You know I’m obsessed with finding the quickest ways to achieve the best results, right? Bone Broth is one of those life hacks. I first read about it in a blog post on Natural Nigerian and I was intrigued by the concept. I mean, growing up with dogs, we often bought sacks of bones to cook for them. Imagine that. We were making bone broth for dogs. I had no idea that humans could use bone broth, and that it was even actually beneficial for us till I read NN’s post.
So here are a few quick facts about bone broth.
- It’s super cheap to make. As at 2014, it cost 100 naira for one kilo of bones from Shoprite. My butcher sells me 1 kilo at N350 these days. Yes, it’s a huge leap in price but it’s still super cheap because I buy like 5 kilos and you can use them up to 4 times before you discard them. 5 kilos of bones yields a huge pot of broth each time.
- Proponents of bone broth swear it’s chockfull of nutrients. Proteins, minerals like calcium and potassium, good fats and gelatin (which aids the formation of collagen). This makes it an easy way to amp up the nutritional value of any food. So I use it in cooking almost every meal the boys eat. If a recipe calls for water, I’ll use broth. If you have a child who’s a picky eater and only eats one type of food, this could be helpful in ensuring that he or she gets a bit more nutrition. So when you’re cooking rice, pasta or even instant noodles, you substitute the broth for water and you don’t have to feel guilty.
- It’s an easy way to add flavor to any dish. If you use cow bones, then everything you cook with it will taste like meat. Basically, it replaces stock cubes. My boys will reject outright anything bland tasting so using the broth ensures that they’ll eat.
- You can make broth using any bones. Cow, chicken and even fish. Interestingly, you can also make it using bones from your family leftovers. It doesn’t have to be fresh bones. Yup. So the next time you cook chicken, tell your family members not to crack the bones and suck out the marrow. Instead, keep all the bones in the fridge/freezer till you have enough to make broth.
See Also: The Surprising Link Between Nutrition & Academic Performance
- Because of its nutrients, it can increase bone strength and boost immune systems. If you follow my IG stories, you’ll notice I’m not a big fan of vitamins-as-a-medicine. This is just a personal preference. I hate medicines of all sorts and only take them when I’m ill and the doctor expressly says, “Madam, you must take this medicine”. To make sure that we aren’t vitamin-deficit, I try hard to feed us all a balanced diet and bone broth makes that easy, I must admit.
So how do I make bone broth?
Simple Bone Broth
- 1 kg animal bones (chicken, fish or beef)
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 carrots
- 1 onion (large, quartered)
- 1 green pepper (large, quartered)
- 2 tsp thyme (dried)
- 2 tsp any other dried herb (rosemary, oregano, parsley)
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Wash the bones. Soak them in a clean pot with the water and the apple cider vinegar for 15 minutes.
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Cut the vegetables into large chunks and add to the pot. Note that you can throw in as many vegetables as you have on hand. I’ve just specified the ones I typically use. You can add potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms…anything.
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Add the herbs and give it all a good stir.
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Cover the pot and place it on the cooker. Bring it to a boil.
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When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for at least 8 hours (and up to 24 hours). Usually, I start to make the broth at about 6pm and then simmer overnight. Comes to a total of 12-13 hours. I use my electric burner on the lowest setting.
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It’s important that the pot doesn’t boil. Excess heat will denature the proteins, causing them to break apart. You won’t get the gel-like consistency if it boils too hot.
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After the alloted time, take it off the heat and strain the liquid. You can wash the bones and place them in the freezer for another use. Discard all vegetable remains.
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When the strained liquid cools, refrigerate or freeze it. It can last in the fridge for a week (if there’s constant power). It can last in the freezer for up to 3 months, if it stays frozen.
You can drink bone broth straight up or add it to smoothies (I don’t, though) or use it as a base for your favorite meals. I use it to cook rice, pasta, yam, potatoes and even moi moi! Let me know how it goes! Check out our Resources section to download your free copy of the Nigerian Meal Planning Guide for Busy Moms. What hacks do you have for feeding your little ones healthy meals?
