BONE STOCK

Makes 8 cups (1920 ml) Broth is an ingredient often found in recipes. Although you can buy it in the store, making it at home offers a nutrient-dense way to get in calcium, magnesium, and other essential vitamins and minerals. The nutrients are easily and readily absorbed by your body because of the bone marrow’s natural healthy fat. With the natural gelatin of the bones, when you put this broth in the fridge you’ll get beef Jell-O! Simply heat the broth up and the layer of fat and gelatin will turn into a delicious and flavorful broth. And if you make it yourself, then you don’t have to buy boxes or cans of broth at the store, which often have “natural flavors”—another word for MSG or weird food like cellulose, made from the wood of trees. I don’t know about you, but those ingredients make us a little scared and certainly make our boys’ bodies go crazy! We love cooking with bones. What a fun learning experience! Plus this recipe has the extra benefit of making your house smell delicious for hours! After it’s done, you can use it in recipes like our Ratatouille and Bunny’s Soup, or just have a mug full to start your day! INGREDIENTS • 4 lbs (1814 g) beef bones or 1 whole chicken carcass • 4 carrots, broken in half • 4 celery sticks, broken in half • 2 bay leaves • 1 large onion, skinned and quartered • 1 head of garlic, halved across the cloves • 1 Tbsp (15 ml) salt • 1 Tbsp (15 ml) whole black peppercorns • 1 tsp (5 ml) mustard seeds • 8 C (45°F) water INSTRUCTIONS AND HOW KIDS CAN HELP 1. Place all ingredients in a stock pot or slow cooker, covering with water. 2. If using pot on stovetop, cook on high until boiling, then cover and reduce heat to low; if using slow cooker, set to low. 3. Simmer chicken stock for 6 hours or 12 hours for beef. 4. After cooking, strain stock to remove remaining vegetable and bone solids. 5. To skim the fat from the broth, place stock uncovered in refrigerator overnight and remove hardened layer the next day—set aside for cooking. 6. Store in sealed containers in refrigerator or freezer.

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Bone stock made at home bears no resemblance to the store-bought box: beef bones or a whole chicken carcass simmered for hours with carrots, celery, onion, a halved head of garlic, bay, and peppercorns until the liquid sets like Jell-O in the fridge. That wobble is the gelatin — plus easily absorbed calcium and magnesium — and no label on a shelf can fake it.

Pro Tips

• Match the simmer to the bones: 6 hours for a chicken carcass, a full 12 for beef. Low and slow — a bare bubble, never a rolling boil.
• A slow cooker on low does the same job as the stovetop without watching; just load everything, cover, and walk away.
• The overnight uncovered chill in the fridge is a feature, not a chore: the fat rises and hardens into a lift-off layer you can save for cooking.
• If it gels like beef Jell-O when cold, you nailed it — that set is the proof of gelatin, and it melts right back into liquid broth when heated.
• Freeze in portion-size containers so you can thaw exactly what a recipe needs instead of chipping at one giant block.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why didn't my bone stock gel?

Usually one of three things: not enough bones for the water, too short a simmer, or too high a heat. Use the full 4 pounds of bones to 8 cups of water and keep it at the barest simmer for the full time.

How long do I cook beef versus chicken stock?

Six hours for chicken, twelve for beef — beef bones need the extra time to break down their collagen into gelatin.

How do I store homemade bone stock?

Strain it, chill it, and keep it in sealed containers in the refrigerator for the week or the freezer for months, lifting off the hardened fat layer if you want a leaner broth.

What do I do with the fat I skim off?

Save it — that hardened layer is clean cooking fat. The recipe itself suggests setting it aside for cooking, the way you would any good tallow or schmaltz.

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