French Onion Soup
Slow Cooked Healthy Beef Bone Broth
Beef broth, chicken broth and fish broth are believed to be a cure-all in lots of traditional households. According to many a grandmother and healer, the bones used to make broth are rich in nutrients and help to soothe sore throats, as well as build strong bones and teeth. Broth can be eaten alone or used to make recipes like French onion soup. Such recipes are much nicer if you use homemade broth or consommé to make them.
It is true that bone broths feature in all the traditional cuisines of the world. When animals are slaughtered locally, nothing goes to waste. The knuckles, carcasses, hooves, and bones can all be used to make a fine broth.
Science is in agreement with the grandmothers and healers, in that rich broths contain calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, silicon and trace minerals. It contains broken down cartilage and tendon materials like glucosamine and certain sulfates to help with joint pain and arthritis. The following recipe for a healthy beef bone broth is ideal if you want to eat something nutrient rich, as well as incredibly tasty. It is cooked slowly for between twelve and seventy two hours, so bear that in mind if you want to use it to make a French onion soup recipe - your onion soup isn't going to be ready any time soon!
How to Make the Most Nutritious Beef Broth
Ingredients -
4 lbs beef marrow and knuckle bones
3 onions, chopped
˝ cup vinegar
1 calf's foot, chopped (optional)
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 quarts cold water
3 lbs meaty neck or rib bones
1 bunch parsley
1 teaspoon crushed, dried green peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together
Preparation:
Put the marrow bones and knuckle, as well as the calf's foot (if you are using it) in a big pot with the vinegar and cover with cold water. Let them stand for an hour.
Meanwhile, roast the meaty bones at 350 degrees F in the oven.
When they are nice and brown, add them to the pot with the marrow bones and knuckle.
Add the vegetables to the pot too. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, add cold water to the pan and heat it over a high flame, poking at the stuck on bits with a wooden spoon until they come loose.
Tip all this liquid into the pot, adding more water if you need to, to cover the bones. The liquid should not be any higher than an inch from the top of the pot.
Bring the beef broth to a boil and remove the scum from the top with a spoon.
Turn down the heat and add the peppercorns and thyme.
Boil the broth for between 12 and 72 hours.
Add the parsley and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Remove the bones with a slotted spoon or tongs and strain the beef broth into a big bowl.
Let it cool in the refrigerator, and then remove the congealed fat, which will rise to the top.
Transfer the beef broth to smaller containers, use what you need and freeze the remainder.
A Slow Cooking Healthy Beef Bone Broth
You can add water to a bouillon cube and have hot bouillon in two minutes, or you can make a healthy beef bone broth and have it ready in seventy-two hours. Actually, you have the choice of simmering your healthy beef bone broth for between twelve and seventy two hours. The long cooking time ensures that every last bit of goodness and every last nutrient is extracted from the bone, making your broth extra rich and delicious.
But Seventy-Two Hours?
The seventy-two hour cooking time for healthy beef bone broth is optional. If you simmer it for twelve hours, it will still be tasty and meaty. The seventy-two hour cooking time is just to maximize the end flavor and suck every single vitamin, mineral, and morsel of flavor out of the bone. If you can simmer the broth for seventy-two hours, you really should try it, because the outcome is simply amazing.
Cooking with Calf's Foot
In our recipe for healthy beef bone broth, you might have noticed calf's foot, which is an optional ingredient. Most people have never cooked with calves' feet before, but this ingredient adds a gelatinous texture to thicken the broth up. French onion soup is delicious when a calf's foot has been used in the beef broth recipe. Interestingly, calf's foot jelly was served as a dessert in the Midwest until Jell-O appeared on the scene.
Beef Broth is Good for You
French onion soup recipes are not made with beef broth solely because of the health benefits, but they are certainly an incentive to make this tasty recipe. Everything from the soft, juicy, caramelized onions to the meaty beef broth and French onion soup cheese help to make French onion soup the classic dish it is. Few things contain the amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that you get from beef broth, and using this ingredient to make French onion soup, a truly amazing dish, offers a double whammy in that it helps to keep you healthy and it is jam packed with flavor.