Post by Peter on May 2, 2018 22:48:34 GMT 10
A post on a different thread prompted me to write some basic instructions about making bone broths. I believe this is useful information for us, as it uses the bones of animals & poultry that would otherwise probably be thrown out. When we don’t have the luxury of wasting food like this it may literally be a lifesaver.
Apart from that, I’m a foodie and proper broth is delicious. Plus I’m a tightwad and I’m not about to pay $13 for 500mL of good broth at the gourmet store when I can make five times that amount for half the money…
We’ve all heard about the restorative qualities of broths (don’t they say that chicken soup is “Jewish Penicillin”?), and I could go into a long rant about their place in gastronomical history that no-one here really cares about. Let’s just say they’re tasty, healthy, and - perhaps most importantly when you’re sick or there’s nothing else available to eat – it’s good for the soul. Right now the weather here is wintery and I have the flu, so this is my go-to comfort food.
Basically, you’re using simmering (not boiling) water to extract the maximum nutrient and flavour from bones. This includes minerals, vitamins, and collagen (which transforms into gelatine) from the bones, the marrow within, and any meat that may remain on the bone. The key thing that separates a boring broth from a magnificent one is the collagen; this turns to gelatine through the process and is why a cooled broth looks (and wobbles) like jelly.
Wonderful, heavenly, awesome meat jelly of goodness…
When reheated it has a “full mouthfeel” – the gelatine provides a coating over the surfaces of the mouth of the lucky diner and it feels much more substantial than a normal thin liquid.
As collagen is the connective tissue within bones, you’ll know you’ve extracted it all when the bones are easily broken up in your hands (obviously easier with thin chicken bones than chunky beef bones, but you get the idea).
Additional flavour and nutrients can be derived from veggies, herbs, and spices that are added. For example, I make the following broths regularly, and I’ll put them up against anything made by just about any professional chef. And yes, I’ve had professional chefs ask me for my recipes.
- Asian broth (yes, I know there are many different cuisines in each Asian country. This works well in many of these): beef, pork or chicken bones, garlic cloves, spring onion, star anise, black pepper, a little soy sauce (the salt is good for developing flavour, but you don’t want to add too much), coriander, chilli. Avoid fish sauce and lemongrass when making broths; I’d always add these just before serving the finished product as they can easily overpower other flavours.
- English chicken broth: chicken bones, garlic, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, thyme (this is what sets this one apart), salt, pepper.
- Hungarian Goulash broth: beef bones, smoked paprika, onion, celery, carrot, black pepper, salt, fresh or dried chilli, salt, pepper, parsley.
- Neutral chicken broth: chicken bones, celery, carrot, onion, salt, pepper.
- Lucky Duck: duck bones, dried shiitake mushroom, spring onions, soy sauce, pepper, star anise.
- Bambi: venison bones, celery, carrot, onion, parsley, sage (go easy on this as it can get overpowering, or add it when serving), salt, pepper, and dried mushrooms if you feel like it.
Of course, you can use whatever type of meat bone you have at hand; it’s best if it’s already been cooked. If I cook a chicken, turkey, or duck I’ll save the frame (the torso part of the skeleton), wing tips, neck, etc. The bone from roast beef, lamb, pork, or game on the bone does well too. I often buy “soup bones” from the supermarket as they’re ridiculously cheap, and roast them in the oven (good), woodfired oven (better), or grill them on a charcoal grill (best) to get the flavour going. Chicken necks and feet are the best bits for broth. Adding some chicken wing tips, feet and/or necks – or adding a pig’s trotter – to a broth will dramatically increase the collagen/gelatine content making it even more awesome. I normally throw a trotter in with a beef broth for this reason.
Avoid offal in broths at all costs – it makes everything extremely bitter. And add just a tiny pinch of salt or soy sauce during cooking; as the liquid reduces the salt will intensify. You can correct seasoning later.
I freeze broths for up to several months (by which time I’ve rotated through it), and reheat it in a saucepan on the stove (you could microwave it, but I don’t like handling the flimsy containers I use when filled with boiling liquid).
I take it to work in a thermos flask on a cold day and drink it as is, or add ingredients to make a hearty soup that really is a complete meal. I’ll post on this later if anyone’s interested.
Finally, the method. As always, adapt to suit your situation…
Throw all the ingredients into a large saucepan (a stock pot if you have one – the ones with the insert with drainage holes are awesome). Fill it with ingredients to as high as you want the water. Personally I use a slow cooker as it maintains the perfect temperature. You don’t want to waste your time cutting everything too finely; a large carrot cut into about 3 pieces is plenty fine enough.
Cover with water – I use filtered water as our tap water here is rubbish. Remember – filling too high with water makes a broth that is weaker flavoured and sad.
Simmer. Don’t boil. I normally do poultry & game bird broths for 24 hours, large land animal (that is, young lamb and bigger) for up to 48 hours, and fish bone (or crustacean shell) broths for 30-60 minutes. Once done, strain through a sieve lined with muslin cloth into a container to cool. I have a dedicated drinks fridge I use to cool it down more quickly; don’t use your kitchen fridge as it will raise the temperature of everything else in there and take it above safe levels (it really doesn’t matter to me if a 6-pack of beer warms up a few degrees).
Once the broth is cooled you’ll see a glorious layer of fat on top; save this in a separate container as it’s excellent for frying. Or spread onto a slice of bread. It’s the tastiest dripping you’ll ever eat.
From there portion it into freezer containers, label clearly (you’d be amazed how easily you forget which broth is which), and date. Freeze. Or you could put it into pressure canning jars, but that’s something I’m still to try.
Once you’ve strained the broth, the leftover bits have no culinary potential left. I would suggest they’d grind up well to use as fertiliser just in case there’s anything beneficial for plants. Maybe someone else can advise if it's suitable for composting? Waste not, want not.
Gourmet tip: if you want to make the most amazing, clearest consommé you’ve ever seen, put a chunk of frozen broth into a muslin-lined sieve over a bowl. As it melts, the liquid is released but the gelatine holds any impurities and you’re left with a perfectly clear soup. This impresses people at a dinner party…
but you do lose a lot of flavour, nutrient, and the gelatinous mouthfeel.
Apart from that, I’m a foodie and proper broth is delicious. Plus I’m a tightwad and I’m not about to pay $13 for 500mL of good broth at the gourmet store when I can make five times that amount for half the money…
We’ve all heard about the restorative qualities of broths (don’t they say that chicken soup is “Jewish Penicillin”?), and I could go into a long rant about their place in gastronomical history that no-one here really cares about. Let’s just say they’re tasty, healthy, and - perhaps most importantly when you’re sick or there’s nothing else available to eat – it’s good for the soul. Right now the weather here is wintery and I have the flu, so this is my go-to comfort food.
Basically, you’re using simmering (not boiling) water to extract the maximum nutrient and flavour from bones. This includes minerals, vitamins, and collagen (which transforms into gelatine) from the bones, the marrow within, and any meat that may remain on the bone. The key thing that separates a boring broth from a magnificent one is the collagen; this turns to gelatine through the process and is why a cooled broth looks (and wobbles) like jelly.
Wonderful, heavenly, awesome meat jelly of goodness…
When reheated it has a “full mouthfeel” – the gelatine provides a coating over the surfaces of the mouth of the lucky diner and it feels much more substantial than a normal thin liquid.
As collagen is the connective tissue within bones, you’ll know you’ve extracted it all when the bones are easily broken up in your hands (obviously easier with thin chicken bones than chunky beef bones, but you get the idea).
Additional flavour and nutrients can be derived from veggies, herbs, and spices that are added. For example, I make the following broths regularly, and I’ll put them up against anything made by just about any professional chef. And yes, I’ve had professional chefs ask me for my recipes.
- Asian broth (yes, I know there are many different cuisines in each Asian country. This works well in many of these): beef, pork or chicken bones, garlic cloves, spring onion, star anise, black pepper, a little soy sauce (the salt is good for developing flavour, but you don’t want to add too much), coriander, chilli. Avoid fish sauce and lemongrass when making broths; I’d always add these just before serving the finished product as they can easily overpower other flavours.
- English chicken broth: chicken bones, garlic, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, thyme (this is what sets this one apart), salt, pepper.
- Hungarian Goulash broth: beef bones, smoked paprika, onion, celery, carrot, black pepper, salt, fresh or dried chilli, salt, pepper, parsley.
- Neutral chicken broth: chicken bones, celery, carrot, onion, salt, pepper.
- Lucky Duck: duck bones, dried shiitake mushroom, spring onions, soy sauce, pepper, star anise.
- Bambi: venison bones, celery, carrot, onion, parsley, sage (go easy on this as it can get overpowering, or add it when serving), salt, pepper, and dried mushrooms if you feel like it.
Of course, you can use whatever type of meat bone you have at hand; it’s best if it’s already been cooked. If I cook a chicken, turkey, or duck I’ll save the frame (the torso part of the skeleton), wing tips, neck, etc. The bone from roast beef, lamb, pork, or game on the bone does well too. I often buy “soup bones” from the supermarket as they’re ridiculously cheap, and roast them in the oven (good), woodfired oven (better), or grill them on a charcoal grill (best) to get the flavour going. Chicken necks and feet are the best bits for broth. Adding some chicken wing tips, feet and/or necks – or adding a pig’s trotter – to a broth will dramatically increase the collagen/gelatine content making it even more awesome. I normally throw a trotter in with a beef broth for this reason.
Avoid offal in broths at all costs – it makes everything extremely bitter. And add just a tiny pinch of salt or soy sauce during cooking; as the liquid reduces the salt will intensify. You can correct seasoning later.
I freeze broths for up to several months (by which time I’ve rotated through it), and reheat it in a saucepan on the stove (you could microwave it, but I don’t like handling the flimsy containers I use when filled with boiling liquid).
I take it to work in a thermos flask on a cold day and drink it as is, or add ingredients to make a hearty soup that really is a complete meal. I’ll post on this later if anyone’s interested.
Finally, the method. As always, adapt to suit your situation…
Throw all the ingredients into a large saucepan (a stock pot if you have one – the ones with the insert with drainage holes are awesome). Fill it with ingredients to as high as you want the water. Personally I use a slow cooker as it maintains the perfect temperature. You don’t want to waste your time cutting everything too finely; a large carrot cut into about 3 pieces is plenty fine enough.
Cover with water – I use filtered water as our tap water here is rubbish. Remember – filling too high with water makes a broth that is weaker flavoured and sad.
Simmer. Don’t boil. I normally do poultry & game bird broths for 24 hours, large land animal (that is, young lamb and bigger) for up to 48 hours, and fish bone (or crustacean shell) broths for 30-60 minutes. Once done, strain through a sieve lined with muslin cloth into a container to cool. I have a dedicated drinks fridge I use to cool it down more quickly; don’t use your kitchen fridge as it will raise the temperature of everything else in there and take it above safe levels (it really doesn’t matter to me if a 6-pack of beer warms up a few degrees).
Once the broth is cooled you’ll see a glorious layer of fat on top; save this in a separate container as it’s excellent for frying. Or spread onto a slice of bread. It’s the tastiest dripping you’ll ever eat.
From there portion it into freezer containers, label clearly (you’d be amazed how easily you forget which broth is which), and date. Freeze. Or you could put it into pressure canning jars, but that’s something I’m still to try.
Once you’ve strained the broth, the leftover bits have no culinary potential left. I would suggest they’d grind up well to use as fertiliser just in case there’s anything beneficial for plants. Maybe someone else can advise if it's suitable for composting? Waste not, want not.
Gourmet tip: if you want to make the most amazing, clearest consommé you’ve ever seen, put a chunk of frozen broth into a muslin-lined sieve over a bowl. As it melts, the liquid is released but the gelatine holds any impurities and you’re left with a perfectly clear soup. This impresses people at a dinner party…
but you do lose a lot of flavour, nutrient, and the gelatinous mouthfeel.
