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Easy homemade bone broth

A simple, slow-simmered broth for soups, sauces, and baby's first foods.

Bone broth is the first thing I make when I want to feel like I have my kitchen together. It's the base for soups and sauces, it's lovely sipped warm, and it's one of the foods many moms use when baby starts solids.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lb beef or chicken bones (a mix of joints and marrow bones is best)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves and 2 bay leaves
• Filtered water to cover

Instructions

1. Roast the bones at 400°F for 30 to 40 minutes for a richer flavor (optional for chicken).
2. Add the bones to a large pot or slow cooker, cover with filtered water, and stir in the vinegar. Let it sit 30 minutes.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim any foam, then add the vegetables, garlic and bay leaves.
4. Simmer low and slow: 8 to 12 hours for chicken, 12 to 24 hours for beef. Add water if it drops below the bones.
5. Strain, cool, and refrigerate. Skim the fat from the top once chilled if you like.

Tips

• For baby: leave out the salt, and check with your pediatrician about when to introduce it.
• Storage: keeps about 5 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer. Freeze some in ice cube trays for small portions.
• Gel is good: broth that jiggles when cold is full of collagen. Joints and feet help it set.

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