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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.
