As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Marco, a world-renowned professional chef, decided he was going to marry his then-girlfriend Aubrey the minute he saw her skills in the kitchen. Now, the husband and wife of four kids share their passion for great tasting healthy food together.
They showed us how to make a delicious and healthy chicken bone broth that couldn't be more perfect for these last couple months of winter. Check out the recipe below! For more recipes by Aubrey and Marco, visit their website at www.amniccoli.com
Chicken Bone Broth
Written by Aubrey Niccoli
Ingredients
- 3 chicken carcasses, broken down
- 2-4 chicken feet (optional)
- 2 yellow onions, skin on and quartered
- 6 carrots, trimmed
- 6 celery stalks, trimmed
- ¼ cup apple cider (mother) vinegar
- Filtered water
- 2 tbsp. peppercorns
Directions
- Put everything in a stockpot or crockpot and fill it with water to cover the bones by at least an inch. Next, let the mixture sit for 30-60 minutes. Do not turn on the heat yet. This allows the vinegar to extract minerals from the bones.
- After the bones have sat next turn the crockpot onto low or set burner to a medium heat and heat just until the broth hits just below boiling. Then reduce the heat to low to simmer. Simmer for 24-36 hrs. Strain and refrigerate for up to 7 days or freeze for 2-3 months. When you are ready to use it, season it with a natural Sea Salt or Celtic Salt. After this point, it can be boiled down into a concentrate, which becomes a jellylike fumée or demi-glaze when chilled. It can be reconstituted into a sauce by adding water.
Attention to Detail and Variations:
Stock or broth begins with bones, some pieces of meat and fat, vegetables and good water. For beef and lamb broth, the meat is browned in a hot oven to form compounds that give flavor and color–the result of a fusion of amino acids with sugars, called the Maillard reaction. Then all goes in the pot–meat, bones, vegetables and water. The water should be cold, because slow heating helps bring out flavors. Add vinegar to the broth to help extract calcium and other minerals.
Beef and Lamb:
Heat the broth slowly and once the boil begins, reduce heat to its lowest point, so the broth just barely simmers. Scum will rise to the surface. This is a different kind of colloid, one in which larger molecules–impurities, alkaloids, large proteins called lectins–are distributed through a liquid. One of the basic principles of the culinary art is that this effluvium should be carefully removed with a spoon. Otherwise the broth will be ruined by strange flavors and give a cloudy appearance.
Fish:
Two hours simmering is enough to extract flavors and gelatin from fish bones.
