There are so many benefits to making bone broth, and they extend further than the many health benefits. The flavour of homemade broth is far superior to any stock you can buy, it’s considerably less expensive and you’re using more parts of an animal that would otherwise be wasted.
As the perfect way to use up bones like chicken or fish carcasses, as well as some tired-looking vegies in the bottom of the crisper, most of us are used to making stock as a versatile base for many dishes. But taking things a step further and creating bone broth, which with a bit more cooking time releases more nutrients from the ingredients, is better for you, your tastebuds and your hip pocket.
Bones contain a long list of vitamins and minerals which are released when bones are broken down in the cooking process. This is why time is the important difference between making a flavoursome stock compared to a nutrient-dense broth. Assuming you’re using bones from ethically raised animals, you’ll need to simmer beef or lamb bones for a minimum of 24 hours to create a high-quality bone broth, at least 12 hours for chicken, and somewhere around eight hours to extract the most out of fish bones.