"Just the Basics" Bone Broth

This is truly meant to be no-fuss. Use what you have on hand! The most important principles are to use mostly bones (you want bones to cover at least 1/2 to 3/4 of your pot), and to just cover the bones with water. This will result in the most nutritious, gelatinous bone broth with plenty of collagen.

The only exception to this is chicken feet. Since there is so much collagen in chicken feet, it will naturally produce gelatinous broth. I still recommend using 2 lbs. of chicken feet per recipe.

Also, feel free to toss whatever mixture of bones you have on hand - whether it's chicken, pork, beef, or lamb.

We highly recommend using a slow cooker or Instant Pot for bone broth. It's much faster, and we don't generally advise cooking on stove for 24+ hours (as true bone broth requires). 

Ingredients

• 2-4 pounds assorted bones (such as beef soup bones, pork bones, chicken frames, chicken necks, or already cooked bones on hand, etc.) Make sure the bones take up about 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot for the best broth.
  
• A few root vegetables, such as onion or garlic, carrots, celery, beets, radishes, ginger, sweet potatoes, etc. Use what you have! Leave them whole and unpeeled for best flavor and color.
  
• 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (or similar acidic vinegar). The vinegar is important for helping leech the nutrients from the bones, so don't skip it.
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Water, to just cover the bones
  

BONUS INGREDIENTS (use 'em if you have 'em!)

• Citrus fruit (whole, unpeeled)
• Fresh herbs
  

Directions

1. Add bones to your pot and nestle vegetables around. Add salt and pepper and liquid, just covering the bones. Make sure that your bones cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot, and that you leave a few inches of space at the top of the pot.
   
2. If using a slow cooker, set on low for 8-12 hours.
   
3. If using an Instant Pot, set on high/manual pressure for 120 minutes.
   
4. Once the broth is done, strain the bones and vegetables from the liquid. Let the liquid cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
   
5. Pour liquid into preferred containers (we prefer Ball glass quart jars). Bone broth stores well in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. If you won't be using it in that time, you can freeze the jars, but remember to leave a few inches of headspace to prevent the jars from breaking.
   
6. Use this broth to cook or drink! To drink, simply heat up in a saucepan. We like adding a pinch of salt and lemon juice as well.