#stock

Interesting

My project for mermay this year. I’m not really happy with how it turned out but I can only get better when I practise more. More elaborate full body shots are not my strength, so I want to work on that. 💪 The full set with 24 photos is available for free on Patreon.

And here is a behind the scenes photo of my studio. This was such a mess. :'D

Burn that stock to the ground

Basic broth intro:

-Veggie is the quickest, cut em up (base is celery onion carrots) and let go for about 2 hours. Can be added to any others but remove after 4 hours so they dont get bitter

-Meat broth takes about 4 hours depending on the size and slow/high cooking - the chuck roast that started this week's broth slow-cooked for 6 hours and was less than $10

-Bones take the longest, either 3-4 hours on high or long and slow (12-24 hours) on low because they need to hit and hold a certain temperature to get all the collagen and goodness out of the bones. If youre gonna crush these bones up for the garden after, the longer you cook them the softer theyll be

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-If youre slow cooking meat to make a broth season HEAVILY - it will be diluted by quite a bit of water - but go easy on salt so you can always adjust it in the final dishes. If youre going to save some broth for your dogs avoid toxins like garlic and onion.

-When your meat is ready, shred it and toss the bones fat and skin back into the broth. Ladle enough broth over your shredded meat to cover it, itll soak back up and keep it moist

Now here's the magic - you can make multiple meals out of that meat, but you can ALSO make multiple meals out of this broth & leftovers.

-You can go from here with whats in the pot already, or pull any stored bones out of the freezer and add them in. This requires saving bones throughout the week(s) - meat is typically cheaper with the bones left in and I intend to use them, so it makes more sense for us to buy bone-in cuts. You can also buy bags of pork or beef bones for this step in the meat department

-Cook the bone broth on high for at least 3 hours, or low for at least 8. I left this on low for 24 hours and change because I'm bad at completing tasks and I intend to crush the bones

-Now is the time so separate broth for your dogs if you intend to do so. Let this cool (don't leave it in the fridge itll turn to gel) and use a strainer to separate bone/meat chunks from your broth

-Put THAT in the fridge to cool, fat will congeal on the surface and you can remove as much or as little as you want. I remove about half to use in frying. The broth should have a lightly jello consistency underneath, and can be cooked with to make soup or frozen and used to improve meals (like replacing the water in cooking rice or instant potatoes)

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-If you dont garden or have pets, youre done with the bones. If you DO, separate the bones from the meat chunks and gristle that should now fall right off of them - save the meat to be added in with the saved portion of dog broth. You can add whatever you want to that and make homemade food toppers - dont replace your dog's food entirely with homemade unless you've done a lot of research and really know what you're doing or they could miss out on specific nutrient needs. I like to add COOKED brown rice or potatoes, squash or pumpkin, and whatever dog-safe veg I have too much of at the time and blend it all together to ensure its equally spread out. Then I freeze in solo cups and transfer to baggies, remove 1 at a time to thaw, and add a couple spoon fulls at a time to their food or to use in enrichment activities.

-If you have a garden, rinse the bones thoroughly in a strainer. You can let them sit in water for a few minutes if needed to be sure the majority of smelly meat is gone. They should be soft enough to crush with your hands, depending on how hard they are you can finish the process of breaking them down with anything. I like to use the mortar and pestle, toss anything too hard to break down, and then combine with eggshells I also save up in a cup on the counter and grind them up in a mixer. I bake this mixture at 350 for at least 30 minutes to help sterilize it and burn off anything else that may be smelly or attractive to pests, as well as ensure its dry and will store well, then keep it in a gallon bag and spread it in the garden in spring and summer. If you're adding good portions of calcium and bonemeal like this, be sure to add some magnesium in too with compost or DILUTED epsom salt because too much of either restricts uptake of the other

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But what do you cook with this incredibly nutritious and flavorful broth???