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Bone Broth 911


Ilaine

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Only three weeks into at least eight weeks of non-weight bearing recuperation from foot surgery, and running out of bone broth.  I am certain that bone broth will help me heal faster and better.

We were going to make a batch last weekend.  Bought five lovely packs of marrow bones and knuckle bones, grass fed beef, from the Whole Foods in Springfield, last Friday.  Opened them up Sunday, every last pack was spoiled.  We have had spoiled meat from that store before, we won't buy meat from them again.

Looking for a good source for bone broth ingredients.  Especially interested in cartilage and marrow.  Preferably from organically raised, grass fed animals.

We can get chicken feet, backs and necks from Polyface Farm Buyer's Club but delivery won't be until Wednesday 10/29/14.  Unfortunately the only beef bones they have are whole shanks, and I doubt we can cross cut them.  No pigs feet.

Springfield Butcher has chicken feet by the case, only, 22 pounds, and can get pigs feet by the case as well.  I don't have enough freezer space for a case of feet.

Suggestions from you Weston-Price types out there?  (I can't be the only one.)

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How about either the Whole Ox (in The Plains) or Martin's Angus Beef (also in the Plains, but may deliver depending on their restaurant delivery schedule)?

Closer to DC, how about The Organic Butcher in McLean. Or maybe somewhere in Union Market? I know that Union Meats in Eastern Market will have marrow bones, but not sure whether they are grass-fed or organic - I would assume not.

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Only three weeks into at least eight weeks of non-weight bearing recuperation from foot surgery, and running out of bone broth.  I am certain that bone broth will help me heal faster and better.

We were going to make a batch last weekend.  Bought five lovely packs of marrow bones and knuckle bones, grass fed beef, from the Whole Foods in Springfield, last Friday.  Opened them up Sunday, every last pack was spoiled.  We have had spoiled meat from that store before, we won't buy meat from them again.

Looking for a good source for bone broth ingredients.  Especially interested in cartilage and marrow.  Preferably from organically raised, grass fed animals.

We can get chicken feet, backs and necks from Polyface Farm Buyer's Club but delivery won't be until Wednesday 10/29/14.  Unfortunately the only beef bones they have are whole shanks, and I doubt we can cross cut them.  No pigs feet.

Springfield Butcher has chicken feet by the case, only, 22 pounds, and can get pigs feet by the case as well.  I don't have enough freezer space for a case of feet.

Suggestions from you Weston-Price types out there?  (I can't be the only one.)

Fields of Athenry midway between Purcellville and Middleburg:  http://fieldsofathenryfarm.com/

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I suppose I could ask how they make their broth.  Bone broth is sort of above and beyond most broths, seems to me.  You start with roasted bones, preferably ones with marrow and cartilage, and simmer for at least 24 hours.  Also you add vinegar to the water to leach out as many minerals and amino acids as you can.

Also, as expensive as it is to make your own broth at home, it's much cheaper than buying it.  The bones we brought back to Whole Foods totalled about $15 for close to five pounds, which would make several quarts.  Polyface is even cheaper, $1 a pound for chicken feet.

I wonder how hard it is to cut beef shanks with a butcher saw by hand?

Edited to add, there is always Korean bone broth, although almost definitely not from grass fed animals.

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Thistle, for you, this excerpt from Nourishing Broth, a new book by Sally Fallon, high poohbah at the Weston A. Price Foundation, a recommendation for making beef bone broth in a pressure cooker:

I'd like to share my way of making bone broth in a stainless steel pressure cooker: I cover the bones with water and ½ cup apple cider vinegar, cooking chicken bones for 1 hour and beef bones (beef ribs make the nicest broth) for 2 hours. It's important not to let the pressure cooker get dry! After the broth is finished and cooled, I take out the large hard bone pieces and discard them. I then take the broth and soft bone pieces and process them in a blender to make a gruel. Then I put the gruel through a strainer, transfer the gruel to freezer bags, and freeze it. This broth can be used in any recipes that call for water. I use it in bread , rice, and spaghetti sauce. For soups, I cook up organic potatoes with the skins and process them in a blender, then add the bone matrix along with mixed vegetables. This method keeps the bone gruel from settling to the bottom and makes an extremely nutrient-dense soup without the unpleasantness of bone fragments. "”Bonnie Engels, Big Rapids, Michigan

Morell, Sally Fallon (2014-09-30). Nourishing Broth: An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World (Kindle Locations 3723-3730). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Ilaine again: by the way, if you become interested in the art and science of bone broth, this book is highly informative about the health benefits of bone broth.  In fact, it is quite science heavy and the recipe section is rather short in comparison.  I did become intrigued by the possibilities of pig feet, calves feet, and chicken feet, and am hunting them down.

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Joe, Fields of Athenry looks interesting, but I don't live in their delivery area.  Also, I am not able to drive.  The drop off point in Old Town would be convenient but we have had bad luck with coolers in Cross Fits.

We could drive to the farm on Saturday, but Purcellville is quite a haul for us.  I could persuade my husband to do it but I would need a good reason.

Polyface Farms is cheaper and delivers to a more convenient site, but Fields of Athenry does have some items which Polyface does not, e.g., pigs feet.

I dunno, maybe I can sweet talk him into driving to Purcellville Saturday.  Edited to add, he said yes.  So, what do you like there?

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Joe, Fields of Athenry looks interesting, but I don't live in their delivery area.  Also, I am not able to drive.  The drop off point in Old Town would be convenient but we have had bad luck with coolers in Cross Fits.

We could drive to the farm on Saturday, but Purcellville is quite a haul for us.  I could persuade my husband to do it but I would need a good reason.

Polyface Farms is cheaper and delivers to a more convenient site, but Fields of Athenry does have some items which Polyface does not, e.g., pigs feet.

I dunno, maybe I can sweet talk him into driving to Purcellville Saturday.  Edited to add, he said yes.  So, what do you like there?

Fields of Athenry is a superb supplier from raising their own chickens and beef to a really talented owner who is also a good cook.  Additionally, their "Liquid Gold" chicken stock is the exact same chicken stock I would make myself in my stockpot.  Negative is that it's $14.95 a quart but worth it.  Simply, this is an excellent source from a number of perspectives.

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It's done & it looks & smells good-it seems much more clear than stock made in the slow cooker, & so fast, after pressure came up, only cooked for 50 min. I'm going to chill it so I can take the fat off the top. I loosely followed the NomNom paleo pressure cooker beef broth (adjusted quantities because I only had 2 lbs of bones, used rau ram instead of thyme). I'm sure the beef bones I got are not grassfed, but at $1.88/lb, it's a worthwhile experiment. I've made broth before from chicken/turkey carcasses & pork neck bones, but I usually use the slow cooker.

My next cooking "first" will be duck- I picked up a frozen duck & I'm going to break it down & try a couple of things.

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Reporting back on Fields of Athenry. I put in an order on October 23, and my husband drove us there the next Saturday to pick it up. Turns out that the order needs to be made on Monday for a Saturday pickup, but they had most of what I wanted on hand. Bought chicken necks, backs and feet, one pigs foot, beef marrow bones and knuckle bones, all for bone broth. Also hamburger meat, steaks, and chicken thighs to eat.

Husband made two crockpots of bone broth, both with the same amount of chicken necks and backs, one with chicken feet and one with pigs foot. Both very tasty, but the one with the pigs foot was a little tastier. He also baked the chicken thighs on a bed of sliced onions, sliced lemons, and peeled whole garlic, drizzled with olive oil. We make this dish often. This meat was superior in flavor and texture to any others we've used, rich in chickeny goodness.

The pigs foot was interesting. I was expecting just the bony end of the peg, but this had maybe eight inches of the limb, as well. Would not fit in the crockpot so husband cut the foot off with a hacksaw and put the rest back in a freezer.

The shop is in the farmhouse, around the back, on the right side. There are multiple coolers and freezers with meat, broth, prepared food, butter, eggs, and more. They sell local wine, by the bottle, and by the glass. You can sit on the patio and drink wine and eat cheese but it's not really a restaurant. Although they say they are in Purcellville, it's actually midway between Aldie, on Route 50, and Purcellville on the Snickersville Turnpike. Route 50 was the shortest route for us, but the traffic was so bad on 50 on Saturday that next time we will try the Greenway. It is worth the trip.

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Fastest, most direct and, by far, easiest route to Fields of Athenry from the Beltway:

Dulles Toll Road to the Greenway and continue to route 15.  Take route 15 to the left for 3 or so miles (away from Leesburg) to route 733.  Turn right.  Continue for six or seven miles and the route number will change to 734 but it is the same road.  Fields of Athenry is on the right.

Virtually no traffic going this way.  Negative is that there are tolls.

Thank you for trying.  It is a huge find.

PS  They are selling fresh Thanksgiving turkeys...November 10th is the cutoff date.

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What does the vinegar do in terms of flavor? Tomorrow will be spent turning the roasted chicken from dinner tonight into stock.  if I use cider vinegar will it still have that quintessential chicken broth flavor or does the cider change it?

Regarding Eastern Market, I get my necks and backs for stock from Market Poultry.  Union Meats and Canales have a variety of bones available.

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Hillvalley, the type of bone broth I am describing and making may not be suitable as a flavor builder in a regular recipe.  The long cooking time makes it taste intense.  The vinegar ratio is one tablespoon per quart of water so it's not very sour, but it cooks for a long time (24 hours or more) and has a lot of minerals.

I mostly just drink a mug of it a day, with a little tamari.  We do sometimes use it for cooking but something with a strong flavor like beef stew.

It's really medicine for your bones and your skin.  Minerals, collagen, glycine.

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Hillvalley, the type of bone broth I am describing and making may not be suitable as a flavor builder in a regular recipe.  The long cooking time makes it taste intense.  The vinegar ratio is one tablespoon per quart of water so it's not very sour, but it cooks for a long time (24 hours or more) and has a lot of minerals.

I mostly just drink a mug of it a day, with a little tamari.  We do sometimes use it for cooking but something with a strong flavor like beef stew.

It's really medicine for your bones and your skin.  Minerals, collagen, glycine.

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to try it for the medicinal use but was wondering about the flavor.

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Zora, amazing!  The Pacific Foods website says you can buy their bone broth at Safeway, Giant and Harris Teeter!  I wonder if that's Paciific Foods in general, or bone broth in particular?

I wouldn't mind trying it to compare.

Hillvalley, I think it tastes good once you add some salt to it.  Cook it without salt because it concentrates down.  I add sea salt, tamari or miso.

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Hillvalley, I think it tastes good once you add some salt to it.  Cook it without salt because it concentrates down.  I add sea salt, tamari or miso.

Thanks for the heads up. Per Grandma's rules for making stock, I never add salt to my stocks until I use it for something specific.

The broth is simmering away and I can smell it two floors up. I don't want to make chilli for dinner because it's going to mask the heavenly aroma.

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Zora, please tell your friend, Laura, that, IMHO. the best natural remedy for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is SAD lights.  I use a Philips goLITE.  keep it on my computer desk at work, turn it on which I sit down in the morning and keep punching the button every time I notice it went out until about noon.

I actually use it year round.  Helps a lot with mood.

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Rieux, just in the nick of time! Husband just started two slow cookers of bone broth, one beef (marrow bones, short ribs, onion, carrot, celery, parsley), one chicken/pork (chicken bones, chicken feet, top half of pig leg sans foot - basically, the forearm, same vegetables). Upon reading the article, requested that he add garlic and bay leaf, plus dried porcini and portobellos to the beef. Wish we had used lemon juice rather than some other acidulating agent rather than Apple cider vinegar, as the vinegar is my least favorite part of the recipe.

BTW, iPad insists in capitalizing Apple. I tried five times to type it lower case and it obstinantly refuses. Grrr.

I find some soy sauce, or, even better, miso, is the best post cooking, pre serving flavor enhancer. Wonder how kombu would do, but no idea what simmering kombu overnight would do. On that note, sprinkle with chopped green onion, or, rather, the whie and light green bits of green onion.

Most recipes for bone broth result in something earnest and bland, reminding me of the long haired, makeup free, coarse brown fabric clad maidens and matrons I knew in the 1970's. No reason it could not be both delicious and healthful.

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