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Better Bone Broth

This is a general outline for how I make my Better Bone Broth using chicken bones. The vegetables and spices used can be changed to suit your tastes. The same approach can be followed for other bones, such as turkey or beef. The larger the bones, the longer you will want to cook to extract flavor, color, and nutrients. I recommend at least 36 hours for turkey or beef bones in the Crockpot, and at least 6-7 hours in the Instant Pot.

Servings 8 quarts
Author Jordan Clapp - Organically Optimistic

Ingredients

  • 1 pasture-raised, free-range, or organic chicken carcass (all edible meat removed)
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 large carrot, quartered
  • 2 ribs celery, quartered
  • 3 T. apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 T. whole peppercorns
  • 2 tsp. course salt (I use Kosher or Himalayan Pink Sea Salt)
  • 4-5 bay leaves
  • 1 T dried thyme

Instructions

  1. Place all items in the Crockpot or Instant Pot. If you have just prepared my Easy Peasy Whole Chicken, leave all the drippings and original onion in the vessel; simply add these new ingredients on top.

  2. Fill to max capacity with filtered water. Cook in Crockpot for 24 hours or the Instant Pot for 4-6 hours on Manual, allowing the pressure to release naturally.

  3. Once the cook time has expired, allow the broth to cool to approximately body temperature. Handling the broth while it is too hot can cause glass storage jars to crack, however be sure not to let the broth sit out for too long to ensure it is safe to consume.

  4. Once cool enough to handle, strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, or a larger strainer lined with cheesecloth. Once strained, pour into freezer-safe glass jars. Be sure to leave 1 inch of space at the top to account for expansion when frozen. This should yield 3-4 quarts of broth depending on the size of your Crockpot/Instant Pot.

  5. Place all the bones and other ingredients back into the vessel if you would like to process them again. Add more vinegar, spices, and water, and repeat the process. I usually do this process 2, sometimes 3, times, resulting in a total of 6-8 quarts of broth.

  6. Label and date your jars, then store them in the fridge if you will be using in the next 7 days, or freezer for future use.