“Good broth resurrects the dead.”
South American Proverb
I know the title isn’t very sexy. The truth is most people overlook this incredibly crucial element to any soup or stew, skipping straight to the main ingredients to bring the appeal. But I couldn’t let this notably nourishing food go unseen.
I had to share with you as more an more studies keep coming out unleashing the benefits of adding stock (or broth) from poultry, beef and fish. These foods have been used for centuries and now we are understanding why.
Before I go further I want to make it clear that there is a difference between stock and broth, both nutritionally and in cooking recipes.
Chicken stock (which is presented here) is a process of using the bones, joints and cartilage, along with some meat, creating a thicker more gelatinous liquid. It generally contains a higher dosage of vital nutrients including minerals and vitamins.
Chicken broth is more diluted and is typically made by cooking water with mainly meat only and with very little bones.
We’ve all heard some of the benefits of chicken stock and broth such as it’s ability to help boost our immunity during cold spells. But did you know they also contain minerals of bone, cartilage, marrow and their accompanying electrolytes. The addition of acid (in the form of vinegar) also draws specifically more calcium, magnesium and potassium into the broth.
One of the biggest components of good quality stock or bone broth is naturally occurring gelatin. Unfortunately many of us can only associate with the gelatin in Jello and other like products, which is vastly different. The gelatin found in animal proteins acts as a digestive primer allowing the body to spare precious proteins and absorb more of the nutrients in the foods we consume. Gelatin is also another reason why many believe it to be so beneficial for a number of degenerative diseases.
Other claimed benefits of homemade bone broth:
- Healing of the gut lining by allowing beneficial animal nutrients to be consumed without harder to digest meats.
- Increased consumption of gelatin reduces degenerative arthritic condition and achy joints.
- Increased assimilation of bone forming nutrients key to increasing bone density.
These are just a few things that still need studying, but make sense logically. I would highly encourage you to give this easy recipe a good test and see for yourself.
Aside from it’s many nourishing properties homemade stock or broth is delicious. It thickens our soups and our souls and truly creates memorable meals.
So now, to your very own. If you’re looking for meats to use for this recipe I highly suggest grass fed beef bones, pastured chicken bones/carcass or a high quality fish found at many local natural foods markets.
This recipe is for chicken stock, but can be substituted.
Makes approximately 6 quarts:
1 whole chicken or 3 chicken carcasses (pastured preferred)
½ organic yellow onion diced
3 large organic carrots roughly cut
2 stalks organic celery roughly cut
2 tablespoons organic vinegar
1 organic red pepper (optional)
1 bunch of parsley
½ cup chopped burdock root (optional)
6 quarts water
There are variations on how to start your stock but I prefer to get straight to it. Simply add chicken with all vegetables except parsley to a large pot. Bring to a rolling boil and skim any foam (or not) that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 24 hours (or more). The longer you cook your stock the more rich and gelatinous it will become. Five to ten minutes before your stock is done add chopped parsley to enhance it with additional minerals.
I like to use something like this crock pot
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