It would seem that "bone broth" was right up there in terms of 2015's health food trends. I have seen the savoury liquid lauded as a cure-all, which is not surprising considering its mineral and protein content and its long history in the human diet. It is a little bit much, though, to see simple ol' stock hitting the superfood health-claim trifecta: it apparently heals the gut, detoxifies the body, and reduces cellulite! Gee whiz, that's a reputation to live up to isn't it? I can't find much in the way of scientific evidence to support these bold claims (not surprising!), but that doesn't mean I'm not a big fan of homemade bone broths and stocks.
Having homemade stock at hand is a cheap and delicious way to add a bit of pizazz to your home-cooked meals and - despite what is suggested by the number of complex recipes passed down through generations and uploaded to the internet - it's a pretty forgiving dish for a new chef. Stock makes a great base for soups and sauces and you can use it to cook rice and quinoa; it also does well solo as a warming drink on a cold day. It is indeed nutrient dense, much more so than shop-bought stock, and the benefits in nutrition and flavour so far outweigh that of, say, stock cubes, that it should be a no-brainer to make your own if you can!
You only really need three things handy for a DIY stock: bones, water, and a big pot. Everything else is extra but will help make the resulting stock more tasty. Let me break it down for you.
Bones
For the bones, I usually use my post-roast chicken carcass, including the bones from the legs and wings and any scrappy bits of meat and skin. You can also make a richer stock by saving up two birds' worth. The more bones the better although I only ever use bones that are "leftover" from a previous meal. You can of course buy soup or stock bones from the butcher but if your primary goal is frugality then allow me to dissuade you. If you're feeling like splashing out and want to make stock purely for reasons of deliciousness then indeed go ahead and buy those fancy bones! Personally I'd stick with the "free" bones that came with my chicken roast ;)
Water/Simmering Liquid
Provided your tap water is potable you can use it for stock, no problems. The amount of water in the pot should be just enough to cover the bones, otherwise you may find your stock doesn't have enough flavour. You can also add a tablespoon full of vinegar or lemon juice, which is supposed to assist the minerals from leeching into the cooking liquid (although I can't find anything except anecdotal evidence to suggest this is the case, I'm sure it does no harm).
The Cooking Pot
You can use any big heavy-duty pot to cook stock in, just keep in mind it is going to be sitting on the stove for quite some time and that you want to avoid the pot boiling over. I actually like to use a slow cooker because I know I can set the temperature and just leave it to do it's thing, plus running the cooker for hours on end invokes way fewer questions from flatmates and their friends. I'll never forget the look of oddly curious disgust on the face of a vegan guest as she peered into a big uncovered pot of bouncing bones and chicken skin!
Optional Add-ins
You can add a few optional extras to make your stock more tasty, like chopped vegetables (remember those vegetable bits we talked about in the freezer post?) and herbs. Cooking purists will suggest only using the freshest veggies in your stockpot, but us savvy, penny-pinching types know an opportunity when we see one, and this is a great chance to use up that stray carrot from the back of the fridge! In terms of herbs and aromatics it's up to you what you use, rosemary and garlic pair well with chicken if you have some to spare. It's not usually recommended one add salt to the cooking broth, instead season it when you eventually use it for a meal.
Cooking Method
Place all the dry components in your cold pot or slow cooker (bones, veggies, herbs).
Add cold water until the bones are totally covered. Add vinegar if using.
If using a pot, bring to the boil for just a second and then turn down to a medium-low heat. The water should be barely bubbling. Cover with a lid and cook for a minimum of four hours, up to 6-8. Taste test every couple of hours until you're happy. For safety reasons, I do not recommend leaving stock on the stove to simmer overnight or unattended.
If using a slow cooker, turn on to the highest setting for the first hour, then bring down to low and cook for 8-10 hours. Personally, I give the thumbs up to leaving a slow cooker running overnight, but only if you have a working smoke alarm installed, just in case.
Storage
After straining out the bones and veggies, and cooling the stock down, the best place to keep it is in the freezer in containers or jars of one or two cups volume each. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week but it's pretty easy to defrost and keeps indefinitely when frozen. In an ideal world, once your stock has cooled it should form a gel, but no big deal if it doesn't as it will still be tasty and nutritious. A higher concentration of bones will increase the gelatin content, as will a longer cooking time.
You may also find that once cooled, a layer of soft white fat forms on the top. It's up to you what you do with this. Purists will argue that stocks should be clear, unclouded and fat-free and so the fat can be scraped off and reserved as a cooking oil, but I usually just stir it in with the stock when I use it because it's yum and I only have to please myself!
And that really is all there is to it. Making stock should be a very simple affair, and much of the conflict about how it "should" be done is based on family traditions and personal practice. As long as you've got bones, water, and a big pot you are ready to start experimenting.
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