How to make awesome bone broth?

[1love4ever]

The bone broth I made last time (the only time I've ever made it) didnt turn out well, so I would like to know how everyone else does it?  Step by step if you would :)   I would love to make it in my crock pot except I am concerned about the lead found in the crock (mine does have lead, confirmed by the manufacturer), so not sure if I want to use it.  How can I get around this?  Is it safe to use my stove top (it is a gas stove) for 24 hours of simmering in a stock pot?  It makes me nervous having that open flame and going to bed!

How could I go about canning my broth so I can store it in my cupboards instead of the freezer?  I dont have a pressure canner, I have just used a water bath for canning tomatoes in the past.  Can I can the broth?

TIA!

[Smithie]

I simmer on the stove overnight. The house has not burned down yet  Also, she who wants the best bone broth is she who will commit to simmering that stuff through at least two overnights. 

[Contrariety]

You MUST pressure can stock for it to be shelf stable.  A water bath canner does not reach high enough temps for it to be safe.  You can always freeze it.
 

[AvaNightingale]

[AvaNightingale]

[artemis33]

I make chicken bone broth on my stove top (electric).  I use a giant  11 qt stainless stock pot with one of those pasta inserts that sits down inside.  This makes removing the bones so much easier!!!  I used to use my slow cooker, but dumping the hot stock to strain out the bones was a big pain AND I also have concerns about lead in the glaze (though I do still use it for other things at times).

I wait until I have 2 whole carcasses plus any other random bones - I just keep them in the freezer.  I put it on in the morning, add a big glug of apple cider vinegar and some salt.  Sometimes a few garlic cloves and maybe  a chunk of ginger if I know it will be good with what I am using it for (usually yes!).  I no longer add other veggies or anything to the stock like I used to.  I made it 'plain' a few times and was surprised to find I like the clean taste better!  I let it barely simmer all day and then turn it off just before bed and put a tight lid on it.  I also do the same if I have to leave the house - I am just way too paranoid to leave it on if I leave because I'll worry about it the whole time. 

The next morning I turn it back on and let it simmer a few more hours then turn it off and let it cool a bit.  I pull out the strainer to get the large bones out, then I use a finer strainer to pour the stock into mason jars.  My pot usually yields  ~5 quarts when it is done.   After it cools,  I put some in the fridge and then freeze the rest.  I'd love to can some, but I don't have a pressure canner, and we use it up pretty quickly so I wouldn't ever have more than a few jars in the freezer anyway (so not too much space).

 I'm not sure if that helps much, but that is how I do it.  My stock tastes great and it gels nicely.  It didn't always do that when I did longer cooking in the slow cooker - I couldn't say why.

[1love4ever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemis33 

I make chicken bone broth on my stove top (electric).  I use a giant  11 qt stainless stock pot with one of those pasta inserts that sits down inside.  This makes removing the bones so much easier!!!  I used to use my slow cooker, but dumping the hot stock to strain out the bones was a big pain AND I also have concerns about lead in the glaze (though I do still use it for other things at times).

I wait until I have 2 whole carcasses plus any other random bones - I just keep them in the freezer.  I put it on in the morning, add a big glug of apple cider vinegar and some salt.  Sometimes a few garlic cloves and maybe  a chunk of ginger if I know it will be good with what I am using it for (usually yes!).  I no longer add other veggies or anything to the stock like I used to.  I made it 'plain' a few times and was surprised to find I like the clean taste better!  I let it barely simmer all day and then turn it off just before bed and put a tight lid on it.  I also do the same if I have to leave the house - I am just way too paranoid to leave it on if I leave because I'll worry about it the whole time. 

The next morning I turn it back on and let it simmer a few more hours then turn it off and let it cool a bit.  I pull out the strainer to get the large bones out, then I use a finer strainer to pour the stock into mason jars.  My pot usually yields  ~5 quarts when it is done.   After it cools,  I put some in the fridge and then freeze the rest.  I'd love to can some, but I don't have a pressure canner, and we use it up pretty quickly so I wouldn't ever have more than a few jars in the freezer anyway (so not too much space).

 I'm not sure if that helps much, but that is how I do it.  My stock tastes great and it gels nicely.  It didn't always do that when I did longer cooking in the slow cooker - I couldn't say why.

Oh thank you so much that does help!  I have the same concerns about lead in the slow cooker glaze which is why I want to use my stove top.  I guess it probably would be ok if you turned off the stove and let it sit covered overnight.  Do you put in water as well as the ACV?   I have a really tiny freezer that barely holds the meat that I need it to hold, but I think I will have my dad store some jars of bone broth for me in his huge freezer that he only uses half of!  Lol.  I have lots of frozen chicken bones to use, I just wanted to have a good idea of what I was doing so I didnt mess it up and waste those bones.  I think this will be my project tomorrow or the next day!  Thanks so much everyone.  I love to hear how everyone makes theirs and everyones tips and tricks, thank you!

[artemis33]

yes, cover the bones with water!  :)  I forgot to say that.
 

Some will say you shouldn't leave it overnight, but I do it all the time.  I cover it when it is very hot -  I wouldn't leave it uncovered.  I do live in a cool climate though.  If it was very hot here, I'd probably just go ahead and strain out the bones that night and get it into jars and in the refrigerator.  Be careful if you freeze in mason jars to leave plenty of head space and let the jars cool completely before putting them in.  I usually put them in the fridge first and then move them to the freezer later.  I've had jars crack before when they weren't cool enough.

[1love4ever]

Thank you so much for the tips!!  lol Iwould be the person to put hot jars in the freezer so thanks for including that!

[heatherdeg]

I crack open my bones with a cleaver to expose the marrow, throw them in an enormous pot, cover them with water, throw in some vinegar (ACV or white) and then let them sit for about an hour, then fill the rest of the pot with more water and whatever else I want to throw in.  Usually onions (I quarter them and throw them in with skins still on) and garlic if nothing else, but often celery tops and carrots.  As I type, the last of my current batch is in the pressure canner and that one also contained some leftover fresh parsley, a few bay leaves (it's a HUGE pot--yielded 7 quarts and 17 pints), and some fennel fronds plus some oregano and basil.  That last sentence is full of stuff I almost never put in my stock.  Just depends on what's around the kitchen.

I simmer mine for days.  This batch is either on day 3 or 4.  If I don't put my contents in a cheesecloth sack I just dump it into a smaller stockpot that I have with a steamer insert (to use that as a strainer for all the "stuff".  I have an electric stove, so unless I'm leaving the house, I don't bother turning it off.

[luckiest]

I know you said no crock pot, but my method is the "everlasting broth" method - I start a batch in the crock pot, let it go for 24 hours, then harvest some (ladling about half of the liquid into jars), then refill with water, and let it go for another 24 hours.  I can get a good 6 or 7 "harvests" out of one batch of bones.  It does get lighter in color and gel less, but is still good.  I like to just drink the later batches straight from a mug, since I don't particularly like the strong flavor of the initial batches.  I like to cook with those.

I store my broth in the freezer in breast milk storage bags (cooled first) :)