Urgent help - bone broth expert makers please

[Blessed_Mom]

I have never made bone broth. I bought a roasted chicken yesterday to make my bone broth. My DH and I couldn't eat the whole chicken so we have the bones and bits of roasted meat and some skin sticking to them.

Do I HAVE to strip the bones of all meat and skin before making bone broth?

I am thinking of boiling these for a while, skimming the scum and after wards transfer to a crock-pot with a few carrots, bayleaf, onions and salt and pepper for simmering for 20-24 hrs.

How much water should I pour in the crockpot . I have never used a crockpot either and this is my first time.... I will sleep now for 10 hrs.. so how much water so that the water doesnt completely evaporate and cause a fire?

Thanks so much

[craft_media_hero]

Well, I am not an expert, but I'll give my .02 here.

You may leave the scraps of meat on before making broth or scrape them off and save em back for soup or tcos or to top salaf or something.

For one chicken carcass, I splash vinegar over it in the crockpot (abt 1/4 C), add in veggies sometimes, and fill to he brim wih water. Star on high til its bubbling, ten to low and got to bed. You can top it up with water befor bed if worried about it reducing too fast--if the bone broth is too watery just keep cooking it own, if too concentrated just add water. You can use other acids besides vinegar, like lemon juice or whey, too.

Cook simmerin on low for 24 hrs or til chicken bones are soft and crumbly---I've never had mammal bones get crumbly like the chicken ones do, the chick bones will crumble entirly whereas mammal bones only crumble n the ends.

You can crack the bones at any point to get hte marrow into the broth, too.

I dont know about skimming the scum off, I never do that. Why do folks do that? Is it just to keep a clear broth? Coz that doesnt bother me. Or is there a health reason for skimming it? Hmm.

[MaJoie]

Is it the vinegar or other acid that makes the bones dissolve?  When others referred to bone broth I just assumed it was broth made from the left over bones. So the bones are actually supposed to get mushy and mixed in?

[DoubleDouble]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero 

I dont know about skimming the scum off, I never do that. Why do folks do that? Is it just to keep a clear broth? Coz that doesnt bother me. Or is there a health reason for skimming it? Hmm.

I think it's done for aesthetic reasons - to make the bouillon look nice. For example, Chicken Bouillon with carrots and noodles can be so beautiful (and noodles can be boiled separately to keep the broth transparent.) Clear as a mountain lake. If the soup has lots of other stuff, it probably shouldn't matter much - but I skim anyway because that's how I was taught.

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by MaJoie 

Is it the vinegar or other acid that makes the bones dissolve?  When others referred to bone broth I just assumed it was broth made from the left over bones. So the bones are actually supposed to get mushy and mixed in?

It doesn't so much make them dissolve.  It extracts calcium.  The bones won't dissolve/get mushy.  And you crack them open to get at the marrow inside and let it cook into your broth.

I honestly have no clue why people skim the foam; but I notice that when I make broth with a carcass that still has meat on it, I don't have so much foam, either.