What is bone broth?

Bone broth is made by simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals. This highly nutritious stock is commonly used in soups, sauces, and gravies. It has also recently gained popularity as a health drink.

Bone broth dates back to prehistoric times, when hunter-gatherers turned otherwise inedible animal parts like bones, hooves, and knuckles into a broth they could drink. You can make bone broth using bones from just about any animal — pork, beef, veal, turkey, lamb, bison, buffalo, venison, chicken, or fish. Marrow and connective tissues like feet, hooves, beaks, gizzards, or fins can also be used.

Health Benefits

In general, bone broth is very nutritious. However, the nutrient content does depend on the ingredients you use, as each brings something different to the table. Animal bones are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and other trace minerals — the same minerals needed to build and strengthen your own bones. Fish bones also contain iodine, which is essential for healthy thyroid function and metabolism.

Connective tissue gives you glucosamine and chondroitin, natural compounds found in cartilage that are known to support joint health. Marrow provides vitamin A, vitamin K2, minerals like zinc, iron, boron, manganese, and selenium, as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. All of these animal parts also contain the protein collagen, which turns into gelatin when cooked and yields several important amino acids.

As the ingredients simmer, their nutrients are released into the water in a form your body can easily absorb. Many people don’t get enough of these nutrients in their diet, so drinking bone broth is a good way to get more.Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know the exact amount of each nutrient contained in the broth because every batch of bones is so different.

Where do I get bones to make bone broth?

Instead of throwing leftover bones and carcasses from meals in the garbage, save them to make broth. You can collect the bones in a bag and store them in your freezer until you are ready to cook them. However, if you’re not someone who typically buys and eats whole chickens and bone-in meat, you may wonder where you can find animal bones to make broth. You can ask for them at your local butcher or local farmer. Do your best to find pastured chicken or grass-fed bones, since these animals will be the healthiest and provide maximum health benefits to you.

How do you make bone broth?

Making bone broth is very simple. There are many recipes online, but most people don’t even use a recipe. All you really need is a large pot, water, vinegar, and bones. To get you started, here’s an easy recipe you can follow:

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of water
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2–4 pounds of animal bones
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 12–24 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it will taste and more nutritious it will be.
4. Allow the broth to cool. Strain it into a large container and discard the solids.
5. Store safely in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To help your broth last longer, you can freeze it in small containers and heat up individual servings as needed or you can pressure can it as well.

In order to make the most nutritious broth, it’s best to use a variety of bones — marrow bones, oxtail, knuckles, and feet. You can even mix and match bones in the same batch. Adding vinegar is important because it helps pull all of the valuable nutrients out of the bones and into the water, which is ultimately what you will be consuming. You can also add vegetables, herbs, or spices to your broth to enhance the flavor. Common additions include garlic, onion, celery, carrot, parsley, and thyme. These can be added right away in step one.

As you can see, bone broth is incredibly easy to make. I have included links below to some of my favorite bone broth recipes.

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