3 Common Bone Broth Mistakes

By now you have probably heard you should be drinking bone broth for your health but why? You may also have had some pretty nasty tasting bone broth that has made you never want to drink it again.

I am going to show you the 3 common mistakes made so often which will make or break a good broth and explain why we are even drinking it in the first place.

If you don’t know by now bone broth is one of the best healing foods you can consume. I tend to preach about healthy fats and this is the ultimate healthy fat. Bone broth has many healing qualities with immune health, digestive health, brain function, fertility, anti-inflammatory and bone health to just name a few! Nature is amazing in that we find this over and over again where the remedy is never too far from the source. Bone broth will support your connective tissue, bone health, hair and nails. Put down the 40 supplements and just drink broth!

Bone broth is a very mineral and nutrient dense food when made right. It’s why it is one of the most primitive foods that we still consume. Save time and money and take back control of your health.

What is bone broth? Isn’t it the same as the chicken stock I make after I roast my chicken?

The answer is no, when we refer to bone broth we are talking about a much more medicinal version of your stock. We start with raw bones in order to capture all the nutrients, collagen and retain as many medicinal properties as possible in order to make a concentrated version.

I use bone broth as a base in almost all of my cooking and always try to keep a freezer full of broth. Most high-end restaurants will do the same, always keeping a large pot of stock or broth on the stove in order to add their unique flavor and healthy fats to each dish.

Why go through all the trouble of a bone broth? Can I just buy the store version?

The answer is yes there are many companies who have done a wonderful job of making bone broth available to the public easily. I will however challenge you to make it at least once yourself and compare. There is still nothing like making it fresh and the fresher your food, the healthier it is.

You will be happy to know, following my simple steps to making bone broth will allow you so see actually how easy and so much more affordable it is to make it your self. I like using a slow cooker as it allows me to set it and forget it for the most part.

Mistake #1 not boiling your bones first.

This is especially important when making beef bone broth but applies across the board. This is also the root of any funky flavored bone broth you may have had that turned you off to bone broth. You want to boil your raw bones for at least 20 minutes to remove any impurities and prevent the funk from affecting the flavor of your broth.

Mistake #2 not roasting your bones.

Always take the time to give your bones a roast. This will not cook out the nutrients rather caramelize and add flavor to your bones and therefor your broth. In a preheated oven to 400° place your previously boiled bones on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, rotating once halfway through.

Mistake #3 adding too many ingredients to your broth.

Now you are ready to add your bones to your pot or slow cooker and our tendency is to want to add everything but the kitchen sink like we do when making soup. This is not the time, remember this is a broth we are going to cook over 3 days! Anything we add now is going turn to mush outside of the bones which is why I recommend only adding a couple of ingredients at this stage.

Bone broth recipe

Prep Time 1 hour

Boil

Fill a large cooking pot with water, enough to cover the bones and bring to a boil. Add the bones to the boiling water and boil for 20 minutes.

Roast

Place the bones on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 400° for 30-40 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Cook for 72 hours 

Place the bones and the remaining ingredients in a large pot or slow cooker and cover with filtered water. The key here is to keep the broth cooking at a very low temperature over a long period of time. This is why slow cookers are my favorite.