Homemade Organic Stock

Calcium-rich, full of all kinds of other minerals…and DELICIOUS.

It’s a great for soups, stews, greens, sauces….and it’s perfect for building strong bones and strengthening the immune system.

Sounds like a perfect kitchen staple right?

I remember being intimidated by the thought of making my own stock, though. I hated to think about leaving the crock pot or stove on for 24 hours. And I hated even more to think about having to smell it cook while I slept…

I finally surrendered to trying it, and well- nothing has burned down! And even in our small apartment I am able to contain the smell by placing a bowl of Baking Soda by the simmering stock.

I’ve done both chicken and beef stock- my favorite so far has been the beef! I am definitely not an expert on stock. It’s possible there is the Perfect Method– but what I have learned is that it’s super hard to mess it up.

Really- It’s so simple.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 pounds Organic Grass-fed Beef bones, or Organic Pastured Chicken Bones
• Water
• 1-2 tbsp White or Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)
• Chunks of Celery, Onions, Carrots (not necessary)

Directions (Stock Pot and Crock Pot, Instapot Directions below)

1. If you have raw bones- roast them at 425 degrees for 10 min.
2. So grab your biggest stockpot or crock pot (or both depending on the amount of bones you have.)
3. Put your bones in your stockpot and/or crock pot.
4. Pour filtered water over the bones- fill until there is 3-5 inches left at the top.
5. Add some vinegar. This helps extract all those minerals.
6. Add veggies- it can be the ends of celery, the outsides of onions…Shoot for organic veggies- helps create a “cleaner”, healthier stock. I often just add organic carrots. A pound is only $0.89 at Trader Joe’s.
7. For your stockpot- Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the temp down to low- the goal is a gentle simmer- adjust your temp accordingly. For the crock pot*- cover, turn to high, after an hour turn it down to low.
8. After an hour for both methods- check for scum or foam on the surface- scoop this off and discard.
9. Now just leave it…the longer the better. Anywhere from 8 to 48 hours. Monitor the water levels- you can always add more if it starts to get low.
10. After cooking- let it cool for an hour or two. Strain. Discard veggies. With the remaining bones, pat them dry, and put them a freezer-safe bag and throw them in the freezer…you can cook more stock with them later! You can use them until they dissolve almost completely.
11. Store in Mason Jars, cook a soup, or just drink it! In the fridge this will last about a week. Storing unused stock in the freezer is super easy- Fill mason jars (not full-leave a couple inches), seal them well, and let them cool. Place in the freezer. Good for a few months.

Notes: Before using the stock- the fat will have naturally risen to the top- scrap it off the top and use for cooking 🙂 Healthy fats! No need to waste. Also- when cold it will be THICK- that means it’s full of GOOD gelatin!

*Our crock pot required alternating between low and warm- on the low setting it would boil! There’s really no science to this…if you notice it’s boiling, turn it down to warm for a bit. Then turn it back up once it has stopped simmering.

Instapot Directions:

1. Add approx 2 pounds of bones to your instapot (more or less bones depending on their size and the size of your crockpot. I like to make as much stock as possible personally.)
2. Add vinegar if using and add any veggies if using.
3. Add enough water to cover bones.
4. Secure the top, make sure the vent is closed. Set instapot to manual, high. Cook for 30-120 minutes.
   1. 30 minutes is going to resemble a 6-8 hour stock.
   2. 60 minutes is going to resemble a 12 hour stock
   3. 120 minutes is going to resemble a 24 hour stock
5. Let the stock release pressure naturally for 30 minutes is possible, strain with a fine mesh strainer (this removes any “scum” you would have spooned off in other methods) and transfer to jars or other vessels for storage/use. I often release it’s 3pm and I need to make stock for soup that night – so the 30 minute option is a fav for me!

Recently, I made beef stock with four pounds of bones from Porter Road Butcher. I had so many bones I had to separate them into both my crock pot and stockpot. I added a little apple cider vinegar to both. Divided a pound of carrots between the two. And let them both cook for 48 hours. The result? 8 quarts of gelatin-rich beef stock. I spent $12 for my bones. In the store- for nutrition-less stock I would have spent twice that for 8 quarts.

Give it a whirl! And Enjoy 🙂