Bone Broth

Tags

bone broth, moose, Slow cooker, soup bones, venison

In an effort to use all of the animals that we hunt,  I made my first attempt at bone broth this week.  I think these were the leg bones of the moose . . . ?  Not entirely sure.  They came back from the butcher in a clear pastic bag labeled  “soup bones.”

I followed a recipe that I found online, but I already had a pretty clear idea of what to do.  It’s very similar to making stock from a chicken carcass, which is second nature to me now.  The only difference I found was a) roasting the bones before simmering, and b) letting it simmer for a much longer time.  I also added a bit of vinegar to the water.  A lot of sites recommend adding vinegar to help leach the minerals from the bones.  I offer no opinion on the scientific validity of this recommendation.  I figured it couldn’t hurt.  

  
I roasted the bones at 400 F for about an hour.  Then I put them in the slow cooker, covered with cold water and a splash of red wine vinegar (most people recommend apple cider vinegar but I had none on hand).  I set the slow cooker to high for four hours to bring it to a simmer, and then left it on low for another eighteen hours.  Then for the last two hours (for a grand total of 24 hours!), I put it back to high and added an onion, a couple of carrots, a couple of stalks of celery, and black peppercorns.  I would’ve added some bay leaves and perhaps some thyme, but once again, I didn’t have any on hand.

 
After the final two hours, I removed all the large chunks of bone and vegetables, and then strained the broth through paper towel and a colander into a large bowl.  Then I added salt to taste.  

  
It turned out very well.  I’ve had a cup of broth with my lunch for the past two days in a row.  It’s not gamey tasting at all.  It’s a very comforting winter food all on its own and will make a great base for all the winter soups that are yet to be made.