bone broth question page

[Minky]

I cooked a bunch of grass fed beef and some lamb and a meaty soup bone in the crock pot yesterday, then cooled all the liquid with the soup bone overnight in the fridge. Now I'm reheating the broth and soup bone on the stove and want to make soup.

Was 10 hours in the crock pot long enough to make good bone broth? It tastes delicious, but I don't know if all the good stuff has come out of the bones yet. Do I still need to simmer it for hours on the stove, or can I just clean the bone now and make soup?

[Balance]

I have never done bone broth in a crock pot but I know a lot of people on this forum do. But normally I boil it in a pot but I felt one of the most important ingredients in making bone broth is using a little bit of vinegar to really strip away at the bone marrow. But in my opinion 10 hours in a crock pot should be pretty sufficient in making a decent broth.

[Minky]

thanks! I did add vinegar to the meat in the crockpot too. Can't wait for a warm pot of soup on this snowy day in Michigan!

[Chabbo]

I let my grass fed beef bones simmer for 48-72 hours in a crock pot, after which, the bones are so brittle you can crush them easily with your fingers. After refrigeration or freezing, I will remove most of the fat layer on the top and use the broth for soup. Good stuff.

[ElaineC]

Do you do anything with your bones ahead of time, like bake them? Or just sling them in the crock pot and let the simmer away? I have some lamb bones I need to do some thing with, and was debating on whether to roast them first or not.

[JeffC]

i usually do mine for 48 hours in the slow cooker but you will have to add some more water a few times. I bake them in the oven at 375 for about an hour first. I don't know why you want to scrape off the fat, that's the best part. The fat will also rise to the top when hot in the slow cooker so if you are going to fill up several containers (say 5 small 2 cup containers) you may want to fill them each up with a little broth at the same time. Otherwise, if you fill up one container entirely then move on to the next the first container will have most of the fat since that one got the liquid at the top of the pot.

I'd be careful about mixing bones. I tried it once with some goat and beef bones and it tasted bad. I think you need to be careful about mixing lamb and goat with beef or chicken. I've heard of bad experiences, not sure why though.

[Maurabela]

thanks! I did add vinegar to the meat in the crockpot too. Can't wait for a warm pot of soup on this snowy day in Michigan!

Hi fellow Michigander! We're still shoveling over here in the Royal Oak area, where are you?

I made bone broth last week and roasted the bones first then simmered them in water with some rough cut veggies, apple cider vinegar and herbs for about 8 hours or so on the stovetop -- tasted fantastic!

[Chabbo]

Jeff:

I try to scrape off most of the fat that has solidified after cooling/freezing because I consume a great amount of other fat during the days that I eat. I agree that the fat is healthy to eat, it is just that I am already consuming 80% of my diet in good, natural raw fats (nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olives and avocados).

[momofredheads]

I throw my bones in with a tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar and let it cook away in the crockpot with some onions and carrots and garlic and a little white wine and the minimum I let it go is 24 hours. You really need the time in the crockpot to let the marrow come out. Good luck!! I am going to make some broth with a ham bone tomorrow.

[Acteon]

I found this document from 1934 that looked into the mineral content of Bone and vegetable broth for those whom it may be of interest:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...01497-0052.pdf