Chicken Bone Broth

A lot of people have questions about how to make bone broth. Thought I would show and write about how I make mine. This is just an example and no broth is ever the same. Sometimes I use a chicken carcass from a previously baked chicken, or bones from chicken thighs that I previously baked, or I use a fresh whole chicken. I always try to add some chicken feet since it helps to add gelatin which is nourishing for the gut and good for the body in general.

For this particular batch I am using raw chicken thighs, raw chicken gizzards, and chicken feet. The reason for the chicken thighs and gizzards is that I ran out of whole chickens and won't get anymore until next July 4th weekend and I just received my order of chicken thighs and gizzards from Good Earth Farms. The items arrived frozen so I can't add the gizzards quite yet but that's fine. The meat does not need to simmer as long as the bones anyhow.

I love the taste and texture of gizzards after they have simmered for several hours. However, the real reason I buy them is that each gizzard has a nice chunk of yellow chicken fat on it. I cut the fat off and fry it on low heat in a cast iron skillet to render the liquid fat. The remaining chicken cracklings are yummy as well.

Place the bones, and meat if you have some, in a large pot.

Add water to cover bones and meat by about 1 to 2 inches.

Cover pot with a lid and bring to boil.

When the water starts boiling you will most likely see some foam building. There are two types of foam. I mention this because there was some confusion about skimming foam on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. There's the sort of white kind of foam that looks more bubbly and typically goes away when the water stops boiling. Then there's the more "foamy" and sometimes even dirty, sort of thick foam that you see towards the top in the picture below. That's the kind of foam you want to skim off.

Here's a closer shot of that foam.

After you have skimmed off the foam, lower the heat to bring the water to a low simmer, and add some fresh cracked black pepper corns.

I try to keep my broth simmering like in the video above but with the lid on. So once you put the lid back on your pot you will have to turn the temperature down a bit more. Just check back periodically to make sure it's still simmering. I let my broth simmer like this for about 24 hours.

Part of the GAPS intro diet is sipping ginger tea made from fresh ginger in between meals. I do not like this ginger tea for some reason and can't get myself to drink it so I add copious amounts of ginger to my broth instead. I usually wait until it has anywhere from 2 to 4 hours left before adding it.

Because my chicken gizzards were frozen when I started my broth, I did not add them until the next morning - after cutting the fat off to render it.

After adding the gizzards, or other raw meat, bring the broth back to a boil and skim off any new foam. Then place the lid back on the pot and turn down the heat to return the broth to a slow simmer.

Once the broth has simmered for about 24 hours I turn off the heat, let it cool down a bit, then strain it into a large bowl through a stainless steel colander.

I let the broth cool down to room temperature, then put it in the fridge and let it cool down completely. As much as I love fat, I do not like it in my broth, so once the broth has cooled and the fat is solid on top, I skim it off and save it in a jar. The broth should now have a jello-o like consistency. I fill it into 32 oz mason jars and place them in the freezer.

That's it!