‘Nutrient rich bone broth is at the heart of what we do. Full of flavour and deeply nourishing broth made from meat and fish bones has been used as a cure-all remedy across cultures and is the secret to a great-tasting soup,’ Melissa told me at a recent event. ‘It’s the first thing we teach new clients and it’s a kitchen essential. We’d feel lost without it. It’s simple and cheap to make and makes everything taste amazing. It can be flavoured with the addition of onions, carrots and celery.’
Don’t go buying any bones, though. ‘To get the full nutritional benefits the broth should be from the bones of the healthiest animals not from stock cubes, which can include a concoction of hydrolysed protein and emulsifiers,’ Jasmine explains. ‘Even the ‘cleanest’ ready-made shop-bought stock or bouillon will not have the same benefits as homemade bone broth.’
The sisters advocate making it in bulk on the weekends to use throughout the week as everything from the base of a gravy or a soup or creamy drink when warmed up and mixed with a beaten egg. You can get a bag of bones from your local butcher for a few pounds so it’s probably one of the cheapest healthy dishes you can make and better still, the girls’ recipe is foolproof. The recipe below will make 3-4 litres depending on your pan size.
Ingredients:
2–3 kg beef bones, chicken carcasses, lamb bones (usually free from the butchers) or use the saved bones from a roast
A generous splash of apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice (optional – this can help to extract the minerals from the meat bones)
2 handfuls of any onions, leeks, carrots or celery ends
1 tbsp black peppercorns
Method:
Place the bones and any optional ingredients into a large stainless steel or ceramic cooking pot and cover with cold water. The water level should cover the bones by 5cm while still leaving room at the top of the pan.
Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, lid on, for at least 6 hours for chicken and 12 for beef or lamb, skimming off any foam that rises to the top. The longer the bones simmer, the more nutrients are released. We like to boil the chicken carcass for up to 12 hours until the bones begin to crumble and keep beef bones going for 24 hours until they look as if they were washed up on a beach. Fresh chicken carcasses from the butcher usually have a fair amount of meat on them. We tend to poach the carcasses for 20 minutes then pull off the meat (and save it for another meal like a chicken salad or chicken pho) before returning the carcasses to the pot and continuing to simmer.
Strain the liquid, using a fine mesh strainer for poultry. Use immediately or leave to cool before storing (preferably in glass/ceramic rather than plastic).
Notes:
- You can also use a slow cooker. Just cook on high for 12 hours or more.
- Beef bones produce a lot of nutritious fat – skim some of it and save it for roasting vegetables. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days, or freeze the stock in a glass container.