You need bone broth if you . . .
have digestive issues
have “leaky gut” syndrome
have inflammatory bowel disease
crave salt often
get sick often
have adrenal fatigue
have high stress level
suffer from joint pain and inflammation
Benefits of Bone Broth
Homemade broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. When you have salt cravings, your body is warning you that you are deficient in minerals. So, consuming bone broth for a week will increase your mineral levels and diminish cravings.
Bone broth provides building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining and has a soothing effect on any area of inflammation in the gut. It aids digestion and has been known for centuries as a healing folk remedy for the digestive tract.
The minerals in broth are easily absorbed by the body. Bone broth even contains glucosamine and chondroiton – which are thought to help mitigate the deleterious effects of arthritis and joint pain. Rather than shelling out big bucks for glucosamine-chondroitin and mineral supplements, just make bone broth and other nutritive foods a part of your regular diet.
Further, homemade bone broths are often rich in gelatin. Gelatin is an inexpensive source of supplementary protein. Gelatin also shows promise in the fight against degenerative joint disease. It helps to support the connective tissue in your body and also helps the fingernails and hair to grow well and strong.
Do not use commercially available soup stock granules or bouillon cubes, they are highly processed and are full of detrimental ingredients. Chicken stock is particularly gentle on the stomach and is very good to start with.
Recipe
You will need: joints and bones from beef, chicken, duck or fish
It is essential to use bones and joints, as they provide the healing substances in the marrow.
**Ask the butcher to cut in half the large tubular bones, so you can get the bone marrow out of them after cooking.
1) Put the chicken or beef bones and joints into a Crockpot and fill it up with water (or use whole fish or fish fins, bones and heads).
2) Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar for chicken or 1/4 cup vinegar for beef or fish.
3) Add 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, roughly crushed.
4) Cook on high for 1 hour and then bang the large tubular bones on a wooden chopping block and scoop out the bone marrow while they are still warm. The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing remedies for the gut lining and the immune system.
5) Replace the bones into the Crockpot and decrease the setting to low and cook for 4-6 hours.
6) Once done, pour the liquid through a sieve to remove small bones and peppercorns.
7) The meat or fish stock will keep well in the fridge for at least 7 days or it can be frozen.
8) You can replace the same bones into the Crockpot and add more water and vinegar over the bones and continue to cook on low.
Consume warm meat stock as a drink all day with meals and between meals. Instead of using a microwave for warming up the stock, use the stove (microwaves will destroy the nutrients). It is very important for you to consume all the fat in the stock and off the bones as these fats are essential for the healing process.
Allow around 4 hours for chicken stock and a minimum of 6 hours for other, tougher bones. You can easily let it go for 24 hours if you want to extract more taste and nutrients from the bones. Just make sure you add water as it evaporates.
Additions to Bone Broth: For those without digestive issues, add veggies and herbs to the broth for more flavor.
Try these 2:
1) A mirepoix is usually a mixture of diced carrots, celery and onions.
French people use it everywhere to flavor liquids. Add them only at the end if you’re cooking the stock for 24 hours.
2) A bouquet garnis is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup and stock.
The bouquet is cooked with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption. There is no generic recipe for bouquet garnis, but most recipes include parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the recipe, the bouquet garnis may also include basil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and tarragon. Vegetables such as carrot, celery (leaves or stem), celeriac, leek, onion and parsley root are sometimes included in the bouquet.