Let's be real...There is a lot of talk these days in the health & wellness industry regarding the benefits of bone broth.
In the past few decades, a significant amount of research has been completed to help support it's health benefits. Bone broth is on of the most popular "staple items" in the Paleo community. This ancient recipe really does go back to pre-historic "hunt & gather" days.
But when I first heard of the concept of drinking broth out of a coffee mug I thought to myself "this is super weird.. I'm not sure if I can get onto that train!".
But....Curiosity had me in a head lock! I mean... how bad could it be? I loved sipping the rest of my mom's homemade turkey soup's as a little kid! This should be no different....right?
On a cold winter Sunday afternoon, I decided I'd research some different recipes to gather inspiration for my own version. I love playing around in the kitchen and experimenting with my favourite herbs and flavours.
So if you're craving a delicious (healthy!) broth for your next soup or stew? Or wanting to sip' on a warm mug of bone broth? I invite you to try my crock-pot bone broth recipe! It's suuuper easy to put together and delicious! Plus...I love having this bone broth in my freezer for quick meal prep!
On a side note, have you ever looked at the labels of your favourite broths....? I, personally had no idea how many ingredients and fillers went into vegetable/chicken/beef broths until I started paying attention to the labels during my Whole30.
So many of our favourite recipes will call for a broth! However, most versions that we have access to at the grocery stores (can, carton, cube or pouch) have a lengthy list of ingredients (most of which I couldn't pronounce!).
So I decided to make my own! Why not... how hard could it be? Let the creative process begin! So here is my Crock-Pot Bone Broth Recipe!
Prep Time; 5- 10 minutes
Cook Time - 36-48 hours
Yield: approx. 10 cups of broth
Ingredients:
2-3 large marrow bones (I picked mine up from our local butcher!). If you're local in Winnipeg, check them out here! http://marcellosmeats.com
5 large organic carrots
5 stalks of organic celery
1 large organic sweet onion
4 garlic cloves
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
12 cups of water
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar *
Directions :
In a large crock pot, add all of the ingredients
Set on low! Seriously... it's THAT easy!
Simmer for up to 48 hours. It's literally that easy! The broth takes me 5 minutes to prep and then I can just let it do it's thing in the crock pot!
Top 4 tips for a delicious bone broth!
Time is on your side - As the broth simmers on low, it will continue to enrich with flavours (a.k.a. it just gets better!). This is one of those things in life that just takes time...So if you taste your broth at hour "12" and think.. "hmmm...that's pretty good! I think it's ready!" Just keep it going! It'll only get more delicious as you go!
Quality Baby! of product Eating organic products can be very costly! I SO get this!! Especially during cold winter months when produce is already priced astronomically! $9.99 on a head of cauliflower is a bit much! But....since you're going to be simmering the vegetables in the broth for such a long period of time, I really recommend biting the bullet and buying organic for this specific recipe. I would rather not have added pesticides absorb into the bone broth. If you don't want to buy organic, just be sure to thorough wash you veggies!
Add it all in! Vegetable trimmings, whole garlic (unpeeled!), onion peel... add it all! The broth is going to absorb all of the delicious earthy flavours from the vegetable. So feel free to add roots and the trim! Your broth ( & taste buds) will thank you!
Don't forget the ACV! - when I first heard of adding apple cider vinegar to my broth... I panicked!? I was seriously hesitant guys! BUT....hear me out of this one....The apple cider vinegar is important as it's low PH has the ability to pull certain minerals and calcium from the bone... providing you with more nutritional value from the bones (gelatine which breaks down to Collagen)! So although it may the ACV smell is very strong ( & you ,may have never dreamt about adding it to a soup!) ...don't panic... the smell of ACV will dissipate and you won't notice it's taste with the final product. I would recommend an organic, raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized ACV. I've used the "Patricia Braggs" and "FIlsingers" brand.
Last but not least, here are a few storage Ideas:
Glass Jars - I store my broth in glass mason jars and in the frrezer. As liquids expand when they freeze, be sure not to fill the jars.
Portioned Freezer bags -I've also portioned the broth in small freezer bags
I recommend storing in fridge for up to 1 week or in store in freezer for 4-6 months.
Dr. Josh Axe has some fantastic articles outlining benefits of bone broth on his website. I encourage you to read more & learn more about if it's of interest to you!
Happy Saturday and enjoy the broth!
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