Bone Broths & Meat Stocks

Liquid gold.

Our great grandmothers knew the value of broths and stocks and considered them foundational for both meals and medicine. But somewhere along the way they fell out of everyday use, and stock cubes and packs of insipid factory-made stock took their place. But now they’re making a comeback! And so they should – bone broths and meat stocks are the natural way to beautifully flavour soups, stews, casseroles and sauces, while imparting gut-healing goodness and easy to digest nutrients and minerals. 

You’ve probably heard about how good broth is for you. Slow-cooked broths and short-cooked meat stocks are both nutritionally dense foods, containing nutrients and minerals in a form the body can easily absorb. The gelatine in broths and stocks will help to heal and seal the lining of the digestive tract, and they are very high in amino acids like glycine which are anti-inflammatory and calming.

You know how when you get a cold, you crave soup? There’s a reason for that. Not only does it feel good on a sore throat, but it really does help to reduce inflammation and actually helps you to get well. This is one of our favourite recipes for when we’re feeling a bit ‘under the weather’ – Coconut Chicken Lemon Soup. You can just feel it doing you good!

I like to have delicious, homemade stocks on hand at all times – they are the base for so many of our meals. For example…

 Breakfast: eggs poached in chicken broth, sometimes with some added veggies, or some leftover rice or noodles or avocado

Lunch: add in some veggies, leftover cauliflower mash, and maybe some meat for a quick but very nourishing soup

Dinner: cook up some beef mince, ginger, garlic, chilli, veggies and greens in beef broth for an Asian-style meal, served with rice or mung bean vermicelli

If you’ve never made stock or broth before, it’s time to get started, both for the health benefits and the amazing flavour that will add so much more to your meals. Below are some recipes to get you started!

Important Note for People with Gut Issues and/or Amine Intolerance: For those working on healing a damaged gut, you will need to begin with short-cooked meat stocks and move on to bone broths later, as the meat stocks are gentler and easier to digest than stocks. Meat stocks are made with joint bones – meat close to the bone, lots of connective tissue, and gelatinous meats – not the muscle meats. The connective tissues contain the really gelatinous proteins that the body uses as basic building blocks to heal damaged cells and gut lining. Lamb and chicken broths are best to start with as they are lower in amines than beef, fish and pork. See the recipes below for how-to, and get an appointment with a GAPS practitioner if needing more specific advice on healing.

Need Help with Cooking for Gut Health? Our online program, Quirky Cooking for Gut Health, is where we focus on healing with food. We will walk you through how to cook for GAPS Intro (the protocol our family has found most helpful for gut health) and will provide you with meal plans, recipes, cooking videos, and a support group to keep you motivated. Pop over and have a look!

Chicken Stock & Broth Broth

2014-05-12 01:28:39

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 1 whole, fresh chicken, or approx. 2 kg chicken pieces, or 2 chicken carcasses plus chicken feet if possible (organic, free range chicken is best)
2. 3-4 litres filtered water, room temperature
3. 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (for bone broth)
4. 1 large onion, roughly chopped (opt)
5. 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (opt)
6. 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (opt)

To make meat stock

1. Place whole chicken or chicken pieces into a large, heavy-based stock pot, cover with water, and add veggies if using. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a low simmer.
2. Remove any foam that rises to the top, cover, and simmer for approx. 2 hours. (For slow cooker, cook for 3-4 hours on high.)
3. Remove meat from bones and place in fridge to use for other meals.

To make bone broth

1. If starting with a whole chicken or chicken pieces, cut meat off bones (as much as you can) and refrigerate to use in other meals. (Meat can be frozen if you bought the chicken fresh.) The fat can be added to the broth as it gives flavour and helps nutrients to be absorbed more easily. OR use chicken carcasses, and chicken feet if available.
2. Place the bones, feet, and any fat/scraps into a large, heavy-based stockpot or slow cooker. Add water, vinegar, and veggies if using. Bring to a gentle boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
3. Reduce heat, and simmer on low for 3 to 12 hours, depending on your preference. If you are using a pot on the stove, keep heat on lowest temp and top up water as needed so that the bones are always covered. If there is meat on the bones, remove once it is cooked and soft (eg. 2 hours) and refrigerate to use in meals, then continue cooking bones.
4. Once broth is finished, remove bones, veggies, etc from broth and strain. Pour the broth into into jars/glass containers. Discard bones and vegetables.

Storage

1. Store stock or broth in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for up to 6 months. If freezing in jars, make sure you use good quality glass jars, leave a space at the top of the jar for liquids to expand, and don't put the lid on until completely frozen, to prevent burst jars!

Notes

1. Cooking time is very individual - if you are sensitive to amines, cook your meat stock for only 2 hours then cool and freeze immediately. As your gut heals, you can slowly increase cooking times.
2. Amines increase the longer you cook the broth. Older meat will also be higher in amines, so buy very fresh meat/bones from a butcher.
3. I don’t add salt to my broth until it’s finished, as it depends how long you cook it as to how much you’ll need. Just season to taste once it’s finished.
4. If you're drinking broth as a gut-healing 'medicine', just warm up half a cup of broth on the stovetop, add a little sea salt and freshly minced garlic (and turmeric and ginger if you like), and sip like a cup of hot tea at least once a day.
5. Once cold, the stock should be a bit jelly-like, and there will be a layer of fat on top. Keep the fat to use in cooking, or just stir into the stock/broth when using it in soup/stew.

Variations

1. Once you are well on the road to healing (after stage 3 if you are doing GAPS), you can begin to add celery, celery leaves, and herbs to your broth if desired, for extra flavour. Add 1 stalk celery with leaves (chopped), and a handful of chopped parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Quirky Cooking https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/

Beef/Lamb Stocks & Bone Broths

2014-05-12 01:42:02

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 2kg beef or lamb bones - for stock, use meat on the bone (eg. ox tail, shin, lamb shanks); for broth, use a mixture of marrow, knuckle and meat bones
2. 3 litres filtered water (approx.), room temperature
3. ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar (for broth)
4. 1 large brown onion, roughly chopped (opt)
5. 2 carrots, roughly chopped (opt)

To make meat stock

1. Place meat on the bone into a large, heavy-based stock pot, cover with water, and add veggies if using. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a low simmer.
2. Remove any foam that rises to the top, cover, and simmer for approx. 2 hours. (For slow cooker, cook for 3-4 hours on high.)
3. Remove meat from bones and place in fridge to use for other meals.

To make bone broth

1. Place the bones, water, vinegar, and veggies (if using) into a large, heavy-based stockpot or slow cooker. Bring to a gentle boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
2. Reduce heat, and simmer on low for 6 to 24 hours, depending on your preference. If you are using a pot on the stove, keep heat on lowest temp and top up water as needed so that the bones are always covered. If there is meat on the bones, remove once it is cooked and soft (eg. 2 hours) and refrigerate to use in meals, then continue cooking bones.
3. Once broth is finished, remove bones, veggies, etc from broth and strain. Pour the broth into into jars/glass containers. Discard bones and vegetables.

Storage

1. Store stock or broth in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for up to 6 months. If freezing in jars, make sure you use good quality glass jars, leave a space at the top of the jar for liquids to expand, and don't put the lid on until completely frozen, to prevent burst jars!

Notes

1. Cooking time is very individual - if you are sensitive to amines, cook your meat stock for only 2 hours then cool and freeze immediately. As your gut heals, you can slowly increase cooking times.
2. Amines increase the longer you cook the broth. Older meat will also be higher in amines, so buy very fresh meat/bones from a butcher.
3. I don’t add salt to my broth until it’s finished, as it depends how long you cook it as to how much you’ll need. Just season to taste once it’s finished.
4. If you're drinking broth as a gut-healing 'medicine', just warm up half a cup of broth on the stovetop, add a little sea salt and freshly minced garlic (and turmeric and ginger if you like), and sip like a cup of hot tea at least once a day.
5. Once cold, the stock should be a bit jelly-like, and there will be a layer of fat on top. Keep the fat to use in cooking, or just stir into the stock/broth when using it in soup/stew.

Variations

1. Once you are well on the road to healing (after stage 3 if you are doing GAPS), you can begin to add celery, celery leaves, and herbs to your broth if desired, for extra flavour. Add 1 stalk celery with leaves (chopped), and a handful of chopped parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Quirky Cooking https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/