This is a general recipe that I use to make bone broth of all kinds: chicken, turkey, beef, and pork. It is a very simple recipe with less steps than a lot of people use. I know if I blanch the bones first my broth will taste a little better. I know that if I roast the bones first it will have a richer flavor. But honestly I don’t care. It is more important for me to have a quick recipe with very few steps, so it isn’t a chore to make bone broth once or twice a week! From start to finish I can get my Instant Pot going on bone broth in 5 minutes.
Recipe Note:
This is a pressure cooker recipe. For ease and safety, I now use an Instant Pot so I can just let it run on the counter, even when I’m gone. I did this recipe for many years with a stovetop pressure cooker, I just had to be home and awake.
You will also need a large bowl or pot and a strainer.
This recipe does not make a full thickness stock that sets up in the refrigerator. It cooks for a long time to pull the proteins and minerals out of the ingredients, but usually has too much water to set up when cooled.
You will notice that “some bones” is an inexact measurement. Since I am not trying to make a stock that sets up, I don’t need to get a particular ratio of protein (collagen) to water. I use whatever “bones” I have available, and this includes any skin or meat connected to the bones. Most frequently I use the chicken carcass I have left after deboning a chicken (with all the skin and residual meat), but a couple of pounds of beef or pork bones, or the bones and skin from two to four roasted turkey legs works great. The broth made from the whole thanksgiving turkey carcass is particularly rich and nice. You can even use frozen bones. So it really is “some bones”.
Ingredients
Some bones
1 onion (halved)
2-3 carrots (cut or broken in half)
2-3 bay leaves
10-15 whole peppercorns
Water
Salt
Instructions
Add the bones, onion, carrots, bay leaves, and peppercorns to your pressure cooker
Add enough water to cover everything in 1-2” of water (don’t exceed the max line of your pressure cooker)
Add a teaspoon of salt knowing that you will adjust the salt to taste after the soup is done
Pressure cook for 1-8 hours
Let the pressure cooker safely cool
Strain the liquid into a large bowl or pot
Salt to taste
Store in the refrigerator ASAP
Additional Notes:
You will notice there is a huge cooking time variable. For thinner bones (chicken and turkey) you really can get a nice tasting bone broth in an hour of pressure cooking. For thicker beef and pork bones I would do at least 2 hours. If you started with frozen bones I would add a half an hour to your cook time. The Instant Pot has a convenient broth setting that goes for 4 hours. If you are like me and want to suck as many of the nutrients out as possible you can do the 4 hour cycle twice!
After you are comfortable with the recipe you can easily add all the salt into the pressure cooker before starting to cook. The instructions to “salt to taste” after cooking is complete is just to make sure you don’t add too much salt when you are learning how to make your broth.