Recipe: Simple Bone Broth
A multi-purpose, deeply nourishing culinary wonder with a rich history
Hey relative! For the month of December, I am trying out a new publishing format. On Monday I will send out a new essay along with a note on what I am listening to, reading, and creating. There will be an additional Friday post for paid subscribers to include either an embodiment practice or recipe. If you have questions or feedback, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks!
This recipe is not what I originally intended to share. I was hoping to go all in with herbs, vegetables, and a cute recipe card to download. Instead, I made a simple bone broth with the few bones I had in the freezer: oxtail and chicken feet. I also used an Instant Pot, which is a first for me. I usually use a Crockpot, but this was a quick and helpful solution when I needed to cut down the cooking time. Finding workable solutions was the theme for this recipe—it applies well to life, too. I had to forgo complexity and move towards what was actually within my capacity.
The north star here is the oxtail. While you can certainly use whatever bones you prefer, I find that the joints and junctions—knuckles, feet, and ribs—elicit a particular flavor, and feel. The texture of the broth on the tongue carries the energy of the structure that created it: feet connecting to the earth; ribs expanding and contracting with breath.
Bones are an extension of the Water element, according to Chinese philosophy. Water is the element that connects us to our ancestors, and the beginning of creation. Water is life, and making a broth with the bones of animal relatives is a practice that has been utilized in many indigenous communities.
Bone broth is an easy and accessible way to improve your resilience, including your digestive and immune health. It includes calcium, magnesium, and collagen, which are essential micro and macronutrients that the body needs in order to function.
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Simple Bone Broth:
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of clean bones (use what you have!)
2.5-3 quarts filtered water, plus more as needed to cover
1-2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar (optional)
This is where I stopped, but feel free to add any of the following:
3 1-inch knobs of ginger
3-4 garlic bulbs
4 1-inch pieces of scallion and/or shallots
½ -1 Tsp Salt (optional)
Directions:
Get your Instant Pot or Crockpot out and ready
Boil bones for 10-15 minutes and skim the foam from the surface of the water
If roasting the bones to enhance the flavor: Remove from pot, pat dry, and transfer to a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (until golden brown)
If using an Instant Pot: Cook on high pressure for 2 hours, and release the valve once time is complete
If using a Crockpot: Cook on low overnight (at least 8-12 hours. You can cook up to 24 - 48 hours, but will need to add water as it cooks down)
Skim broth again and discard any foam that collects on the surface for the first hour of cooking
Strain with cheesecloth or nut milk bag into glass jar(s)
Store in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for longer (pour into ice cube trays for easy use)
Seeing that my little one was under the weather—but still insisted on helping to get this recipe made—I’d say we did well. We also managed to make fresh squeezed orange juice, a cold-quelling rice porridge, and prepped garlic for the next few days. I forgot to add garlic to the broth but included plenty in the rice porridge. Both are delicious.
What this broth may lack was made up for in other ways. When I make broth, I am communicating with my ancestors, and with the Earth. I am learning how to be more like water: to let things flow, work with with is in front of me, and be more present in the moment. It is not always easy, or simple, but thankfully I have good guides around (and within) me.
Monday’s essay will take us into the garden, with a reflection on the past season, right in alignment with the Winter solstice.
Pairs well with: In A Soulful, Older-Than-My-Mother Take On Bone Broth, Nneka M. Okona writes about the significant role that bone broth played in the lives of enslaved Africans and explores how one dish—featuring neck bones and lima beans—served as a catalyst for connecting her Nigerian and African-American roots.