#27 All things Broth
life is hard, food doesn't have to be [vol1. 10.4]
Usually my newsletters are short. Today it’s super long. Because, broth season is here! Next week we’ll be back to short.
Before we get to all things broth, here are some recipes I made this week:
Then made naan bread for the first time.
Béchamel is just a fancy name for cream soup. Add mushrooms for cream of mushroom soup. If you added parmesan to it, you’d get alfredo. It’s super simple to make, and I saved the how-to in my Stories.
My first Misfits Market Box came this week! It’s organic produce at a very reasonable price. It’s been my experience with FarmShare veggies that if veggies are in the house, I will make a way to use them...but I don’t always buy as much as we could eat. The Misfits website is user friendly and it’s easy to add/delay or cancel a box. I have a coupon code COOKWME-PE8ECJ. If you use it, we both get 25% off our next box. I was pleased with my first box.
Last week I shared 5 Tips for Wellness. Number 5 was learn to make broth.
WHY Make Broth?
Flavor.
Back in the day when I taught in-person classes, students would taste test organic boxed broth and homemade. Every person would say “There’s no comparing the two!” Boxed broth tastes little more than salty flavored water. Homemade broth has a silky, umami effect and feels good in your mouth -- and it is so good for us on many levels.
Nutrition and healing.
If there’s anything you want to make in your kitchen broth is it. Especially in this season of increased sickness. There’s a reason chicken soup is a traditional meal when we’re sick. Unfortunately canned soup isn’t very healing.
Broth is rich in glycine and proline, amino acids not found in significant amounts in meat. These amino acids are important for a healthy gut and digestion, muscle repair and growth, a balanced nervous system, and strong immune system.
Broth contains compounds sold as supplements to reduce inflammation and joint pain -- ones like chondroitin and glucosamine. It is a source of minerals (like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium) in forms that your body can easily absorb.
Finally, collagen is abundant in homemade broth. The breakdown of collagen in broth is what produces gelatin. Gelatin gives elasticity to our hair, nails, and skin -- improves digestion and is healing to the gut. That jelly stuff in the bottom of the rotisserie container? It’s good stuff!
How to Make Broth
The essence of broth making is bones and water. It can be fancier and more complex but if you can boil bones and water, you can make broth.
There are a few guidelines.
Just cover the bones with water. Too much water and your broth will never gel. The gel is simply evidence of gelatin, which is exceedingly good for your joints, aches, hair, nails and most importantly of all, your gut. If you want a strong gelling broth, add bones with lots of joints - like wings, backs, necks and feet (if you dare!) Broth that has not gelled is still good for you.
Terminology - Meat broth is when you have raw meat and cook in water. Bone broth is when using bones to make broth.
I usually say “broth” to avoid any confusion. Both are good. It can be more technical than this but ...this email is long enough.
Broth Cooking Methods
CrockPot - cook on low for a minimum of 6 hours. Eight hours is better and up to 24 hours. Because I don’t prefer the smell of chicken broth first thing in the morning, I have plugged up the CrockPot outside. The pot is hot enough that animals won’t bother it.
InstantPot - high pressure for 45 minutes, quick or natural release. Cooking a whole chicken with bones + half pot of salted water = 25 minutes high pressure. Shred the meat and save the bones to make broth again. More on reusing bones below.
Stove top - bring to simmer, try not to let it boil too high, and cover with a lid to keep water from excessively evaporating. If you find the water is evaporating too quickly, simply add more. Clearer (prettier) broth results from a slow simmer. Simmer as long as you’re in the kitchen, at least a couple hours and up to 8-10. I’ve gone to bed just after turning off the broth, let it cool all night, and strained it all in the morning.
Freezing Bones
Almost always I have a gallon bag in the freezer collecting bones. Once the bag is full I will make broth. Also, I use bones that people have touched / eaten on. The boiling for hours will kill any cooties you might be afraid of. Certainly you can mix chicken and beef or pork bones - unless of course you have an allergy to one (I have a friend who is allergic to beef.)
I also buy bones from the farmers market. The super jointy kind that makes really jelly broth: necks, feet, backs.
Can I Use Bones More than Once?
Here’s a test: can you crush the bones between your thumb and fingers? If they crush, they’re done. If the bones seem strong, feel free to use them again! I definitely use bigger beef bones more than once.
Adding Vegetables
If making broth for soups that will be flavored by other things, I simply boil bones in water.
If you are making broth to drink, as some are prone to do for gut healing protocols, it tastes best if you cook the bones with an onion (sliced in half or quarters), some garlic, a couple stalks of celery, plus a few carrots and a bay leaf. Be sure to add plenty of sea salt before drinking.
If making broth and dinner at the same time, put the ends of an onion, carrot or celery into the broth pot. Or, save these end pieces in the freezer - especially if you have a giant cooking day and lots of extra veggie pieces. These extra pieces can be stored with frozen bones.
Some people recommend adding parsley to their broth. And I agree for the mineral boosting elements! However, fresh parsley should be added in the last 5 minutes of cooking broth and then removed so as not to make the broth bitter.
Straining
Once you’ve cooked the bones for the desired amount of time, strain bones and veggies away from the broth so that you’re only left with golden liquid.
The Fat
Fat is good. Chicken fat (schmaltz) is especially tasty for sautéing veggies. However, if the chicken is from a regular grocery store, I will skim the fat off the broth once it is cool. If using a pastured bird to make broth, feel freedom in keeping the fat knowing that it is nutritious. Fat from industrial birds is full of toxins and good for the trash.
Storage
I prefer broth to cool to the touch before pouring into plastic. I freeze in former yogurt containers marked with masking tape and Sharpie or quart zip top bags. A friend gave me some Souper Cubes and I love them for freezing broth in 1 cup portions. Then you can pop those cubes in a freezer bag.
If the broth is hot and I’m ready to be finished in the kitchen, I pour into glass jars. Slowly - because pouring hot liquid into cold jars can cause the jars to break from the sudden temperature change. I have a wide mouth stainless steel funnel I love for jars and use this funnel everyday.
When freezing broth, I note any useful information on the label like: very jelly, smoked turkey, for drinking, for soup, etc.
How to Use All This Broth?
Most frequently, I use broth in soups. I aim for once a week for soup to be the main player at dinner, especially in fall and winter. Chicken soup can be made super fast if you’ve already thawed broth & are using a rotisserie chicken. Just sautè onions, carrots and celery, throw in the rotisserie meat and add broth. Voilà! Dinner in minutes.
My husband often sips broth in the morning as a way to wake his digestive system. When we are sick, broth is an effective elixir - and tastes especially delicious with a half a lemon squeezed in it.
Use broth for making rice, cooking lentils or beans.
Sometimes when reheating stovetop, I need a splash of liquid and will use broth - like when transforming roast beef into a delicious barbacoa (taco meat).
Boil pasta or ramen in it.
Well, if you made it this far - you earned a star! What questions did I miss? Hit reply and I’ll answer next week.
Enjoy the weekend!
Julie
PS - know someone who wants to be healthier? Send them this email and encourage them to make their own broth.