Random Thoughts: Bone Broth

Bone Broth.  Stock.  Whatever you call it.  It's essential.  It's delicious.  If you buy it;  It's expensive..

Especially for a collagen rich broth worthy of reducing (e.g. that frozen bagged stuff in the paleo section at that big blue store down the road).   The term bone broth is super hot right now;  but it's a little misleading.

• Broth:  liquid byproduct of slow simmering meat, vegetables, and herbs. 
• Stock:  liquid byproduct of simmering bones, vegetables, and herbs overnight (or longer)  in water.

Occasionally when I'm looking for a quick weeknight meal, and I'm in that in-between period between meal preps, we will go by the local grocery place and pick up a rotisserie chicken..  I'll break down the bird, and throw the carcass in a bag in the freezer with intentions of making stock.

A friend of mine scored a phenomenal find at the local grocery store this week:  Whole chickens for a little over a buck each!  She asked how many she should pick up;  I told her, "All, please."  She brought me three young fryer chickens. Score.

The results were:  Twelve 5 oz boneless skinless chicken breast,  12 wings (sectioned), Six leg quarters which I shredded the meat, and three carcasses.  For three bucks.  I'm still pretty pumped about it.

Essentially there's two types of stock:  fond blanc (white stock) -  fond brun (brown stock)

With the deeper flavor, I always go with the brown stock, which requires roasting your bones.

I took my bones and carcasses and drizzled with avocado oil, hit it with a little salt and pepper, and roasted them for 30 minutes at 450F.  Throw them in your largest stock pot.  Deglaze the sheet pan, and pour that in over the bones.

I rough cut three onions, and a couple of stalks of celery, and add them to the party.  throw a couple of bay leaves, a few peppercorns, whatever herb remnants I have on hand (except for cilantro.  I love cilantro, but it has it's place.)  parsley, rosemary (in moderation), thyme, oregano -  all good choices.. I typically use stock as a place to burn out random ingredients I have on hand - when they make sense..  Leeks, onion, celery, (I would use carrots, but being keto we typically don't have those on hand.)

I know you've been at the store and seen the packs of chicken feet and thought, who on Earth uses these?  This is what it's for.  They're super rich in collagen and make a great addition to your stock.  treat them just as you would your bones.

After all the ingredients are in the pot, I cover the bones at least an inch with ice water, bring it to simmer and let it go overnight, covered.  Starting with ice water is something I've always done.  Bringing the ice water to a boil extracts more collagen from the bones and makes a richer stock. 

Take a fine mesh strainer, strain into a couple of shallow pans, and cool..  If you have an ice-wand this would be a great time to use it.  If not, just make sure you don't pour all of your hot stock in one large pot to cool.. 

I portion half of my stock in quarts, and the other half in pints so I can use in smaller batches for recipes.
 
I didn't intend this to be a recipe for stock -  Just a discussion into my process, and to emphasize look for that deal when shopping after the Holidays!  I'll post a formal recipe of my process when I make my next batch, complete with pictures and a printable recipe.

For those of you who make your own bone broth -  how does your process differ?
Do you ever reduce it for sauces?  Would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading;  See you Sunday!