Bone stock/broth

[drjeep33]

A few years back, Jack produced an episode in which he discussed the better ways of producing home made bone stock/broths. I cannot find the episode on TSP.com search box. Can someone provide the episode number?
Thanks.

[Cedar]

I don't know the episode, but I roast the bones in the oven first, then do a huge stockpot of the bones, veggies...Then strain and can.

Cedar

[Charlie17]

Here is what I do for chicken stock:

Roast left over backs, necks, wings, etc on 375 for about 45 minutes

Let cool and pick off any meat. 

Rough cut a couple onion and sauté in the bottom of the pot I use for stock

Add half the roasted, picked over bones into the pot with the onions along with any juices from roasting.

Add a layer of chicken feet.

Add the rest of the roasted, picked over bones.

Fill with hot water till just covering the bones.

Add a couple glugs of white vinegar.

Add a small handful of whole peppercorns.

Bring to a boil and then back down to a very low simmer and simmer for at least 24 hours.

Skim off the yuck as needed.

Skim off the rendered chicken fat and save for cooking (only the clear stuff).

Strain stock through a colander and then through cheese cloth.

Can.

Most times the flavor is so rich that I don't even have to add salt.  We use our home grown pasture raised, Non-GMO fed chickens for this.  When in the fridge, it sets up stiffer than jello and when we use it for chicken soup we cut it 1 part stock to about 3-4 parts water.  Talk about delicious and really good for you too!

[LvsChant]

I don't know the episode either... but I always make my own chicken stock...

Whenever we have roasted chicken, I just save the carcass in the freezer. Once I get a few of them, I pull out my giant stock pot and make a big batch.

I follow the Barefoot Contessa's basic recipe...

Quartered onions
Scrubbed carrots
Celery stalks
Garlic cloves (halved)
Parsnips (if I have them)
dill weed
parsley
thyme
kosher salt to taste

Bring to boil, then simmer as long as you can stand it...

Let cool, then refrigerate overnight... skim off the fat; freeze or can.

This makes the best ever soup base...

[David in MN]

I do this once or twice per week in the fall/ winter.

In a slow cooker I use:

Leftover bones
1 or 2 roasted marrow bones
1 onion
2 stalk celery
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
fresh parsley
2 T apple cider vinegar
salt to taste

Set on low for 24 hours. Strain/filter/clean/etc.

If you do this it will produce a broth so rich mine often gelatinize in the fridge.

By far my favorite use is beef bones turned into a German soup of beef bone broth, mushrooms, parsley, and dumplings. When my mother ate it she said it was the richest thing she'd ever eaten. She actually complained that my soup was so decadent it should have been a sip of amuse bouche rather than a meal.

[LvsChant]

Just a little bump... I have quite a few chicken carcasses and need to make soup stock...

I wonder if anyone has a really good vegetable stock recipe?

[David in MN]

Just a little bump... I have quite a few chicken carcasses and need to make soup stock...

I wonder if anyone has a really good vegetable stock recipe?

Nope. There's not really a point. I guess you could make a stock with only veg but it would lack all the protein and collagen that make stock actually have body. It would taste fine but would lack that special something. It's also good to remember that while we Americans make chicken and beef stock there is no reason you can't make stock out of fish, pork (great for Mexican and East European cooking), or any other animal. For years high end restaurants have used veal stock as a secret weapon.

I wish it were other but I can't recommend vegetable stock. It's one of those things that's just not right. Sorry vegetarians. I don't mean to offend.

****If**** I did make a veggie stock it would include a high protein vegetable. For me that would mean broccoli stems. Over a long cook you might get a better result. But it still wouldn't be as good as a traditional bone broth. I have included broccoli stems in stocks for vegetable soups in the past and I don't notice a strong flavor. But it should add some body. YMMV.

[LvsChant]

I have had occasions when I needed to cook with vege stock and have bought it in the stores... I agree about the superiority of the homemade chicken/beef stocks (and it is what I typically use for all my soup recipes). I was just hoping someone had a vege stock recipe that would be better than the stuff in the stores...

[Carver]

I make veggie stock as much as bone broth. I'd avoid using too much cabbage as it easily overpowers the flavor. When I make bone broth I always break the chicken bones so the marrow is exposed. I make broth in the Instant Pot, usually from 2-12 hours. Afterwards the bones are so soft you can easily break a beef bone with your fingers, it crumbles into a chalk which goes into the compost. It is not meat or bone garbage, it is devoid of anything that rots, it is bone meal. No?

[Prepper456]

i will have to start doing this.might have to get another freezer

[Carver]

It is good to keep in mind that broth and stock are not the same. A stock made from vegetables makes for a good soup base but a vegetable broth tends to get bitter, not better. Bone or meat broth is not a stock. The best of both is cook the bones with the meat on until the meat pulls off and put that in a separate pot with vegetables and cook until the veggies are done. Meanwhile cook the bones for hours so that when it cools it gels from the collagen. A good example of a combined stock/broth recipe is hog's head cheese, which commonly uses the hocks and neck bones, not the head. The broth is poured over the meat and vegetables in a cake pan and is sliced when it is cooled and gelled.

My own personal version of this is to add cooked barley and you end up with a meat pie. I have some in the refrigerator right now.

[Morning Sunshine]

I have pots simmering now.  I beg for friends turkey carcasses after thanksgiving, and added to all the chicken scraps I collect over the year, I get about 60 quarts.  I have been doing this for about 14 years.

I simmer and strain, simmer and strain until the strained water is cloudy and almost white.  I mix it all together and cook it down.  I also add veggies - a mire poix with the addition of parsnips (not this year though - more in a minute).
I skim off the fat (I usually get about 2 quarts of schmaltz, and add a bit of that to the cats food during the winter).
In years past, I take the condensed broth and put about 1 cup in a quart jar, then add water to the fill line.  It is based on color and flavor, but I have to condense it as I do not have a pot big enough to make sure everything gets mixed up.

This year, I am doing it different.  This year I am taking my broth and simmering it down until it starts smelling "done" - like the water is all gone and it is going to burn soon.  Then I will mix it with a heap of salt (I do not generally salt my broth) and some finely-ground dehydrated veggies and herbs, and dehydrate the whole mess.  And then blend to a fine powder.

I make my own bullion.  After I did it last time, we made it up with a cup of water and measured the powder - it turned out that 1.5 teaspoons made 1 cup of flavorful broth.  And I could get 32 "quarts" of broth into one quart jar.  I do keep it in the fridge, but that is just my paranoia. I am hoping to get 1-2 more quart jars in the fridge by New Years.

[Prepper456]

thanks sunshine

[Carver]

This year, I am doing it different.  This year I am taking my broth and simmering it down until it starts smelling "done" - like the water is all gone and it is going to burn soon.  Then I will mix it with a heap of salt (I do not generally salt my broth) and some finely-ground dehydrated veggies and herbs, and dehydrate the whole mess.  And then blend to a fine powder

How did this turn out? And how are you using it?

[Morning Sunshine]

How did this turn out? And how are you using it?

it is great.  This is my new favorite way.  Like I said, I added a lot of salt and boiled it down to the point where it started to smell like it was going to burn.  I think I still had a little over 2 quarts.  Then I poured it onto my silicone dehydrator mats.  it did spread, like fruit puree, so I did not put too much on one tray.  It took a few days, and I had to turn it over every 12 hours or so, as the top would get a dry crust leaving moisture trapped underneath.  When I turned it over, I would also place another mat on top and use a rolling pin to flatten it, help it dry faster.

When it was all done, I threw it in the blender until it was a fine powder.  Then I brought a cup of water to a boil and added a teaspoon of powder.  It was kind of weak flavor, so I added another 1/2 teaspoon.  perfect.

This is much easier than opening a quart of broth from the basement, and hoping that we would use it all before the jar goes bad.  This way we can use 1 cup at a time or 1/2 c or whatever and not worry about the waste.  I do keep it in the fridge, and I have another quart jar in the deep freezer for when this runs out.

honestly, I have thought about opening the 20 or so jars of beef broth in my basement and boiling those down.  But too much work. 

[LvsChant]

+1 MS. Looking forward to trying out this method once I have my full kitchen back. My dehydrator and most of my kitchen stuff is still stored until the house if finished...

[Carver]

it is great.  This is my new favorite way.  Like I said, I added a lot of salt and boiled it down to the point where it started to smell like it was going to burn.  I think I still had a little over 2 quarts.  Then I poured it onto my silicone dehydrator mats.  it did spread, like fruit puree, so I did not put too much on one tray.  It took a few days, and I had to turn it over every 12 hours or so, as the top would get a dry crust leaving moisture trapped underneath.  When I turned it over, I would also place another mat on top and use a rolling pin to flatten it, help it dry faster.

I like this idea but way too labor/energy intensive; how could this be done more efficiently? It sounds like the freeze dried method would be best, especially if you're doing the quantities you are doing, not for me though. This is the basic process that produced the rations for the Lewis & Clark expedition. I wonder if there is a record on how that was done then, probably similar to what you are doing. Big cast iron pots. But why all the salt?

[Morning Sunshine]

I like this idea but way too labor/energy intensive; how could this be done more efficiently? It sounds like the freeze dried method would be best, especially if you're doing the quantities you are doing, not for me though. This is the basic process that produced the rations for the Lewis & Clark expedition. I wonder if there is a record on how that was done then, probably similar to what you are doing. Big cast iron pots. But why all the salt?

salt to help preserve it.  I am not sure on the shelf life of dehydrated broth.  I have removed every drop of oil through a process of almost-freezing the broth and skimming etc. so there is not fat to go rancid.  But the broth itself is still a meat product, and the last thing I want is for it to go bad and poison us.  So the salt.  Maybe one day I can cut this down.

I have thought about a freeze-dryer.  It is on my list of "wants" but right now - especially in this crazy suddenly-everyone-is-a-prepper environment - it is out of my reach.  When I get one, this is definitely my first experiment!

as for labor intensive.  The whole making broth thing I do every year is a 1-2 week process from start (put the bones in the pot) to finish (bottles labeled and on the shelf).  Turning it into bullion instead is actually easier in a lot of ways because it is more hands off in the final stage than canning 60-80 quarts of broth.  I just have to check the simmering down every hour or so, and the drying twice a day.  canning the stuff is a full day in the kitchen with 3 canners full at all times - two canning and one cooling - checking jars, etc.

But it is worth it.  For now, it is worth it.

[Carver]

Saw this (YouTube channel "Townsends") which appears to be exactly what you're doing: https://youtu.be/2fE5KzvOZRk

[Morning Sunshine]

Saw this (YouTube channel "Townsends") which appears to be exactly what you're doing: https://youtu.be/2fE5KzvOZRk

yeah... exactly.  Except I take it a step further and grind it to a powder when it gets to the really dry stage. Thanks for finding that video.

[Carver]

I came across another "portable soup" video, wasn't even looking for it. Morning Sunshine you have to look at this and tell me what you think. The advice at the tail end has a number of observations on how to do this and what not to do. And after watching this and the Jas Townsends video and thinking on how you make biltong I'm going to venture to say you don't need salt.
Anyway, here it is.
https://youtu.be/z1t1c51Njac

[Morning Sunshine]

I came across another "portable soup" video, wasn't even looking for it. Morning Sunshine you have to look at this and tell me what you think. The advice at the tail end has a number of observations on how to do this and what not to do. And after watching this and the Jas Townsends video and thinking on how you make biltong I'm going to venture to say you don't need salt.
Anyway, here it is.
https://youtu.be/z1t1c51Njac

thanks.  good video.  I know that mine did get to a boiling point a few times, and I could taste that before it was fully dried.  I might try the crockpot method next time.

I am worried about the salt.  Meat does not like to stay good by itself out in the open.  Salt has traditionally been used to preserve it.  Why is salt not needed in these two recipes?  Why does the meat product not turn rancid or bad?  This is my big burning question.

In my bottled broth, I have never used salt, since my pressure canning makes it safe.

And my dehydrator - I keep that on pretty low heat, since an excalibur can control the temperature, but even so, the lowest is only at 105.

next time.... Next time I will try this method

[Carver]

My guess is that the meat won't go bad if the fat and moisture is removed. Perhaps the use of a jerky cure would a certain method.

[Morning Sunshine]

My guess is that the meat won't go bad if the fat and moisture is removed. Perhaps the use of a jerky cure would a certain method.

jerky has salt.

I can see if the fat and moisture are gone.  But there are WEEKS on the counter before the moisture is gone.

[Carver]

What I meant by jerky cure was sodium nitrate, or nitrite; whichever one it is. I think the salt in a jerky making kit is in the seasoning and for the purpose of curing. After doing a search of numerous "portable soup" recipes it seems to me the use of salt is only for seasoning and no cure is used. I couldn't find a Jackie Clay column on making bouillon, but a good number of them leave the soup leather out on a drying rack for weeks, so I'm going to go with not using salt. I also do not add salt to broth.

[Carver]

This has been a very interesting topic, brand new technique for preparing broth and I've learned a lot from this, I feel inspired to try it. Thanks good Morning Sunshine.

[Morning Sunshine]

new development.  Based on the videos Carver shared, I think my powdered bullion is probably shelf stable.  So I bought some very wide smoothie straws and used my vacuum sealer to seal the ends.  I then measured a very careful 1.5 teaspoons into each straw and sealed the other end.
So now I have pre-measured homemade "broth" to stick in our 72-hour kits.

The food part of my 72-hour kits, I bought 24oz stainless water bottles, and along with the 2 bullion sticks, there are 4 honey sticks (the inspiration for my idea), 3/4 c each of oats, lentils, and rice.  I will add a few salt and pepper packets.

[Carver]

I bought some very wide smoothie straws and used my vacuum sealer to seal the ends.  I then measured a very careful 1.5 teaspoons into each straw and sealed the other end.
So now I have pre-measured homemade "broth" to stick in our 72-hour kits.

Very innovative solution to the problem of containing small amounts, something I frequently run into. Thanks.

[Morning Sunshine]

in looking for something else, I re-found this gem of a thread.  I thought to link here in case it helps anyone else.

http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=33845.msg379082#msg379082