Paleo Plus: Broth
Posted on May 23 2011 by Liz Wolfe
Paleo Plus: Bone Broth
The Weston A. Price Foundation was the first to introduce me to the concept of nourishing, ancestral foods. While slightly different from the “Paleo” paradigm, the WAPF dietary recommendations focus on the foods that hunter-gatherer societies surviving in modern times ate to maintain perfect teeth, bones and health.
The so-called “primitive” cultures that Weston A. Price studied were from all over the globe – from indigenous Swiss to the Masai of Africa. All ate different diets, but all got many times the minerals and fat-soluble vitamins than modern commercial cultures. Consequently, they enjoyed perfect health.
What does this mean for a Paleo/Real Foods devotee? It means greater nutrient stores and optimizing health and performance a degree farther than what “lean meats, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar” provides.
Just decades ago, when Mega-Grocery stores weren’t on every corner, folks bought bone-in meats from the butcher. When the meat was eaten, they turned the bones into stocks and broths (NOTE: terms used interchangeably here) and spread softened marrow on a slice of homemade bread. (While I personally wouldn’t eat that bread, there are plenty of great reasons to enjoy the marrow!)
Read more from the foundation’s many articles on broth, stocks and marrow:
Why Broth is Beautiful: Essential Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin
Stocks
Bone Marrow
Broth Is Beautiful
You can use any bones to make stock, but it’s a great idea to always include some marrow and knuckle bones, and even calf or pig feet as I did in this post. These are rich in collagen and gelatin, which can be deficient in even a perfectly clean Paleo plan! Below, clockwise from top left: meaty bone, knuckle bone, marrow bones.
Sally Fallon Morell, president and treasurer of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions (the consummate “Traditional Foods” cookbook) says this about meat broths and stocks:
“Properly prepared, meat stocks are extremely nutritious, containing the minerals of bone, cartilage, marrow and vegetables as electrolytes, a form that is easy to assimilate. Acidic wine or vinegar added during cooking helps to draw minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium, into the broth...Other important ingredients that go into broth are the components of cartilage, which recently have been used with remarkable results in the treatment of cancer and bone disorders, and of collagen, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments.” (NT 116-117)
If that wasn’t convincing enough, I’ve found that both nutrient-rich and gelatin-rich broths (I’ll discuss the difference momentarily), when I enjoy a cup each day, add a glow to my skin, improves the appearance of cellulite, and makes digestion an incredibly smooth process. Now and then I’ll replace my morning coffee with a cup of broth.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of The GAPS Diet, uses gelatin-rich broths in a gut-healing protocol to aid in resolving symptoms of psychological and physiological disorders.
To be perfectly clear: Bouillon cubes and store-bought broths are simply flavored water. They rarely contain the nutrients you’ll find in homemade broths.
So let’s make some stock!
Note: At the end of the process, once your broth/stock has cooled in the refrigerator, observe whether it congeals to a Jello-like substance. If it does, you’ve got a gelatin-rich broth. If not, your broth is still nutrient-dense; but the gelatin has broken down during the simmering process. While the process for broth-making is the same, it’s an extended simmer that will break down the gelatin. This IS NOT necessarily a bad thing; as long-simmering extracts more of the extraordinary mineral content of the bones!
I will simmer bones and feet for about three hours in one pot, then take that stock and strain it, then cool it. This makes a gelatin-rich broth (see below). I’ll take the bones from this broth and add them to another pot to allow them to continue adding their minerals to the mix. I’ll simmer this pot for 24 hours for a mineral-rich broth. Here's what a gelatin-rich broth should look like after a night in the fridge:
Procedure
Ingredients:
A variety of bones (knuckle, meaty, marrow, feet)
Stock veggies: onion, carrot and celery (you can freeze remnants over time to contribute to the stock)
Fresh herbs (for adding during the last hour of simmering)
¼ to 1 cup of apple cider vinegar (depending on size of pot)
Take any meaty bones and roast them at 375 until browned slightly. These will add flavor to the broth.
Take the other bones and cover them in a stockpot with cold water and vinegar while the meaty bones roast.
Once the meaty bones are roasted, add them to the pot. Add vegetables and bring the pot to a simmer. You can long-simmer or slow-simmer (or both, as I do).
After a while, some scum may rise to the top. Skim it off. This is labor-intensive, but worth it.
Remember to keep the pot at a low simmer. One hour before you’re done, add a few herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley) to impart more flavor.
When you’re ready to remove from heat, allow the pot to cool, then pick out the large chunks of veggies and bones. Strain the remaining liquid through a colander or cheesecloth to catch smaller bits.
Cool the broth in the refrigerator. You’ll be able to assess the gelatin content in a day or two, once it’s completely cooled and has the opportunity to congeal! Some fat may rise to the top; you can remove this or keep it to enrich the fat content of your stock.
Add this broth to soups and stews or drink it alone. Freeze whatever won’t be used within a week. Freeze into ice cube trays and pull out the cubes as needed! My freezer: broth cubes, raw dog food and, of course, beef.
Sources:
The Weston A. Price Foundation
Kaayla T. Daniel, Ph. D
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
Filed Under: Diet stuff, Jerky/Paleo Knowledge
