Bone broth is a must have in every kitchen!

Bone broth is a very versatile ingredient that everyone should have always handy. I usually make a big batch on weekends and keep it in the fridge in bottles ready to use. Bone broth is ideal for a lot of recipes, from soups and stews to stir fries. It is the very basic ingredient in any risotto too.

In Rome there is a traditional dish called “stracciatella”. It’s an egg soup that is usually cooked on Christmas dinner. After a big lunch, and hours at the table eating pretty much everything, dinner is usually lighter. This light egg soup is the perfect warming dish!

I grew up with that taste that reminds me of Christmas every time I prepare it. Stracciatella is made by boiling the broth and then add a mixture of eggs, lemon zest and pecorino cheese. Once you drop the egg mixture into the pot, you need to whisk it to break the eggs ( stracciatella means literally tear apart) and the dish is ready. I guess it cannot get any easier than that, right?

Let’s dive more into bone broth recipes and how to use it everyday.

How to choose the ingredients

My recipe is not very traditional. Usually in Italy the basic broth is made with onions, carrots, celery and bones or chunks or cheap meat cuts, along with chicken bones or chicken wings. I like to make mine a bit more nutritious and flavorful by adding a few more ingredients.

MEAT AND BONES

Beef bones and meat: I buy my meat only from sustainable farmers. I do eat beef meat, but very very sparingly. But when I do, I want to eat the best quality. I am so lucky to have a childhood friend whose family is running a farm not far from where I live. Their animal are free to wander around, eat only grass and live a very long life. More importantly, they use up all they can to avoid waste. And when you buy meat, they gift you with bones and spare cuts to make broth if you like. Those pieces are rich in collagen, bone marrow and other important nutrients for our bodies.

I sometimes add also a piece of shank (or shin), that cooks slowly and becomes super tender. Roman cuisine is full of recipes that uses this kind of cheap cuts to make amazing dishes.

Chicken bones: when it comes to buying chicken, I am very strict in my choice. Supermarket chicken meat is not an option. And so it’s every cheap chicken meat sold in stores. I only buy free range chickens that only fed themselves with what they found under the olive orchard they live. Now, as usual I’m so lucky to live in a place where all these places to buy meat are easily reachable, but I guess there are many small farms that sells good quality chicken all around the world.

I usually use chicken the chicken carcass or chicken wings. I cut debone the whole chicken and cut it into small portions and freeze them. The bones are then frozen too, and kept ready in a ziplock bag to make broth.

VEGETABLES AND SPICES

• Vegetables: I mainly use onions, carrots and celery but sometimes I add some zucchini offcuts too. When using onions I highly recommend to use the papery peel too. Wash it very very thoroughly and put it the pot. That peel will give an amazing color along with a great taste and will also add a lot of nutrients to your broth.
• Seaweed: I love to add some seaweed to my broth. It’s rich in umami and also will add a lot of minerals to the broth. You can use whichever you have handy. I mostly use kombu and wakame.
• Spices: some use parsley, bay leaf or thyme. I prefer to use cloves, black pepper and a super non-traditional spice: cardamom. Cardamom releases a subtle taste that makes the broth tastier.
• Salt: if you use good quality meat, you will need less salt for sure. Bones and seaweed will already be able to provide a good saltiness and with the above ingredients you will only need a smaller amount.

What to avoid: I would definitely avoid potatoes in a broth, it does not serve any purpose in a clear broth, instead it makes it cloudier. Also potatoes absorb the salt, and you’ll end up adding too much.

Vinegar to help releasing minerals: many people add vinegar to bone broth to help releasing the minerals in the bones. I’ve tried with and without and did not notice any difference. There is no clear evidence that the vinegar can help in extracting more nutrients. What makes a  big difference instead is the time. The longer you cook the broth the more nutrients will be extracted.

How to store and use the broth

I usually store my broth into glass jars and bottles in the fridge. I usually keeps for about 7/10 days. However if you want to make more of it you can freeze it. It will keep for months.

I never throw away the vegetables in the broth, instead I blend them to make soups or gravy.

Broth can be used every day in the kitchen and can be a great ally to reduce the use of salt and fat.
My go to recommended uses are:

• Risotto
• Soups and stews
• Use broth to stir-fry instead of oil or use half broth and half oil. It’s perfect for stir frying leafy greens.
• If you cook pasta in a pressure cooker you can add some broth instead of plain water and reduce the amount of salt.

How to make bone broth

To make bone broth you will need:

• bones and meat if you like
• 1 large onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 large carrot
• 4/5 cardamom pods
• 4/5 cloves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• a pinch of pepper
• 6lt of water

Put all the ingredients into the pot, cover with a lid and cook on very very low for at least 6h. The longer you cook it the tastier. You can skim the foam on top if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Some skim the fat on top, I highly recommend not to. If you are using good quality bones and meat, that fat will be absolutely good to eat and also, when using broth for stir-frying, you can skip any oil or fat and use that instead. I never add any kind of fat to my pasta e fagioli or any other soup I make with broth.

TIPS for making bone broth:

1. Stir the broth from time to time and check that the water has not evaporated. If the level of the water drops too much, add some more.
2. If you want to use a pressure cooker, you can cook it for 4h.
3. You can cook it in a slow cooker for at least 12h up to 24h.