Tips for More Filling Soup
Life is hard; food doesn't have to be #149 [vol4, 10.3]
One complaint I hear from people about serving soup is that it doesn’t fill me up. My response is, “Tell me about your broth.”
Broth is the Game Changer.
If you’re using boxed broth - likely it is little more than salted water. Water does not satisfy hunger. However, if you’re using homemade broth *from real bones* it will have nourishing, belly filling goodness. When it cools, it will be giggly like the best childhood jello. Except devoid of sugar and bright color.
Ever bought a rotisserie chicken and after it cooled there was brown jelly in the bottom of the package? That, my friends is where the action is. That gel is the goodness you want to achieve when making broth.
Broth that Gels
Broth that gels, once warmed in soup, brings not only a silky and rich mouth feeling (aka umami) but also belly satisfying because it actually has protein in it. This broth is like a superhero hidden in your soup!
It’s the gelatin inside properly made broth that transforms a simple bowl of soup into a satisfying, nourishing meal.
Broth is rich in glycine and proline, which are 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 our body can easily absorb - and the reason why soup when we’re sick is a good idea.
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.
How to Make Broth that Gels
Making broth is not hard. It does take time. And it is 100% worth it. Making broth is one of the first baby steps I encourage people to make because of the pay off and the price is right. It’s not expensive. Actually saves money - and so super beneficial to our overall health.
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.
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.
Meat Broth vs Bone Broth
Both are good. It can be more technical than this but for the sake of brevity I usually say “broth” to keep it simple.
Meat broth is when you have raw meat on bones and cooked in water.
Bone broth is when using bones to make broth.
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.
Simultaneously cook 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. Some will simmer for 24 hours. 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. Keep the rotisserie carcass! Once the bag is full I 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: wings, 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. I use a fine mesh metal strainer.
The Fat
Animal 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 and solid and toss it. Fat from industrial birds is full of toxins and good for the trash. If using a pastured bird to make broth, I definitely keep the fat knowing that it is nutritious and delicious.
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.
Hooray! You’ve made it to the end. I hope this gives you confidence to transform watery boring soup to belly filling delicious gut healing goodness.
Life is hard; food doesn’t have to be,
Julie
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