I've had the joy of working with Dr. Kellyann Petrucci for years. You've probably heard about the health benefits of bone broth. She developed a diet that focuses on using broth for vibrant good health. I've affectioneately dubbed her the Bone Broth Queen.

Dr. Kellyann writes, “Bone broth isn’t just broth. And it isn’t just soup. It’s concentrated healing. This broth is nutrient-rich 'liquid gold,' one of the world’s oldest and most powerful medicinal foods.”

Dr. Kellyann came to realize the ancient power of collagen and bone broth to heal the gut and slow aging while studying biological medicine at the Marion Foundation and Paracelsus Klinik, Switzerland. By focusing her practice on a lifestyle that stops and reverses inflammation, Dr. Kellyann is able to help patients and readers reduce dangerous belly fat to become slimmer, younger, and healthier. She is a New York Times bestselling author of nine books that have helped many people reduce inflammation, slim down, and improve their overall health. 

Actually, bone broth is nothing new. It has has been around since man discovered fire. Consider the hunter: nothing was wasted and all parts of the animal were used. Tossing some meaty bones into a vessel of water and heating it until a flavorful broth develops is ancient history, but over the past few years science has come to realize the nutritional benefits of bone broth. Bones are nutrient-dense with vitamins, minerals, and collagen, and when they are slow simmered for several hours all those nutrients enrich the broth. If you want to learn about all the benefits of bone broth, check out Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Resource Guide for details.

If you’re not completely familiar with the terms broth, stock, and bone broth, they may sound interchangeable. However, they’re not. Epicurious explains it like this:

Broth is water simmered with meat, vegetables, aromatics, and sometimes bones. It’s cooked for only a short time—about two hours.

Stock is water simmered with bones, vegetables, and aromatics. It’s cooked for a medium amount of time—usually four to six hours.

Bone broth is made from bones, with or without meat. It’s cooked for a very long time—around eight hours for chicken, and 24 hours or even more for beef.

Cooking bone broth for a long time pulls the nutrition right out of the bones. Regular broth has only a fraction of the nutrients, with little or no gelatin. Stock has more gelatin, but not as much as bone broth—and it doesn’t cook long enough to extract as many bone-deep nutrients. Unlike stock or broth, bone broth has more gut-healing gelatin, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and building blocks of skin-smoothing collagen. It even has more flavor, because it simmers longer. This means that it’s more filling and satisfying.

Here's one of Dr.Kellyann's bone broth recipes. It's absolutely delicious, easy to make, and so very good for you. I hope you'll try it.

Chicken Bone Broth

Prep: 15 min • Cook: 8 hrs or more • Yield: varies depending on pot size; these ingredients are sufficient for a gallon of broth

Ingredients:
3 or more pounds raw¹ chicken bones/carcasses (from about 3 or 4 chickens)²
6 to 8 chicken feet or 1 pig’s foot³
One whole chicken and 4 to 6 additional legs, thighs, or wings
Enough purified water to just cover the bones and meat in the pot
¼ to ½ cup apple cider vinegar, depending on the size of the pot
2 to 4 carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped
3 to 4 stalks organic celery, including leafy part, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, cut into large chunks
1 tomato, cut into wedges (optional)
1 or 2 whole cloves (optional)
2 teaspoons peppercorns
1 bunch parsley, add in the last hour

Directions:
Place all the bones in a slow cooker or large stockpot. Add the vinegar and enough purified water to cover everything by 1 inch. Cover the pot.

On medium heat, bring the water to a simmer. Use a shallow spoon to carefully skim the film off the top of the broth. If you are cooking in a crockpot, you will have to wait until the water gets warm before skimming, but you can continue with the next step.

Add all the vegetables (except parsley) and spices and reduce the heat to low. You want the broth to barely simmer. Skim occasionally over the first 2 hours, and be sure the bones are always covered with water. You will have to add water during the cooking process. Cook for about 8 hours.

When the broth is done, turn off the cooker or remove the pot from the heat. Using tongs and/or a large slotted spoon remove all the bones and the meat. Save the chicken for use in the broth or for another recipe. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. 

Let cool before refrigerating. You can skim off the fat easily after the broth is chilled if desired. When chilled the broth should be very gelatinous.

The broth will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator and 3 or more months in your freezer.

Notes:
¹If it’s hard to get chicken bones from your butcher, you may be able to get backs and necks.

²The number of pounds of bones will vary based on the size of your slow cooker or stock pot. You want the bones to fill the vessel so you can just cover them with water. If you have chicken bones from any leftover chicken, also add those.

³You use chicken feet or a pig’s foot for the cartilage which is necessary for good broth and the health benefits of gelatin, collagen, and calcium. The pig’s food will not impart flavor to the broth.

If you use chicken feet, you need to remove the outer yellow skin if the butcher has not already done so. To do this, immerse in boiling water for about 10 to 20 seconds, and they will peel easily. If you boil them any longer, it’s nearly impossible to peel them because they become rubbery. It’s also easier to peel them before they are frozen. You can cut off the claws if you choose.

If you have favorite herbs, you can add them to the bone broth to enhance the flavor. Thyme is particularly nice with chicken broth. You can also add garlic. Since you might use the broth in a variety of recipes, I prefer not to salt it while cooking.