Making broth

I love to cook, my figure shows it too, LOL. One thing I am always asked questions about is how do I make my bone broth?? I will share it here today and please feel free to ask any questions.

I know I consider bone broth a family staple in our food pantry. It makes for quick easy meals when you add bits of meat and veggies. Then it is a matter of just adding noodles or rice and you have a wonderful healthy soup. I recencly started adding barely to my beef broth when I have meat pieces in there. I do not add meat bits to all my broths as I like having some that are pure broth. This is great for when some one is ill or when you just need a little pick me up in the afternoon.

To make my poultry broth I use all the left over chicken, turkey carcass's that I have frozen over several months. I usually have enough to fill a large sized stock pot (while they are still frozen). I will toss in any wing tips that I have cut off and frozen before cooking the birds too. This is cover with hot water and 1/4 to 1/3 c white vinegar. This helps pull the calcium and minerals out of the bones. Then the pot is put on to simmer for a few hours.

After maybe 3 to 4 hours I add in several sliced carrots, at least a half of head of celery, 1 to 2 large onions sliced, 1 t of dried thyme, 1 t ground rosemary, 1 to 2 t granulated garlic, 2 t onion powder, 1 to 2 t black pepper, 1/3 c parsley flakes, (can add a bunch of fresh parsley) 6 bay leaves, 1 T salt. These are estimated measurements on the spices as I do not measure. I will let this simmer for at least 24 hours.

Once done simmering I strain the broth and pick out any nice sized pieces of the meat and chill them. I cover the broth and chill over night. (I always start my broth in the afternoon so it is ready the next evening to chill) Oh, While cooking I do skim the fat off as much as I can.

Once I have chilled the broth over night, I take the fat off the top and reheat the broth. The meat is divided between the jars and the hot broth poured over till it is about 1 inch down from the top of the jar. Cover with a boiled lid and tighten with a ring. Place in prepared pressure canner and can according to your altitude for 90 minutes. For us here we do 11# of pressure. I know the higher up you go the more pressure you need.

I take the left over bones and tiny meat bits and add more water, veggies and herbs to that and simmer for a good 24 hours again. This will be broth only (no meat) to can.

I make my beef/vension/buffalo broth pretty much the same way except I add in a large can of diced tomatoes. I also simmer this broth for at least 36 hours soem times up to 60 hours. If I can beef broth with some meat, I also add in a handful of barely just before putting on the lids.

Makign broth is easy and makes the house smell so wonderful! Well worth the work, bt really, it is not that much work

Kimi