Bone Broth

[dizzydays]

Broth made from bones is an old remedy and very nutritious.(google it). It has minerals from the bones, natural forms of chondroitin and glucosamine to help joints, and has been found to actually heal damaged intestinal villi. The benefits come from the gelatin which is found around the joints and particularly in chicken feet if you can get them or knuckle joints.
Fish bones/heads are also suitable to make a fish stock.
There are lots of ways of doing it - here's mine.

Get bones in a big pot or slow cooker -eg: use chicken carcass after the roast.You can add a few pieces of chicken or maybe some wings/thighs for more intense flavour. (or use raw chicken if you prefer. )
Add water to cover about two thirds of the carcass.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar per pound of bones. This is important as the acid solution helps draw the minerals from the bones. After this step you can improvise.
I add some celery, onion, maybe leek, carrot, 3 cloves garlic, bay leaf or rosemary/sage/thyme/parsley. Sometimes a handful of young nettles.
Simmer as long as you can...overnight in the slow cooker or all day on a very low simmer.
Sieve - chuck the bones and veg away and put the resulting stock in a couple of bowls in the fridge when cool. After a few hours it should set into jelly and any fat on the top can be removed. The jelly consistency is what you're aiming for, showing it's rich in gelatin.
This keeps in the fridge for about 5 days or freeze in small bags or ice cube trays. Add fresh veg for soup, leftover chicken, or use to cook rice/quinoa, add to casseroles or even drink as it is. Add ginger/veg/noodles for chinese soup. Lots of possibilities.

[pseudonym]

mmmm nom nom nom

[tigs]

my dogs would love it

[dizzydays]

my dogs would love it

Yep, my dog is loving it


(no cooked bones for dogs though, just the broth)


DD

[Maddie_cat]

Get bones in a big pot or slow cooker -eg: use chicken carcass after the roast.You can add a few pieces of chicken or maybe some wings/thighs for more intense flavour. (or use raw chicken if you prefer. )
Add water to cover about two thirds of the carcass.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar per pound of bones. This is important as the acid solution helps draw the minerals from the bones. After this step you can improvise.

Also known as "Jewish Penicillin" (chicken soup!)

[BigMacKin]

My best friends Mother would only ever make soup with bones, always said it was the best way and would help when feeling under the weather. Always work, and your post has just reminded me of it so going to give it a try, cheers.

[dizzydays]

Yep,my mum swore by it too - its one of those things that we all sort of know, but forget about. I hadn't realised just how nutritious it was until i came across some articles about it, and yet most nations have their version of slow cooked soup using bones.

At the very least it's using up stuff that would be chucked in the bin and might be very useful in an epidemic to have the base stock frozen ready for use


DD

[tshw1973]

Bone soup - stock. A lot of good soup recipes use stock. You can buy stock or make it yourself. I make it myself. Funnily enough was making chicken stock when this was posted. Whenever I roast a chicken I use the carcass to make stock. Jelly consistency when set is perfect. I then freeze the whole lot in a tub to use in soup later.

Alternatively you can use the stock to make gravy