We are currently in unprecedented times. It is more important than ever to give your body a helping hand in keeping you well. April 2020 Featured Chef Monica Little has the perfect recipe to do just that. A special thank you to Monica for sharing her Chicken Bone Broth recipe with us.
“Chicken bone broth is so simple to make (just throw a bunch of ingredients into the instant pot and let it cook, you don’t even have to peel the onion, carrot or garlic!) and I use it as a flavor enhancer in so many other recipes! It’s a household staple and we always have a couple of mason jars of chicken bone broth in our freezer just in case we need it for soup, unstuffed cabbages or pork carnitas.
I used to buy pre-made chicken bone broth in cartons from the grocery store, but I noticed 2 things: first, it’s kinda pricey and second, it’s SO diluted. Really, there’s no flavor at all, and I’m willing to bet it’s 85% water and 15% bone broth. Homemade chicken bone broth tastes so much better, has much more of the beneficial collagen (keep reading to learn what that is!) and ends up being cheaper, too!
The main benefit of bone broth is collagen! Collagen is a protein found in the body that’s a building block for our skin, bones, cartilage, muscles, organs and so much more. As we age, our body produces less and less collagen – that’s why we start to notice things like wrinkles (skin) and knee pain (bones/cartilage) from lack of collagen.
Collagen is also known to fight inflammation.
I had “leaky gut” which is a condition where the intestinal lining of the stomach is more permeable than it should be. What that really means is that the stomach lining has bigger holes in it than it should, which allows food particles, toxins and bacteria to move from the stomach into the bloodstream.
This can lead to widespread inflammation because your body notices these intruder particles in the bloodstream and wants to attack them and get rid of them! Widespread inflammation can show up with symptoms like constant headaches, allergies, muscle pain, skin conditions and more – just look through the list here to see if you might have some of the common symptoms of inflammation that link back to leaky gut.
Inflammation that is untreated can lead to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, asthma, Alzheimer’s and more later down in life… so leaky gut is a big deal!
Collagen is a great way to heal inflammation because it helps to rebuild the stomach lining so particles can’t move through into the bloodstream.
Another way to heal inflammation is by making diet changes to remove things that cause leaky gut and harm the intestinal lining in the first place (like gluten, dairy, sugar, vegetable oils) but that’s another topic for another day!”
Chicken Bone Broth
Recipe By: Monica Little, Plant Based Beauty
Servings: Makes about 2.5 mason jars of homemade chicken bone broth.
USWM Shopping List: Whole Chickens or Chicken Backs
Ingredients:
-
Carcass & bones from 2 whole chickens -OR- you can directly use 3 chicken backs
-
2 large carrots, cut in half (skin on)
-
2 stalks of celery
-
1 yellow onion, cut in half (skin on)
-
1 bulb of garlic, cut in half (skin on)
-
4 sprigs of fresh thyme (I keep extras in the freezer since I never use the whole pack)
-
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (I keep extras in the freezer since I never use the whole pack)
-
1 bay leaf
-
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-
1 tbsp black peppercorn (no need to grind if you have whole peppercorns)
-
1 tbsp pink Himalayan sea salt (no need to grind if you have larger salt crystals)
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to an Instant Pot and fill with water to the 2/3 full line inside of the pot
- Close the Instant Pot and set the pressure valve to the Sealing closed position. Press Manual Pressure and set it for 3 hours on High. Turn the Keep Warm setting off
- After the 3 hours are done, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 15 minutes (this just means don’t touch the valve and leave the Instant Pot alone for 15 minutes). Then do a quick release – turn the valve from Sealing to Venting and let the remaining pressure release from the Instant Pot
- Use a colander and a large mixing bowl to pour the bone broth and strain out everything other than the liquid. Discard everything that’s left behind in the colander! Pour the bone broth into large mason jars and store in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer
- Once the bone broth cools, you’ll notice a layer of fat at the top of the jar – you can skim it and throw it out, skim it and save it for pan frying, or just leave it there and enjoy a little extra flavor when you heat up the bone broth!
Notes: If your carcasses & bones are frozen, add them into the Instant Pot frozen. You don’t need to thaw them or adjust the cooking time!
Looking for more bone broth recipes? Browse our Discover Blog for a variety of delicious recipes.
Meet the Chef
Monica Little is a true believer in food as medicine. She has a passion for healthy and flavorful whole food recipes that have helped her in healing from inflammation and hormone imbalances. Check out Plant Based Beauty for more recipes and skin care tips.
