Bone Broth Is the New Green Juice

Bone broth is totally having a momentits one of the new superfoods for 2015 and everyones buzzing about it. Sounds hardcore, but its really a glorified form of stock thats full of protein, vitamins, minerals, collagen, and keratin, strengthening your hair, improving digestion, and increasing energy. Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley, the sisters and gorgeously healthy British duo behind The Art of Eating Well cookbook swear by it and say its their go-to elixir for glowing skin. You can use it to cook in expected ways (soups and stews), unexpected ways (add a few tablespoons into your scrambled eggs), or drink it straight up with a pinch of sea salt. Heres how to make this nourishing it broth at home:

Bone Broth

Makes 3-4 quarts depending on your pan size

Ingredients:

4 -6 lb. beef bones, chicken carcasses, lamb bones (usually free from the butchers), or use the saved bones from a roast, such as chicken, lamb shoulder or bone marrow bones

Optional:

A generous splash of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice (this can help to extract the minerals from the meat bones)

2 handfuls of any onions, leeks, carrots, or celery ends

1 tbsp black peppercorns

A few dried bay leaves

Instructions:

1. Place the bones and any optional ingredients into a large stainless steel or ceramic cooking pot and cover with cold water. The water level should cover the bones by 2 inches while still leaving room at the top of the pan.

2. Cover with a lid and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, lid on, for at least 6 hours for chicken and 12 for beef or lamb, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. The longer the bones simmer, the more nutrients are released. We like to boil the chicken carcass for up to 12 hours until the bones begin to crumble and keep beef bones going for 24 hours until they look as if they were washed up on a beach.

3. Fresh chicken carcasses from the butcher usually have a fair amount of meat on them. We tend to poach the carcasses for 20 minutes or roast, then pull off the cooked meat (and save it for another meal like a chicken salad or chicken pho) before returning the carcasses to the pot and continuing to simmer to make broth.

4. Strain the liquid, using a fine mesh strainer for poultry. Use immediately or leave to cool before storing (preferably in glass or ceramic rather than plastic). Bone broth will keep in the fridge for several days or up to a week if you leave it undisturbed, as a layer of fat will form on the surface and keep it sealed from the air.

Photo: Nick Harper