reap the benefits.

Here are some great ways to use broth:

• Just sip on it for breakfast (or during a fast)
• As a base for soups and stews

• In a smoothie or shake (this is a major thing; make bone broth ice cubes and simply add to smoothies/shakes for extra protein, minerals and collagen; great for summer time)
• In a mug by itself as a warm drink throughout the day (especially in the winter)
• As a base for gravy and sauce
• Use it to cook veggies in for extra nutrients
• Dehydrate it to make your own bouillon powder
• Freeze it in ice cube trays to have it ready for quick use
• Cook your grains in it (it improves digestibility and protein content)

• Use it in Thanks Giving stuffing
• To make gravy
• Make cauliflower rice with it (a paleo staple)
• In a potato or other casserole dish like this one (makes it tastier – and a lot healthier!)
• Dehydrate it to make your own bone broth protein powder
• Use it as a base (instead of water) in savoury baked goods (like bread, cheese scones, etc)
• With scrambled eggs (just add a bit of broth as you are cooking them)
• Use it in a marinade
• In a tomato sauce (replace any water needed with bone broth)
• As a soothing beverage for the entire family to heal from cold or flu

• Use it in braised meat dishes (delicious way to tenderize meat while packing in nutrients)
• To steam and sauté vegetables (veggies will absorb nutrients from whatever they’re cooked in)
• Use it to make dip or pâté (think hummus, bean dip or liver pâté)
• As an electrolyte drink during activity
• Used as a transition for a toddler who is coming off milk

Intention

Lastly, we talked about how to consume bone broth, but I wanted to take this “how” even deeper. It’s important to determine why we are consuming bone broth, and then to place that intention into this beautiful medicine that we have created, and be mindful of how we our consuming it.

Pay attention to your mindset anytime you are doing the sacred act of eating, where the energy and body of other living beings is being eaten to ultimately become a part of you, and to sustain and nourish your body.

Put in good intentions to your food. Choose love. The intentions you place on your food can change its vibration. Food consumed with the intention of love and high vibrations is nourishing to the mind, body and spirit.

Whenever we eat, we try to remember to be mindful of our emotional state, and give blessings to our food. At least once per day, our kids start our family meal with a little Earth blessing they learnt while in a jungle school in Costa Rica. Our toddler especially loves to start it off. It goes like this:

Earth who gives us lots of food,

Sun who makes it ripe and good,

Dearest Earth and dearest Sun,

We won’t forget what you have done.

Visualization is also a powerful healing modality. As you drink your bone broth, imagine the lining of your intestines healing, and every cell in your body getting nourished.

Sip and enjoy your broth in good company, with friends and family. Never eat or drink when you are upset. If we eat when our fight or flight response is activated, our digestion is shut down and our food cannot be properly digested ad assimilated.

Lastly, walk your talk. If you are trying to encourage your friends and family, and most importantly your children to join you on your healing journey, simply become a good example as opposed to telling people what to do. Your children will learn from what you are doing, not what you are saying.