How to make a deeply nourishing bone broth from scratch at home. Bone broth is packed full of amino acids, collagen, gelatin, and trace minerals that are fantastic for healing leaky gut, improving IBS and dysbiosis, and keeping your digestive tract healthy and strong. Bone broths can be incorporated into soups, stews, sauces, or you can even drink them on their own as a restorative.

I have a fairly sensitive gut. It’s a genetic trait in my family.

I’m intolerant to gluten, dairy, chicken, and oats, and leaky gut runs in my family, as my mum and twin sister have suffered with it for years.

To help give keep my sensitive gut healthy and strong, I make bone broth from scratch every week to sip on or use in soups to deliver a hit of tissue-repairing nutrients to my body, to help heal and keep my digestive system working in tip-top order.

Plus, it’s a great way to reduce food waste.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, forty percent of our food is wasted. That’s a staggering amount of food being thrown away to rot in landfill, contributing to the methane emissions being released into the atmosphere.

So, if you’ve cooked up a big meal using beef, chicken, pork, fish, or some other form of meat, and have a heap of bones leftover, don’t throw them out! This is the perfect use for them.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a broth made from animal bones — in this case, from beef bones containing bone marrow. When making bone broth, you want to use some joints as well as meaty bones. You can use marrow bones, too (which is what I used for this batch), but it’s important to note that too much marrow can cause the broth to develop poor flavour, a greasy texture, and no gel.

Bone broth has been used for centuries, dating back as far as 2,500 years ago, where it was used in Chinese medicine to help support kidney and gut health.

According to Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN:

Not only are they [bone broth] both flavour- and nutrient-dense, they’re also easy to digest and able to boost internal healing thanks to key components like gelatin, which research shows can help support intestinal health and integrity.

Bone broth is also a rich source of collagen in the diet. Rather than buying expensive collagen supplements, incorporating bone broth into your diet on a regular basis can be a wonderful collagen boost and it comes in a form the body recognises, and so will use.

Some supplements deliver nutrients in forms our bodies don’t recognise, but are cheap to manufacture. Here’s a guide on what to look for when choosing a supplement.

The difference between a broth, stock, and bone broth is:

• A broth is generally made from meat and simmered for a short period of time (around 4-6 hours).
• A stock is often made from meaty joints and bones and/or vegetables, and allowed to simmer for a moderate amount of time (usually 6-8 hours)
• A bone broth is made with a variety of meaty joints and bones, which are left to simmer for an extensive period of time (at least 8-12 hours, ideally 24 hours).

Before we get started in learning how to make this homemade bone broth – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my email newsletter at the bottom of the page to keep up to date on the latest recipes, DIYs, gardening and health tips I share!!

How to Make Homemade Bone Broth

Apple cider vinegar is added to this bone broth recipe in small amounts just to help break down the animal proteins and connective tissues. This, in turn, produces a broth that’s higher in protein and collagen.

When making a bone broth, try to purchase organic grass-fed beef bones. This ensures that the broth will be free of added hormones and antibiotics, and that the animal was well cared for.

A slow cooker or Crock-Pot can be used to make bone broth, but in this recipe I’ll be sharing how to make bone broth on the stove top.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 kilograms (4 pounds) beef bones with marrow (or can use organic chicken, pork, lamb etc.)
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 12-15 cups filtered water

To make:

1. Place all ingredients in a 10 quart stock pot on the stove top, then add in the water. By the time the broth has finished simmering, the broth will have reduced down by about 1/3 or 1/2 of the way, leaving you with about 6-8 cups of bone broth.
2. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 10-12 hours, or until the liquid has reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 of the way. The more it reduces, the more intense the flavour will be and the more collagen that will have been extracted.
3. Remove the broth from heat and allow it to cool slightly before straining.
4. Strain and discard the bones. Let the broth cool to room temperature before pouring the broth into glass jars, and either refrigerating or freezing it. If freezing, the broth will keep for up to 1-2 months or more. Just be sure to leave a couple inches at the top of the jar to allow for any expansion in the freezer.
5. If refrigerating, use within a week.

Note: Bone broth will typically gelatinise when refrigerated because of the collagen content. Don’t worry, that’s normal. It will liquify again once it’s been reheated.

As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor before trying or using any new products. I am not a doctor. All opinions expressed are my own personal thoughts and feelings of the products mentioned. Check with your doctor or health practitioner if you are uncertain about trying out any of the products, recipes or tips mentioned in this post. 

Have you made bone broth before? What did you think? Share in the comments below.

Lots of love,

🖤 Vanessa