1-2 Organic roast chicken carcasses or 1-1.5kg organic chicken wings
3lt Filtered water
2 Medium carrots
1 Medium parsnip
2 Celery sticks
1 Medium leek
2 Medium onions
2 Garlic cloves
2 Bay leaves
2 Sprigs of parsley
5 Black peppercorns
2tsp White wine, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
Wash all the vegetables and herbs, chop them roughly and put in a large stockpot. Add the chicken bones (or wings) and cover with the 3lts of water.
Bring to the boil, skimming any scum that comes to the top. Lower the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, depending on how long you’ve got. You can cut the cooking time to just about an hour if using a pressure cooker.
If you want to make some bone broth add the vinegar or lemon juice and simmer for 8-12 hours, adding water if it evaporates quickly. You can use a pressure cooker, which reduces cooking time to approx.3 hours.
Bone broth contains good amounts of L-glutamine, which is the most abundant amino-acid in the human body so it is needed for growth, repair and many essential functions. L-glutamine can also help to repair a damaged (leaky) gut.
Once the cooking time is over, put your stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot if you are using it straight away or a jar (or several) if you are freezing it for later. You can line m sieve with a muslin cloth as I like quite a clear broth.
Chicken contains PROTEIN to help your body heal and grow and it is quite low in saturated fat if you avoid the skin. Chicken is high in NIACIN, a B VITAMIN essential for energy production, metabolism and production of serotonin, which regulates mood, appetite and sleep, and glucose tolerance factor(GTF) which enhances insulin activity in taking glucose into cells to produce energy. Making bone broth breaks down the chicken proteins into amino-acids including L-GLUTAMINE which helps maintain or heal the gut wall.
Carrots contain good levels of BETACAROTENE, an antioxidant responsible for their bright orange colour that the body can transform in vitamin A. VITAMIN A is fundamental to maintain good vision in poor lighting conditions as well as keeping healthy skin and act as anti-oxidant to protect our bodies from the damage generated by free-radicals. Carrots are high in FIBRE that helps intestinal health & transit fatty acids. Carrots also contain VITAMIN C that supports the immune system.
Garlic is high in an important antioxidant, VITAMIN C which also supports the immune system.
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