I've been making bone broth for years (30+). It is a very easy habit to get into.

put aside a couple of containers or big freezer bags. then whenever you have meat/chicken/ (from good sources), throw the bones in the plastic bag and back in the freezer). for the vegetable If you use red/yellow onions.. save the outside peels. the little leftover garlic cloves.. the ones too small to bother with, save those (don't bother peeling).

then when you have enough saved up (or after a holiday, when you have a whole carcass).. put the bones/carcas in a big pot. (some people brown the bones in a broiler first.. it does give it a good flavor, but usually I don't bother. add peppercorns (whole), salt, and a 1/4 cup vinegar. add the onion peels. quarter a whole onion (don't bother peeling, but wash), and add to the pot.. if you have a carrot, clean, quarter, and add.

fill the pot with water, and bring almost to a boil, then put the heat to simmer and let it go for a few hours. I usually wait until the bones are soft (they will settle down and they cook.

then cool and strain the liquid into another pot. You can then put this pot into the fridge overnight. the fat will rise to the top solidify (because of the cold) and you can skim it off (if you don't like oily soups). some people don't skim off the fat, but just keep the pot with the strained broth in the refrigerator until they use it. the layer of fat seals the stock. sometimes I do this (if the moon is in the right quarter).

some people will pick the meat off the leftover bones. for me, this usually isn't worth doing unless you have a leftover carcas (like after thanksgiving).

after you remove the layer of fat.. if you take it out.. you will see a pot of gelatin. bounce bounce bounce. good for the bones, good for the joints and very good for the lining of your stomach.. and digestive system.

at this point, you can put divide this up into smaller containers (say, if you live alone) and freeze all but one. then use the stock either to make soup, or to make gravies (delish!) or to make rice (delicious!!). Yum!!

or you can just make a big pot of soup. I love adding chicken (or turkey), lots of celery, lots of basil and garlic, and some pepper and salt. Yeah, good!

Thanks ST. I use to do this a while back and kind of forgot about it.

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I was watching a cooking show, Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen, with Blaine Jelus.

I've been saving shrimp shells. He was saying that also lobster tails, the shells make wonderful stock. probably good to save the fish bones, too (you will strain them out after making the broth) too, if you cook whole fish. I usually use fillet fish.. but I should ask my grocer what they do with the bones.

I've always eaten the tails of fried shrimp.

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my husband eats the whole shrimp (except the head). but the whole shell. I have nothing left to save from his plate.

supposed to be a good source of chitosan.

Eats the shell?
I knew a chiropractor who was admitted to hospital as an emergency for an episode of intestinal bleeding. He ate the shells of prawns and that cut the gut lining - he didn't know any better, the silly boy!

uh oh.. I will tell my husband that. It's never bothered him, though.

btw.. I made some bone broth 2 days ago out of all the bones from baked chicken wings that i've been cooking a lot of lately. oh my, it really gelled up nice after I strained and refrigerated it.

then I had some leftover lab gai, that I had put a bit too much fish sauce in. I love fish sauce.. but it is salty, and you have to be careful about how much you use. so.. I figured, put it in soup, as I usually end up adding salt. I would add this instead.

well, it came out GREAT. the lime in the lab gai, with the ground turkey and the saltiness.. and the mint and cilantro.. it was really good. different than my usual chicken and vegetables.

I might try making hot and sour soup next time. It really isn't that hard, and I like the sour along with the chicken and mushrooms.

I used our slow-cooker, last night, to make some lamb for dinner. The lamb was wonderful but, an additional treat was the broth that was left-over.

I purposely added extra-water to the slow-cooker (along with a can of diced tomatoes, sea salt, fresh-cracked pepper, smashed garlic and rosemary). That way, I knew we'd have plenty of broth for later use.

I've never actually made lamb broth before. I guess I just didn't know what I was missing. It's very rich and satisfying. What flavor! Since dinner last night, I've already used the broth to make a simple vegetable soup. I loved it.

Anyhow, I thought I'd mention that as another way to make a sort of broth. BTW, it couldn't have been simpler to make. Six-hours, on the low-setting, in a slow-cooker and that's it. Dinner's served.

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I haven't tried that.. sounds really good!

Harry, anytime you roast chicken, or beef or anything with bones, save the drippings. sometimes you have a lot of drippings. DON'T THROW IT AWAY.

you can use your hand blender to blend the drippings if there are any "chunks in it", but it isn't necessary otherwise. actually not necessary at all, but I think when the particles are small, the layers form better after you refrigerate it. but I'm getting ahead of myself.

pour the drippings in a glass container, and refrigerate. the fat will rise to the top, and form a whitish layer (usually opaque).

you can skim this off (save it for cooking fat if you want). Then, you will see a bouncy layer beneath. this is the jellied part. makes GREAT gravy. just add water, seasonings, pepper, salt, thickener.. and again, you can use the hand blender to make a smooth gravy.

or.. you can make it part of the water you use to make rice.

but.. this is the same jelly that you get from boiling bones in water. just not as much.

good stuff!

I just enjoy reading all the posts here. Gave me a lot if insight and ideas how to make stock. I think I have wasted a lot. I better keep all the vegetable peels and even seafood shells or bones. Using the slow cooker is a brilliant idea. Thanks for sharing.

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I always make bone broths, usually chicken beef or lamb (hey, I am greek). If you add a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice and some tomatoes while the bones are simmering, you will leach calcium out of them and the broth becomes a great source of calcium for bone strength

I always make bone broths as well but have never heard this before so thanks for the tip!

Regards

Michelle

Without a doubt, when making chicken broth, organic tastes a million times better. Simmer the chicken pieces (with bones) in a pot with a celery stalk, a half a piece of tomato, a small carrot, a whole small onion, a half a small tomato and a spoonful of lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and a bay leaf to taste. Simmer slowly for 5-7 hours