Homemade Bone Broth

Making my own broth from scratch somehow got classified as a kitchen milestone in my mind.  I felt I was missing out on something by not making my own broth.  It was something I kept putting off, until one Saturday, I noticed my favorite grass-fed beef vendor carried beef bones. On a whim, I bought a bag and then searched the Internet for a recipe.  I really hadn't thought out past thinking I should one day make broth from bones. As luck would have it, I found a recipe using my beloved crockpot! Crockpot equals add ingredients and walk away. In fact, the recipe said the longer it cooks, the better!

The recipe link is below:

Ingredients:

4 quarts of filtered water
1.5- 2 lbs of beef knuckle bones or marrow bones
3-5 cloves of fresh garlic

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1Tsp unrefined sea salt 

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a 6 quart crockpot and set the heat to HIGH

Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat setting to LOW.

Allow the stock to cook for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 24 hours. The longer it cooks, the better!

Turn off the crockpot and allow the stock to cool.

Strain the stock through a fine mesh metal strainer and throw away what you skim off.

I had made my very first batch of homemade broth. I cooled it in the refrigerator and got the promised gelatinous consistency and layer of tallow.  Success! 

I gently scraped off the tallow and warmed myself up a few bowls, but really couldn't bring myself to do much else.  I was underwhelmed by the homemade broth milestone and uninspired to really do anything with it. I still have half a pack of bones to make another batch?  It was super easy to do and people rave about how nutritious it is, so I will try it again. 

I somehow thought this would be a more exciting sense of accomplishment.  Apparently, making something tasty from a bag of bones is not magical. But it is another kitchen skill to add to the collection. Not all bucket list items are superstars.

http://balancedbites.com/2011/04/easy-recipe-mineral-rich-bone-broth.html