The journey of the homestead, whatever that looks like to you is all about making choices and being more conscious about whatever is important to you.
Making bone broth from scratch, rather than just throwing out the chicken bones, is one such step that many people are making.
Why Bone Broth?
Bone broth is rich in nutrients, including:
Protein
Collagen
Iron
Calcium
Magnesium
Imagine how happy your body, “your walking planet” and your microbiome is after digesting bone broth, especially if it is from organic chickens and is homemade with a touch of love.
How To Make Bone Broth
Roast your organic chicken (or chicken pieces and save/freeze the bones until you have enough to fill your Instant Pot)
Push as many bones as possible into the Instant Pot, getting as many in as possible
Add an onion and a splash of apple cider vinegar to help release all the goodness
Cover the bones (just covering) with water
Pressure cook for 3 hours
Slow release the pressure
Strain out the broth and put in jars or prepare for freeze-drying
You can now add more water and repeat. The broth won’t be as thick and rich but it is still bone broth!
Preserving Your Bone Broth
Now that you have your bone broth (and probably too much to use in the upcoming week), you can preserve it to be used in the future as needed.
To preserve your broth, you can:
Freeze it
Can it (follow directions for your pressure canner)
Freeze-dry it
Personally, I love it freeze-dried. You end up with a dry substance that can easily be added to recipes and/or reconstituted with some water.
There is some concern that freeze-drying may have a detrimental effect on the proteins in the broth but each method of preserving has its downfalls and convenience puts the freeze-drying on the top of my options.
To Freeze-dry Bone Broth
Once your broth has cooled, pour it onto the freeze-dryer trays IN THE FREEZER. Trying to transport a tray of liquid is, well, messy.
Freeze the broth over night to 1) eliminate splashing liquid onto the floor and 2) to reduce processing time
Freeze-dry
Store in Mylar bag or vacuum-sealed jar, with oxygen absorbers
Be sure to label the container with the date. Because your broth will have some fat molecules, it will not store as long as vegetables. Personally, I prefer to only store my bone broth for a year, but it is usually used up long before that.
NOTE: Harvest Right has a referral program where you can get 50 free Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers and I would gladly share with you my tips for buying and using a freeze-dryer and help you get your free products. Just message me at msdebbiep@gmail.com
