Bone Broth
Rejuvenation for darker days
Nourishment and Wellbeing
I believe that food does so much more than just nourish our bodies—it supports our health, mood, and overall well-being. Food provides comfort, connects us to others in family dinners or out for dinner. It directly impacts brain chemistry, hormone levels, and energy levels. When bad news comes, a comforting dish might make a difference between a good or bad day.
Most often I make our meals from scratch because I feel better eating clean food, meals I buy all the ingredients for and know what is in them. These cooler days, I think we all gravitate to stew and soups, slow cooking food. I look at these menus as dark weather food which of course is not entirely true. But there is comfort in a bowl of chili, a slow roasted beef short rib with a delicious sauce, hearty squash soup just to name a few things I love. Using homemade stock makes all cooking better. I know that is true but I’m most often a lazy cook and will grab the container of store bought stock to use. Why do I do that? Am I speaking out of both sides of my mouth?
What’s the difference between stock and broth?
I’m not new to the merits of making your own stocks. I’ve gone many directions in my life with stock having my own on hand or buying it. It usually comes down to time which I feel I never have, to devote to making it. I discard a chicken carcass or the back and neck after separating pieces more times than I care to admit. I think - next time. I also fall into the category of using stock and broth interchangeably. There is a difference. The difference between stock and broth according to The Food Network is:
Broth is typically made by simmering meat, sometimes with bones, along with vegetables and seasonings. It is usually seasoned, making it more flavorful and ready to use as-is in soups or recipes.
Stock is primarily made with bones (sometimes roasted) and less meat, and it often includes vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery. Stock is generally unseasoned or lightly seasoned since it serves as a base for more complex recipes. Roasting bones release gelatin and proteins to yield a rich, deep flavor that’s further bolstered by adding vegetables usually carrots, celery and onions and aromatics such as herbs and bay leaves.
Turkey inspiration.
Olivia told me recently that she was drinking bone broth and I thought, oh! Ok that sounds good. At Thanksgiving I had so much leftover turkey and meat on the bones, I couldn’t just throw the carcass out. Shawn doesn’t like turkey so why make it and have it take up freezer space? But it just seemed incredibly wasteful to toss it. I boiled down the carcass for a couple of hours, let it cool and then put the stock into containers. Most years, I do this and then end up not using the stock because the flavour of the turkey doesn’t mesh well with what I’m doing. This year, the stock was heavily concentrated and gelatin like. I made a soup and the flavour was incredible - even though Shawn doesn’t love turkey, he loved this soup. It made me rethink making my own stocks.
I’m not Julia but I aspire to be.
Grace was planning on a visit and I had bought some marrow bones to actually make an appetizer of roasted bone marrow on toasted baguette, which Grace loves. Alas, her visit didn’t happen and I was stuck with the bones taking up valuable freezer space. I looked up to see what Julia would do…..of course she does have an extensive recipe for making beef stock which seemed complicated and time consuming. Nevertheless, I gave it a try adapting my own version. Surprisingly, it isn't that complicated, in fact, super easy, all it took was time, which working from home, I have. What resulted was a deeply rich, satisfying stock that I enjoyed for lunch on its own. I froze portions to have before playing pickleball or when my body feels like it needs a little support, like right now!
The days are going to be long, and darker and our bodies need immunity boosts. I promise you, it’s not hard to make this and it is so worthwhile in the end. I discovered Liv bought a broth powder…..that’s also fine no judgment here.
Recipe for Bone Stock or is it Broth?
My recipe is for beef broth because it is a finished product - a broth I enjoyed on it’s own. I roasted the raw bones for 1 hour. I did not use extra meat but you can add 1 lb of chuck roast or flank steak to the roasting pan. My end result was still very flavourful. After roasting, add the bones and meat to a stock pot with two cut up pieces of celery, 2 carrots cut in quarters, 1 onion also quartered (unpeeled for extra flavour and colour), a bay leaf, parsley and thyme. I cooked this for 4+ hours on a low simmer.
NOTE: I promise next time - recipe for vegetable broth, also delicious and nutritious. Good for us any day.
The key important tasks for making any meat based stock are :
to remove the bones and scrape out the marrow and all the vegetables into a fine mesh strainer and push the ingredients into the strainer getting out as much flavour as possible.
The second is to allow the broth to cool completely and skim off the fat.
Beef Bone Broth
Made approximately 9 cups
3 bone marrow bones, 6 pieces (I asked the butcher to cut them in half lengthwise)
2 celery stalks washed
2 carrots - washed not peeled
1 onion - quartered not peeled
1 bayleaf
1 bunch parsley washed, stems left on
4 thyme branches
10 peppercorns
Water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Arrange the bones in a roasting pan marrow side up or if using them whole, just on the sheet
Add the vegetables - leaving the herbs for later.
Roast for about 45 minutes or until nicely browned. You may wish to turn the bones half way through roasting.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the contents to a large stock pot at least 12 quarts. Add the bones to the pot with the fat that has accumulated. Return the roasting pan to the top of your stove and very slowly, add about 1 cup of hot water to loosen the brown bits on the pan with a wooden spoon. Add this mixture also to the stock pot.
Add the bay leaf, herbs and cover with water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer, uncovered for about 4-6 hours or until the liquid is reduced by about ⅓.
Remove from the heat and with tongs, remove the bones to plate. Prepare a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl or pot large enough to handle the liquid with a bit of space on top. Wait until the bones are cool enough to handle and then scrape out the marrow and put into the sieve. Pour the liquid over the sieve into a bowl or pot. With a wooden spoon, push the vegetables and bits of meat into the sieve allowing the soft pieces to come through into the broth. What’s left is the cooking liquid plus the delicious and nutritious bits you have been able to push through the sieve. Pour the mixture back into the stock pot to cool or leave in your other bowl/pot.
Allow this mixture to cool completely and then ideally, place in the refrigerator to separate the fat from the stock. This can be overnight. The fat will harden and will be easy to scrape off and discard. You now have your stock and can use it or freeze it. If you drink it plain, you might want to sprinkle a bit of salt in.
Cheers and comfort to you. I think you will feel good, healthy and ready to take on whatever might be coming your way.