Bone Broth

[Broch]

My Grandmother's Cawl started as a broth - the meat bones (with a bit of meat left on if you were lucky) was simmered for hours, then the bones removed and any meat put back in, and then veg added. It got every bit of goodness out of very basic ingredients.

Modern version cheat and start off with chunks of meat!

 

[TeeDee]

 

[Keith_Beef]

Our local farm shop has a big plastic bin next to the tills with a sign saying free dog bones, and its normally pretty full with large bones. Pretty sure they are cow thigh and lower leg bones. Could these be used? They'd need cutting up to fit in a pan as they really are quite large.

Yes, you can use the thigh or shin bones. The meat sold for Osso bucco is veal shank cross-cut into pieces about 5cm thick.

The butcher's shops in town each have a band saw for this.

You could get yourself a bone saw from any supplier of butcher's equipment. Try Nisbets.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/

 

[TeeDee]

Yes, you can use the thigh or shin bones. The meat sold for Osso bucco is veal shank cross-cut into pieces about 5cm thick.

Which is super delicious in its own right. yummmmm

 

[HillBill]

Yes, you can use the thigh or shin bones. The meat sold for Osso bucco is veal shank cross-cut into pieces about 5cm thick.

The butcher's shops in town each have a band saw for this.

You could get yourself a bone saw from any supplier of butcher's equipment. Try Nisbets.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/

My dad was a butcher from being 14 until retirement maybe 7 years ago. He has all the gear. Never heard him mention bone broth though. He never made it that i know of. I would have asked him, but not sure if he would know too much about it. He is old school butchery, some of these new American cuts he ain't got a clue about. I seem to recall we spoke before about the short rib/Jacobs ladder.

 

[Glow_worm]

@Stew Pressure cooking works fine. I use whichever method is most convenient- pressure cooker, stovetop in winter, or thermal cooker (modern day haybox).

'Bone broth' has a reputation as a bit of a health fad- but it's likely as old as boiling meat. Through history meat would have been boiled in stews and soups on the bone, the goodness from the bones and connective tissue forming an ingredient in the dish.

In more recent industrialised times bones disappeared from a lot of dishes, just the meat is used. Finally people seem to be waking up to the fact something is missing, and are drinking the stuff on it's own. All a bit mad really...

 

[TeeDee]

My dad was a butcher from being 14 until retirement maybe 7 years ago. He has all the gear. Never heard him mention bone broth though. He never made it that i know of. I would have asked him, but not sure if he would know too much about it. He is old school butchery, some of these new American cuts he ain't got a clue about. I seem to recall we spoke before about the short rib/Jacobs ladder.

Bone broth as a drink is more ( recently ) a bit of a useful adjunct to a particular type of adopted ' Paleo ' diet

What is a paleo diet and should I try it?

Is it better to eat like a caveman? AKA what is the Paleo diet and why are people doing it?

www.bbc.co.uk

That all being said - looking at the quality of normal western foodstuff & diet available any sort of nutritional 'top up' could only be a positive.

 

[HillBill]

Honestly Mark there are so many things. Possibly the very finest is French onion soup with the onions sweated for at least 6 hours in stock until they slowly caramalise. Even the best restaurants don't do it because it takes a day. That said the Esse hasn't gone out this year so leaving a pan simmering costs nothing.

Whilst we understand good gravy & even soup in the UK, broth & stock are less loved. But talk to aficionados of ramen, pho or other oriental deliciousness & good broth is revered

A proper French onion soup is up there in my top 3 soups.

 

[Tengu]

Broth from the chicken carcase is the best bit of the bird.

It deeply saddens me that people throw it away.

 

[British Red]

Broth from the chicken carcase is the best bit of the bird.

It deeply saddens me that people throw it away.

Just for you

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[Dan00001]

If you cook just about any piece of meat that has a joint of some kind, you will get collagen in the jelly and juices.

I quite often cook a piece of pork neck in a cast iron pot. The juices in the bottom separate out as they cool into a layer of jelly, a layer of thick meat juice and on top a layer of fat. It's quite easy to scrape the fat off the top (I use it for frying mushrooms and onions), team off the juices for gravy and sauce, and collect the jelly for sauces or just for spreading on bread.

Different parts of the carcases of different animals will give difference proportions of jelly, juices and fat, but in general anything with more than one bone will give you a lot. Shoulder, neck, hocks, knees, all are good. The bigger the animal, the bigger the bones; and the bigger the bones, the more connective tissue there is, and therefore the more jelly you'll get.

You'll even get some jelly from ducks and chickens, but less than from cows, pigs and sheep.

If you go to a proper butcher who gets in whole or half carcases to cut into joints, then the bones will still be in the "for human consumption" circuit. My butchers will ask me if I want bones when I buy cuts like beef shin, and give them to me for free (but this is in France, it's been many years since I bought stewing beef in the UK).

Thank you, I need to get better at cooking. I eat relatively well, my diet consists of mainly chicken with rice or pasta or potatoes and vegetables. Occasionally I make a curry, a stew or a lasagne. I never really cook joints of meat or do the sort of cooking my parents and grandparents do.

 

[Dan00001]

Does chicken contain it?

Some years ago I would always buy our chickens whole and joint them out each week. The carcass would be frozen until the oven was on for something else and would be roasted for stock use.

Yes, pretty sure chicken feet are exceptionally good. I eat a lot of chicken but I always buy boxes of chicken breast.

 

[Dan00001]

We produce vast amounts of bone based stock (we raise, slaughter & butcher livestock). Chicken is a great place to start. A roast chicken leaves a carcass. Bag it & freeze it. When you have 3 or 4, make stock. You really want a pan in the 20 litre range.

There are many amazing ways to use it. Soup, broth and best of all a liquid to cook rice in. The rice absorbs the broth & tastes so much better than boiled or steamed rice.

I could bleat on but ask if you want more info

I hadn't thought of using it for rice, I eat a lot of rice.

Thank you. I really need to expand my knowledge in the kitchen. Any book recommendations? The older ways of cooking the better!

 

[Dan00001]

The two butchers plus the farm shop that I buy from basically all said the same thing, that butchers don't tend to get carcasses in any longer as there is too much waste.

 

[Broch]

I hadn't thought of using it for rice, I eat a lot of rice.

Thank you. I really need to expand my knowledge in the kitchen. Any book recommendations? The older ways of cooking the better!

Get a copy of Delia's book 'Frugal Food' (now out of print). It was my survival bible when a student trying to cook in one-room digs on a very severe budget. It's based on old fashioned ingredients and methods.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Delias-Frugal-Food-Delia-Smith/dp/034091856X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Dan00001]

Get a copy of Delia's book 'Frugal Food' (now out of print). It was my survival bible when a student trying to cook in one-room digs on a very severe budget. It's based on old fashioned ingredients and methods.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Delias-Frugal-Food-Delia-Smith/dp/034091856X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Thank you, I just bought it.

 

[Chris]

The two butchers plus the farm shop that I buy from basically all said the same thing, that butchers don't tend to get carcasses in any longer as there is too much waste.

Weird, our local farm shop always has some.

How about an online butcher? £2.50 per kg and up.

https://www.blackface.co.uk/product/beef-stock-bones/

Beef Bones | HG Walter Ltd

Beef stock bones are great for making a bone broth or a gravy for your roast beef.

www.hgwalter.com

Beef Bones for Broth

Make rich, flavourful broth with our grass-fed beef bones, ready for the stock pot. Perfect for sauces and braises. Reduce and freeze for an instant beefy-flavour bomb. Always Fresh, Never Frozen® with free DPD delivery on orders over £70

swaledale.co.uk

 

[British Red]

I hadn't thought of using it for rice, I eat a lot of rice.

Thank you. I really need to expand my knowledge in the kitchen. Any book recommendations? The older ways of cooking the better!

This is the rice technique that we use. There are plenty of good books - you won't go wrong with Mrs Beeton, but good YouTube videos (Townsends springs to mind) are more inspiring. Happy to share more

 

[British Red]

Weird, our local farm shop always has some.

How about an online butcher? £2.50 per kg and up.

Anyone who processes their own meat often has a glut. I end up with a huge amount of bone even from one Roe. Always happy to pass on bones (have even saved large ones for dogs)

 

[Keith_Beef]

Honestly Mark there are so many things. Possibly the very finest is French onion soup with the onions sweated for at least 6 hours in stock until they slowly caramalise. Even the best restaurants don't do it because it takes a day. That said the Esse hasn't gone out this year so leaving a pan simmering costs nothing.

Whilst we understand good gravy & even soup in the UK, broth & stock are less loved. But talk to aficionados of ramen, pho or other oriental deliciousness & good broth is revered

Perpetual stew - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org