Bone Broth
Chicken Soup is not just for the soul, and if your grandma used to cook the whole chicken, feet and all, well she had it right. This gelatinous brew packs a powerful punch of immune boosting nutrients like amino acids: arginine, proline, glycine, and glutamine. In a University of Nebraska Medical Center study, these amino acids were found to reduce inflammation in the respiratory system (a welcome immune assist during these COVID-19 days) and improves digestion. The simmering of the bones also causes the cartilage and tendons break down to release healing compounds like gelatin, collagen, chondroitin sulphates, and glucosamine – who needs a pricey supplement when you can sip on a little bone broth to ease inflammation and joint pain? And what’s more, gelatin and collagen can heal a leaky gut, autoimmune disorders, prevent bone loss, and build healthy skin, hair, and nails. If we haven’t sold you on the benefits of bone broth yet, it contains easily absorbed minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, and trace minerals that are otherwise difficult to obtain through our diets and difficult to digest when they come in the pill form. Not all Bone Broths are created equal though, the boxed soups found in the grocery store use high heat for fast cooking, which does not release gelatin’s healing prowess. Also, the health of the animal is important to the healing benefits of the broth, so always start your broth base with a 100% grass fed, pasture raised, organic happy animal and slowly heat in filtered water for 12-24 hours to allow the bones to release the abundance of nutrients.
We use our Instant Pot making our brew all the easier to make, it allows you to cook for 20 hours and stays warm for 10. We source our bones from Autonomy Farms, a local, regenerative farm that delivers. Make sure you tell Meredith we sent you.
Easy Chicken Bone Broth Recipe
We’ll cook a whole chicken for dinner and save the bones for our broth. The broth is great for sipping, and Dr. Ben likes to call it ‘magic’ because if he ever feels a sore throat coming on, a small mug of bone broth helps him wake up symptom free the next day.
Here’s a simple recipe:
1 whole pasture raised chicken (neck, back, wings, feet…)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves
1 bunch parsley
The vinegar helps leech the minerals from the bones, and the goal is to extract as many immune boosting minerals as possible, don’t forget this important ingredient. Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar is a high quality, unfiltered and unpasteurized vinegar perfect for this brew.
Add lots of spicy pepper to help combat a cold. Spicy peppers release watery fluids in your mouth, throat, and lungs to help your body expel that mucus.
And it’s easy to freeze in small containers for when that cold hits unexpectedly.
Cooking Instructions
1. Fill up a large stockpot filtered water.
2. Add vinegar and all vegetables except parsley to the water.
3. Place the whole chicken into the pot.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let simmer for 12-24 hours. After 2 hours
remove the chicken from the pot, separate the meat from the bones, and place the
carcass back in the pot to continue simmering for 10-22 hours.
6. Add the fresh parsley about 10 minutes before finishing the stock.
7. Remove the remaining bones with a slotted spoon to strain out any remaining bone
fragments.
