Ever noticed that the bone-in cuts cost less in the grocery store?
It makes sense. Removing bones increases the production cost of parts like chicken thighs and of course means extra inedible weight since no one eats the bones. If you have no plans for making use of bones then the boneless cuts might actually be a more economical choice, since they will involve much less waste.
However, rather than choosing to switch to all boneless cuts in the future, I urge you to instead consider how you can get the maximum value out of those bone-in cuts of meat. Once we gnaw the meat off the bones, what's left is cartilage, sinew, and bone: all the important components for nourishing, tasty bone broth.
Now, you may think of broth as something you do in large quantities: a few beef soup bones, or a whole turkey carcass in a giant pot, slowly simmering all night and all day. Those are very good ways to make broth and I highly recommend them. But even in small quantities--the bones from four pork chops, or a family pack of chicken thighs--you can make a quart or two of that healing broth which can then star as the central ingredient in chicken noodle soup, disappear into a pound or two of lentils for curry, or fortify the sauce for a casserole. I'm at a point where I almost never cook beans in water--broth gives them a meatier flavor and even more nourishing minerals than they would have on their own. I've even been known to add a bit of broth to oatmeal cooking water when I felt our family was vulnerable to illness, or moisten the meat and breadcrumbs in meatloaf with some broth when I felt that seasonal allergies merited a bit of extra anti-inflammatory help. When you're cooking frugally, with soaked grains and/or beans almost every day, it's easy to find somewhere to sneak in a bit of broth.
You can find a few hundred large batch broth recipes online; my main recommendation is that you always use a recipe that calls for a long cooking time and the addition of some acid to help pull calcium from the bones. For this post I present my humble small batch recipe for using up every-day odds and ends of bones.
Water to cover
1-2 tbsp. vinegar
Put the bones in a pan large enough to hold them all with an inch or two of space at the top if perfectly convenient. Add water a quart at a time until the bones are almost covered (they'll steam, shrink and settle as they boil). Add vinegar, about a tablespoon per quart of water.
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for a minimum of eight hours. You can use a slow cooker if you'd like to do this overnight.
To use, I simply put the clean lid on the pan, hold it in place (perhaps a bit crooked) and pour the liquid into a bowl or another pan, leaving the bones behind. If I won't be using it that day I'll put it in a quart jar and refrigerate; but most of the time I do use it the same day because it disappears so readily into food.
If you plan to use the broth in a savory application you can season the bones before bringing to a boil: an onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, and peppercorns all work well. However, it's very easy to sneak some unseasoned broth (especially chicken or even pork) into oatmeal or pancake mix completely undetected when you happen to know the flu has hit four out of five families at church and you're next. Just a thought.
It makes sense. Removing bones increases the production cost of parts like chicken thighs and of course means extra inedible weight since no one eats the bones. If you have no plans for making use of bones then the boneless cuts might actually be a more economical choice, since they will involve much less waste.
However, rather than choosing to switch to all boneless cuts in the future, I urge you to instead consider how you can get the maximum value out of those bone-in cuts of meat. Once we gnaw the meat off the bones, what's left is cartilage, sinew, and bone: all the important components for nourishing, tasty bone broth.
Now, you may think of broth as something you do in large quantities: a few beef soup bones, or a whole turkey carcass in a giant pot, slowly simmering all night and all day. Those are very good ways to make broth and I highly recommend them. But even in small quantities--the bones from four pork chops, or a family pack of chicken thighs--you can make a quart or two of that healing broth which can then star as the central ingredient in chicken noodle soup, disappear into a pound or two of lentils for curry, or fortify the sauce for a casserole. I'm at a point where I almost never cook beans in water--broth gives them a meatier flavor and even more nourishing minerals than they would have on their own. I've even been known to add a bit of broth to oatmeal cooking water when I felt our family was vulnerable to illness, or moisten the meat and breadcrumbs in meatloaf with some broth when I felt that seasonal allergies merited a bit of extra anti-inflammatory help. When you're cooking frugally, with soaked grains and/or beans almost every day, it's easy to find somewhere to sneak in a bit of broth.
You can find a few hundred large batch broth recipes online; my main recommendation is that you always use a recipe that calls for a long cooking time and the addition of some acid to help pull calcium from the bones. For this post I present my humble small batch recipe for using up every-day odds and ends of bones.
Recipe: a little bone broth
leftover bones from bone-in cuts of meat, any variety or a mixtureWater to cover
1-2 tbsp. vinegar
Put the bones in a pan large enough to hold them all with an inch or two of space at the top if perfectly convenient. Add water a quart at a time until the bones are almost covered (they'll steam, shrink and settle as they boil). Add vinegar, about a tablespoon per quart of water.
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for a minimum of eight hours. You can use a slow cooker if you'd like to do this overnight.
To use, I simply put the clean lid on the pan, hold it in place (perhaps a bit crooked) and pour the liquid into a bowl or another pan, leaving the bones behind. If I won't be using it that day I'll put it in a quart jar and refrigerate; but most of the time I do use it the same day because it disappears so readily into food.
If you plan to use the broth in a savory application you can season the bones before bringing to a boil: an onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, and peppercorns all work well. However, it's very easy to sneak some unseasoned broth (especially chicken or even pork) into oatmeal or pancake mix completely undetected when you happen to know the flu has hit four out of five families at church and you're next. Just a thought.
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