You don’t need to but browning first can add to a more rich flavour profile.

There is usually a good bit of fat that settles on top once the broth cools down. That makes it much more easier to remove.

I would throw the chicken out because it usually leaches of all the nutrients into the broth anyway from having been boiled for so long.

Thank you for the recipe, however phrazle I have a brief question: Should I chew the chicken or simply drink it?

Is there a lot of fat in the broth from the skin on all the chicken pieces.?

Is the meat good to eat after being in a slow cooker that long or should you toss it?

Should you skim the fat off the top and toss?

Is the meat good to eat after being in a slow cooker that long or should you toss it?

Should you skim the fat off the top and toss?

You don’t want a higher temperature. Needs to stay at 170 and 24+ hrs for chicken. 48 for beef broth

Just make sure the temperature is at 170 and it needs to be 24+ hrs for it to have the most benefits of the bone broth

Also if you do beef broth you need to cook for 48+ hrs.

I roast the chicken first. Then debone chicken. Put bones in pot with vegetables and then cook at *170 degrees no higher for 24+ hrs. No liquid should go away when cooked at this temperature. I use a cooker that has a temperature setting. A really large roaster. I do 2 chickens at a time. The temperature is key to along a true bone broth and not have any liquid cook away.

what setting did you use on your crock pot. I am all for this method.!

The best option is generally an Asian food market. That’s where I got mine.

I get about 2 qts per crock pot.

This must minimize or eliminate evaporation, right?

Some of us have acid reflux disorder so fat has to be taken out.

I have made this many times over the years, similarly to this, ever since the first time, when my 90-yr-old mom’s “unhealable” broken shoulder knitted up in record time (plus nettle tea). Now I make it for friends with injuries or troubled stomachs, and for culinary use.

Some questions answered, per my experience:

You can start with any source of good poultry you have, but the main weight should be bones. If you start with a whole bird, take the trouble to remove the meat for other use, soup, salad, etc, after 1.5-2 hrs. After the 24-hr broth process the meat will be flavorless and stringy.

I found chicken backs at a local butcher for 67 (now 77) cents pound. They are discarded after butchering and frozen. Ask around.

Why pull off excess fat someone asked? You don’t want a greasy broth, for starters. It will go off-flavor faster too. There will always be enough left to create a nice “seal” when cold, keeping oxygen out. But I don’t waste this healthy fat. I’ve been turning it into “schmaltz”, a Jewish way of keeping it around for cooking. Render it slowly while your broth simmers, add sliced onion for flavor if you like. Keeps in the fridge for months. A little salt helps preserve.

If I go to a different butcher, I can get some chicken feet for extra gelatin (to the one questioner, gelatin protein is the easiest for children to digest. Starving refugees can often process nothing else).

I get 6-7 lbs of backs, maybe 1/4-1/2 lb feet, or wings do almost the same. Pull off easy fat, tails too, put half the backs on an oiled cookie sheet and roast at 400 till brown, for flavor. The rest are soaking in cold filtered water with 2 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice (I’m graced with a big stock pot, and I don’t want to do this often. I get at least a gallon of stock at a time. Also I can’t control the temp of a slow cooker.. mine is primitive.. and the temp is imprtant)
The choice of which acid doesn’t seem to affect flavor much.

I’ll pull all the meat I can find off the cooled backs, reserve, add those bones to the pot. Soak another 30z60 min with filtered water, 2″ above. No salt.

Bring to boil and turn heat down to minimum. If I want a pleasantly clearer broth, I skim foam. It may affect flavor. I guess I always skim, come to think of it. No veggies yet. I don’t want anything to get bitter, they’ll simmer a long time anyway!

The next trick is to keep the simmer super low. A bubbleat the top every second or two. I now rely on a thermometer with a probe on a cord. I can set the alarm to tell me when I’m getting in the 200 range. But the number isn’t always key.. or possibly my therm isn’t the best. On my gas stove, I use a flame spreader (invaluable cheap tool) because my stove only goes so low, and I don’t want a hot spot. I’ll adjust the lid, partially on (it boils too hard at the very lowest setting with the lid fully on), adjusting till it’s steadily where I want, for at least 30 min. Room temp and the hood fan even affects this.

Meanwhile, I’ll have clipped the nails off the feet, if using, and slice the skin down the top of the back of the feet with a sharp knife or scissors, threw them in before the boil. Wings aren’t as tough-skinned, so you skip that. Their just pricier.

Im greedy, so after an hour, I’ll pull out the previously raw backs with tongs (the color difference is obvious) and pull their meat off too. Now I have a big bowl of tender meat for other uses, with the combined flavors and textures of roasted and simmered. It’s surprising how much meat is there.

That other half of the bones go back in, I make sure the temp gets right again, and I leave it. If the temp/bubbles are good, I’m not afraid to go to bed.

Say I started at 4pm, next morning I add a tbsp of peppercorns, 3 bay leaves, 5-6 cloves (the spice). If I’m ambitious, I’ll use pliers to break up the big bones, say I have drumstick bones, esp.

At 1pm-ish, 2 quartered onions, roots off but skins are ok. 3-4 carrots, scraped or brushed, 2-4 “. A 1/2 to whole head of garlic (I peel and half each garlic cove, but probably unnecessary. At least 5-8 cloves if you’re making a smaller batch)
An hour or so b4 done (I aim for 24hrs), several ribs celery, washed, 2-4” pieces. Leaves can go in last 1/2 hr. If all this simmered a bit longer due to schedule, no problem, or add veggies later. You’re just trying to avoid bitterness.

Oh! add water as neccesary, to keep at least an inch above solids. A little extra b4 bed of course. Another inch? If your simmer is super low, and your slightly-off lid is returning most of the steam, to condense back down, you’ll be fine. If solids are exposed in the morning, just top off. Add salt to taste toward the end, or for infants, none. Vietnamese fish sauce, as in Pho, adds a nice brightness and umami (doesn’t taste fishy!). Drizzle in till it tastes right to you. To get closer to Pho, add a star anise and a cinnamon stick in the last few hours. All a matter of taste. I usually want the versatility so I don’t do that unless I know the recipient’s tastes.

I do the quick chill in the ice bath in the sink. Stir very gently and it will come down faster. This is for flavor as much as safety. The 40-140° range is where bacteria flourish. Do not keep the lid on. It can make off-flavors. This will help your broth keep (thank you, Julia Child)

While it’s cooling, use a slotted spoon or “spider” to remove solids. I squeeze liquid out, pressing down with a big spoon, but I’m greedy. This makes a cloudier broth, but usually I don’t care, if it’s for healing. The removal of solids is also for keeping purposes. They have given up all their flavor, and most nutrients, to the liquid. This can go in compost, pet food (still have fiber, carbs, proteins). If the bone fragments are soft enough, blend it up ad experiment. I haven’t done that.

The super slow simmer pulls the collagen out without breaking it down, so it will gell and taste rich, even though you’ve removed most of the fat. That sticky feeling between your lips isn’t grease, it’s protein.

At 50°-60°or so, put in containers strain if you want) and refrigerate. It will continue to cool fast enough. Flavors will stay bright; drink it warm, cook with it, freeze by 4-5 days, or re-simmer for 15 min for another 5 days of fridge.

It sounds complex, but it’s pretty methodical. The reason I make such large quantities is that I don’t want to do it frequently. So far its been foolproof. Plus, the orthopedist was baffled!

Davi

all the nutrients from the vegetables are in the Broth, you are not “paying and getting nothing” you are just making them more easily absorbed by your body.

you not only wash them, you PEEL them and cut off the claws ( and foot pads
if needed). CLEAN AS A WHISTLE!!

if you have a meat grinder, you can even eat the bones!! more food, lower food cost. ;-)

many times when i try a new food , My digestive system acts up. This is not necessarily a BAD thing. It is just that my gut bacteria were not ready to process it well. (or it’s giving me ammo to remove a pest that needed to leave ){it’s a new kid on the block.} so if you get a fever, or vomiting, or diarrhea, that lasts more than a couple of hours, or you feel afraid, please call or go to someone who knows more than me.

yes! been there done that . Put every thing through my meat grinder. lol. I did strain it to get some of the bigger particles out but only to the point to make it palatable. many animals are edible, nose to toes — ( minus the gut and bowel contents)

FAT is your BEST!! friend. consume it!! <3. <3 no kidding!! Fat has been exonerated of causing heart problems. Cholesterol is NOT our enemy, it is absolutely Necessary for every cell in your body.

I notice that beef fat from grain fed animals is GREASY But, fat from Grass fed Grass finished beef is solid as a rock when cold and a GOOD fat for health.

every thing [ nutrients , flavors, etc.] concentrates as the water simmers and evaporates out. If you use the full amounts of ingredients, You can just keep adding water after a couple hours and just keep the stuff simmering. I have found that the flavors don’t “boil off” . I believe the long cook time is so all the calcium, collagen, etc. gets out of the bones into the broth so we can consume it. works for me. ;-)

Nearly every portion of a chicken except feathers and fecal matter can be consumed if properly prepared. Some are not palatable, but they are still non toxic and loaded with essential nutrients.

Why have we been trained to throw away so much of the REAL FOOD that we should be consuming. Animals are super food banks , and we keep throwing away the gold inside. Have you looked at the percentage of daily recommended dosages of vitamins and minerals we can get from just one 70-gram slice of liver.

We have come so far with Mechanical Health repairs but our basic building blocks of life are being thrown away every day All day by most.

God designed to perfection what builds and sustains us to be available in every area of the world.

We are not very grateful when we pollute and waste the very food he gave us to live on.

Real Food Makes Real Healthier People!

I use my insta pot on the soup/stew option for 4 hours and then switch it over to slow cooker for 24 hours.

Pint size WIDE MOUTH glass mason jars.
Leave 1 inch head space for broth to expand up as it freezes.
(Dont use quart size or use regular mouth- any size- as they may crack as the broth freezes upward.)

I’s sip the broth nice and clear, very cleansing for the palate and good for digestive system and excellent when sick. So make sure you freeze some for those times. You can def eat the meat and veggie. Wld be wasteful to throw this good stuff out. Why not turn it into a casserole to have with rice. The Chinese often boil veggie and meat as a communal dish which is eaten plain with rice.

The broth was fabulous. I used my insta pot on slow cooker mode . I cooked it over night, then in the morning took all the bones out removed the meat from them then added all the bones back plus more water and cooked it for another day.

Glass jars, after cooled of course.

Low and slow is best to get the marrow and stuff out properly, is what I’ve learnt so far.

I use silicone squares and ice cube trays. It makes them easier to use in small amounts. After they are frozen drop them in a bag.

To Michelle on 1-14-21 –

This miracle broth is worth sacrificing a couple carrots and onions+ – in my opinion :-) but …
I let it simmer on low 2 to 3 hours – I take chicken out then I let it cool to handling comfort … then remove all meat – ‘takes les than 10 minutes. (there’s dinner! almost)
Then I put bones back in and continue simmering on VERY low heat (on stove- all night+)
I leave the vegetables etc in to simmer with the bones…. then toss the mushy things at end of cooking- my chickens love it :-) I simmer about 36 hours.

I assume Dr. Axe has some veggies growing on his property … (as do I) or knows people who may keep him in veggies; so there wouldn’t be much waste-
My Best to you!

To Harry H. Johnson on 10-3-21 …
Yes, the chicken feet heal your bunions, toe corns & athlete’s foot! 🙃

To Dan on Jan 28, 2022-
Love it! 🤣
& I wouldn’t have a chicken coup to clean!

Well, maybe it was 4 cups? (I used a bunch last night in chicken noodle soup).

Yes you can totally eat it.

You can freeze in glass mason jars, just make sure it’s fully cooled and that you leave a a few inches free at the top because it needs room to expand.

Bone broth is made just using the bones. So you eat the chicken and then you can use the bones to make the broth.

You don’t have to eat the chicken feet just at least use them in the bone broth for sipping

I get mine at a local farm that sells 100% pasture raised grsss fed antibiotic steroid GMO hormone corn and grain free nutrient dense meat from any organ and any cut of beef chicken lamb and pork, plus many other products called Tussock Sedge Farms in Pennsylvania. Maybe search pasture raised meat near me and maybe there is a farm like that one near me also near you.