Chicken Bone Broth - It's simpler than you think

I used to think there was some type of science when making bone broth. It's really quite simple and very beneficial for your body - especially when it's made from pasture raised and organic ingredients. I enjoy it straight from the jar on chilly days, use it as a base for sauces, or even in soups. Once you've had homemade chicken broth, you won't go back to store bought.

Health Benefits

Bones are rich in vitamins and nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Also, brewing connective tissue into bone broth provides the body with natural compounds from the cartilage. Tissues and bones also contain collagen. Cooking collagen turns it to gelatin, which provides the body with amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.

These can help with the digestive tract, improve sleep and support joint health.

How to Make Broth

Ingredients:

whole chicken

water

2-3 carrots

1 onion

1-2 celery stalks

peppercorns (or black pepper)

red pepper flakes

salt

herbs

3-4 cloves garlic

Directions:

1. Thaw a whole chicken. Remove bag inside the cavity of the chicken (that's the neck and liver). Some chickens may not have this.

2. Place the whole chicken into a slow cooker and cover with cool water. It's important to cover it so the chicken doesn't dry out.

3. Roughly chop onion, celery, and carrot. Ideally, you want about 50% of you veggies to be onion, 25% carrot and 25% celery. Toss some bay leaves (2-3), pepper corns, and red pepper flakes, garlic and any other herbs into your slow cooker.

4. Cover and let cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove the chicken and place onto a plate or cutting surface. (keep the broth in the slow cooker)

1. Shred or carve chicken to your liking. (I usually eat the legs for dinner and then use the breasts for chicken salads or in tacos)

2. Once you have removed the chicken from the bones, place the bones back into the slow cooker and top off with more water.

3. Replace the lid and allow to cook on low for up to 24 hours.

4. Once you are ready to complete the cooking process, season the stock with salt and pepper.

5. I like to ladle the stock through a mesh strainer into another bowl. I then place that bowl into the fridge and stir every hour until it has cooled completely.

6. The next day, you'll have a layer of fat on the top. If you want that in your stock, you can skip the cooling process and ladle your stock right into your jars or containers in which you're going to store the stock in. Otherwise, remove the fat and then ladle the stock into your containers. You can keep the fat for roasting veggies.

7. I usually keep my stock in the fridge up to a week. If I don't plan to use it, it goes right into the freezer or I pressure can it.