Every month Woodside’s Executive Chef, Nick Janner will highlight a menu item, healthy meal or a Kitchen special to explain how he makes it and the nutritional value. This month’s pick is Bone Broth, here’s what he had to say:
“I really, really like making bone broth. We source the best quality bones we can find locally from Anton of Anton’s Taproom down in the crossroads. This guy is serious about his beef, and not just any beef, but 100% grass fed. He gets whole cows in twice a week and processes every cut from nose to tail and everything in between. The bones we get in are full of marrow and beautiful collagen which produces the savory stock that ultimately becomes our both. The process of converting collagen into broth is known as aspic, if you want to geek out on classic French cookery.
Yes, it’s a 24 hour plus project, but it’s so worth it. It’s not as if I’m sitting over the stock pot for 24 hours, the process is actually quite hands-off, or at least it should be. Actually, the more you stir and agitate those bones, the cloudier and more diluted your broth will be.
So the process for making a good bone broth is pretty simple. As I mentioned before, start with a quality product. From there, I put the bones in a large stock pot and let water run over it for a few minutes, always cold water, never hot. Then, with the bones covered with water, bring it to a light boil and reduce it to a simmer for about 8 hours. After, I add all of the aromatics. Not too much – I like my bone broth to taste meaty rather than of celery or carrots, I usually include basic mirepoix, garlic, peppercorns, and some white vinegar to help balance the broth.
After about 8-12 more hours, it’s time to pull it from the heat. From there, it’s strained and placed into an ice bath immediately. I add salt to taste, about 6 grams for every quart of liquid, and let it chill overnight in the fridge. The next day, we skim the fat off the top and it’s ready to use.
This process can also be done with chicken, although the it takes only about 8-12 hours total because of the smaller bones. Chicken is also loaded with gelatin and collagen and makes a great product.”
