Slow Cooker Chicken (or Beef) Bone Broth

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This recipe for slow cooker chicken bone broth combines the nutritional benefits of mineral rich bone broth, the deliciousness of slow cooked meat and the comforting nourishment of what is, essentially, your grandmother's good old fashioned chicken soup. Although this recipe suits the cooler winter months, because it's so easy and no fuss to do, I've made this several times during spring and summer and happily eaten it to get an extra hit of nutrition.

You can also swap the chicken for beef marrow and soup bones from your local butcher to make your own super-nutritious, nutrient-rich beef bone broth. Beef broth has a slightly higher mineral content but is stronger in taste and needs more time to cook due to the larger bone size - at least 24 if not 36 hours. It’s a good option to change things up and because you can usually fairly easily and cheaply get these ‘throw away’ bones from your local butcher.

Ingredients

  • 1 organic free range chicken

  • 1-2 onions, skin on and quartered

  • 3-5 garlic cloves

  • 1 small spray-free lemon, washed and quartered

  • 3 celery stalks, chopped

  • 1-2 cups root veggies of choice, chopped coarsely eg. potato, turnip, swede, carrots

  • Seaweed sheets, roughly torn eg. nori, dulse, wakme, kelp

  • 1-2cm piece of ginger, squashed

  • 3 tbs apple cider vinegar

  • Sprig of thyme & 2-3 sage leaves – can used dried if fresh not available

  • Pinch of Himalyan or sea salt

  • Pinch of turmeric powder

  • Pinch ground black pepper or 2-3 whole pepper cloves

  • Coconut oil

Method

Add coconut oil to pan and allow to melt (make sure your pan is big enough to fit the chicken in!). Add onion and garlic, stirring until aromatic. Place chicken into pan and braise each side until a golden crust forms. You can add fresh thyme and sage leaves at this stage if you have it.

Place chicken, juices and spices to your slow cooker. Add root veggies and all other ingredients into cooker. Add 2-3 cups of filtered water to slow cooker – enough so it comes 2/3 way up the chicken. Set the slow cooker on for 18 - 24 hours - you can get away with a slightly shorter cooking time due to the smaller bones but 24 hours is recommended to really break down the connective tissue and bone to release as many of the amino acids, minerals, collagen and gelatin as possible.

Then go about your normal day knowing dinner is cooking away!

If you want, you can turn the chicken over midway through the cook – if you don’t, it will still come out wonderfully tender and tasty. The chicken will start to fill your house with a wonderfully delicious smell within a few hours. The chicken is done when the meat falls off the bone easily with a fork or tongs. It should also have no more pink parts.

As meal: Remove chicken meat and veggies and place into bowl with or without some of the bone broth and serve with extra veggies, a piece of crusty sourdough or as is. Season with extra salt and pepper as needed.

As bone broth: Refrigerate remaining chicken and broth overnight. Bring to boil again the next day and simmer on low heat for another 1-2 hours (I usually transfer the chicken and broth to other bowls or a smaller pot so it will fit in my fridge, then reheat it in a pot on the stove).

Strain while still warm, keeping the left over chicken meat and veggies for another meal. Pour the broth into clean glass jars and refrigerate. It will be lovely and gelatinous the next day, full of beautiful collagen, amino acids and minerals. The yellow solidified fat on the top can be skimmed off and saved for cooking or simply left and when reheated will add to the flavour of your broth.

Warm in a saucepan as a hot drink or base for soups and other meals. And please, try not to microwave it or you’ll denature all the wonderful good nutrients you spent so much time and love making!

Nourishing Notes:

  • It’s essential to use organic, hormone free & if possible, pastured, meat/bones, as toxicants and chemicals that are given to conventionally farmed animals will be stored in their fat and bones and transferred to your food which is not what you want

  • Onions & garlic: provide sulphur, a mineral essential for healthy connective tissue and flexibility; also anti-bacterial and a great prebiotic

  • Lemons & ACV: provide acid needed to dissolve bone and protein chains in the chicken to obtain all the goodness out of the carcass

  • Celery: provides chloride (essential for stomach acid production needed for good digestion, pH and fluid balance, endocrine function), potassium (regulates blood pressure, needed for cellular waste removal ie. Reduces oedema) and sodium (essential for cell hydration, good muscle contraction and regulating blood pressure)

  • Seaweed/nori sheets: high in iodine, needed for healthy thyroid function and to stop your hair falling out

  • Root veggies: enhance the flavour and texture of the broth

  • Turmeric + pepper: turmeric contains curcumin which is a potent anti-inflammatory while black pepper helps increase curcumin's absorption in the body

Note: If the list if ingredients seems overwhelming, be reassured that you can get away with the meat/bones and liquid, plus whatever veggies you want to add - or none at all! The goodness is in the meat and broth, but I like to get the most bang for my buck when cooking so adding all the extras makes it an even more nutritious meal!