Introduction: How to Make a Bone Broth

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About: Your local sugar loving teenager.

When the slow cooker contest opened on Instructables, I put a sticky note on my mom's crock pot to remind her to let me document whatever she makes. So when she made some bone broth, I had her tell me what she was doing.

As it turns out, bone broth is pretty simple. And healthy. Full of minerals, it benefits your gut, immune system, and probably some other things I don't know about. It can be used as a stock, or just consumed plain. In the summertime, I freeze it as ice cubes and let my dog lick them to stay cool. While it takes some time, most of that is just sitting in the crock pot, nothing hands on. You can then keep it for up to a week, longer if you decide to freeze it. But all in all, it's a pretty awesome food.

Step 1: You Will Need...

Food-wise

  • Uncooked bones. We used lamb, but you can use beef, veal, even chicken or turkey. If you do use cooked bones, skip the blanching.
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • veggies. My mom saves her carrot and onion scraps. Also, onion skins because they add nutrients and color to the broth.
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Filtered water

Supplies-wise

  • Slow cooker
  • Colander
  • Mesh strainer
  • Roasting Pan
  • Ladle or large spoon.

Step 2: Blanch the Bones.

Boil the bones for 5 minutes. Drain.

Step 3: Crispify.

Pour into roasting pan. Bake at 450º, until brown and crispy

Step 4: Put in Crock Pot

add water to bottom of pan and scrape off brown spots with wooden spoon to add flavor.

Put the bones, veggies, apple cider vinegar, scrapey water, 3 garlic cloves and enough filtered water to cover the other stuff into your crock pot.

Step 5: Let Sit

Cook for 48 hours. After 24 hours, stir. By the end of the 48 hours, the bones should be crumbly because all the minerals are gone.

Step 6: Separate

Using a ladle, drain the non-liquid items over a large pot. Once you've gotten all the large bits out, use a mesh strainer to get the smallest bits.

Step 7: (Optional) De-fatify

The people making this are Americans who get enough to eat. So for health reasons, the fat was removed. However, if you are in need of more fat in your diet, skip this step.

Refrigerate the broth overnight until the fat has formed a layer on the top. Using a spoon, scoop it out and save it to use in another food, or throw it away. It's okay to have a bit left over, it's just fat.

Step 8: Consume!

(Sorry for there being no photo, I forgot to take photos of us eating the bone broth.)

The bone broth has some awesome health benefits and also tastes good. Some people drink it plain, others use it in soup, how you use it is up to you. Enjoy!

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