Friday, September 11, 2015

Bone Broth - It's Just Stock For Fuck Sake



So there is a huge furor over the last year or so about Bone Broth being the next big thing in healthy eating. As part of my pre- and post-op diet I have to drink clear liquids - water, tea, broth.

Let me get this straight. There is NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BONE BROTH AND STOCK. Yes, this may get me stoned by some hipster gods and goddesses, but come on, I am an Aussie, and I call a spade a fucking shovel.

I am doing a mixture of store bought clear soups/stocks as well as making a batch a week each of chicken and beef stocks. It is dead simple, especially if like me you use a slow cooker as you can just bung it all in and forget about it for 24 hours.

Hint: Make friends with your local butcher - especially if he breaks down his carcasses (not all do these days) - they will be free or very cheap.

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 kgs of beef bones (or 2 chicken carcasses) - Note: the beef ones I like to roast them for an hour or so at 180 degrees to get some colour into them which brings a bit of depth to the stock - Oh, and you can also use lamb/mutton for variety, or a mix
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 leeks, white part only, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, bashed and peeled
  • A splash of apple cider vinegar (optional - but it helps break the bones down)
  • Water
  • Salt and pepper, to season to taste as you go
Bung all the ingredients into your slow cooker, or a stock pot, and cover with water - ideally about 2 inches above the bones. Turn it on high (slow cooker) and then go and have a life for 24 hours. Seriously, you don't NEED to touch it. You can skim the foam from it every so often if you want, but it isn't essential. If doing it on the stove, bring to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer and treat it with the same indifference for 12-24 hours.

Allow to cool fully before straining through a fine mesh sieve, or a thicker colander lined with muslin, throwing out all the bits. Season to taste and refrigerate. Once it has cooled, remove the solid fats from the top of the bowl.

You can keep the stock in the fridge for up to 3 days, or a couple of months if you portion it up and freeze it like I am doing. I am portioning in 1 litre lots but go for whatever works best for you.

The plus side of this is that when I can move onto thin soups (strange how that thought excites me!) I will have a ready stash of good home-made stock as my base to ensure healthy nutrient and protein rich meals.

Tell me my friends, what are your favorite soups?

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