Bone Broth Busted!

By the time you read these words the bone broth fad might be over.
We have seen diet fads before with wild juices and miracle potions. In its defense, there is still something to be said about bone broth. As health conscious people, maybe we needed the reminder that grandma was right.

Bone broth might not make cellulite disappear or make our hair shinier.

The real benefit in rediscovering bone broth is in the return of the SUPER SOUP, which uses bone broth as a base. Yes, dear fellow humans who are seeking the best fuel for your food dollars: soup is the new healthy diet weapon! If you prefer, call it bone broth with veggies.

Use bone broth to concoct the most creative soups possible: add kale, or leeks, or spinach, or squash, or broccoli. Cook split peas in a chicken broth base. Try pureed combos like cauliflower with turmeric, carrot and chick peas with ginger, tomatoes and red beans, any leftover broccoli. We even tried pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg. That tasted like the inside of a pie but left us feeling totally virtuous about it! When out of fresh veggies, add a bag of mixed frozen veggies. Clean your fridge (use veggies that are still good, do not use sprouting things or dead leaves) and make soup. You can make it spicy, if you are so inclined. The possibilities are endless. You will meet your veggie quota and fill up on goodness! If you don’t really like to cook, below are two very easy and simple (read lazy) ways to make chicken broth/stock.

What is the difference between broth and stock?
Here is what Alton Brown says:
“A stock is made from bones and whatever connective tissue and joint material is connected to them at the time they go in the pot. A broth is a liquid in which meat has been cooked. A broth may be flavorful, but without bones there will never be substantial body.”

2 Ways to Make Chicken Broth
We always keep homemade chicken broth in the freezer because we use it a lot.
Method 1 – more of a stock: Cook a chicken in the oven. Eat the chicken and put the carcass in a pot. Cover with water. Add a little pepper, onion, and herbs; do as you please. Bring to a gentle boil and keep it cooking for about one hour (longer if you want a more concentrated broth). After cooking, take the bones out of the broth and let the broth cool in the fridge.

Method 2 – more of a broth: Buy a chicken. Take the stuff out of the inner cavity!
Put the chicken in a big pot. Cover with water. Add a little pepper, onion, and herbs; do as you please.
Bring to a gentle boil and keep it cooking until the flesh comes off the bones.
Take the chicken out, and let it cool off. Don’t leave your chicken at room temperature. Put it in the fridge and take it apart the next day if you don’t plan to use it in a dish the same night. Cool the broth in the fridge.

The next day - de-fat and freeze it: If you used Method 1 or 2, the next step is the same.
Simply take the layer of fat off with a spoon. Pass the broth through a sieve. Split the broth in different containers and freeze for later use (leave some room for expansion). Label with today’s date. Use within 3 months for best quality.