Chicken Bone Broth

One of the BEST cold and flu remedies is chicken soup! I think it is healing in some mysterious ways...

I once went to visit a good friend of mine and showed up with a sore throat. She had been making chicken soup, and after eating some as well as laughing with her for hours, I left feeling so much better. I don't know what in her chicken soup healed me- I’m sure the laughter helped- but I'm showcasing it as one of the best cold and flu remedies I know because that's how it has made me feel. 

Years ago I took a class with Betzy Bancroft (co-director of the Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism in Montpelier) on making broth to support the immune system. She taught me about incorporating immune boosting herbs and mushrooms, like astragalus, codonopsis, shiitake, reishi, and turkey tail into my recipes. Astragalus is generally used before one gets sick to strengthen one's whole system, physically and energetically. Reishi mushrooms are another immune-boosting addition to broth, but they can add bitterness so I don’t add too much. I have made broth with and without these immune boosting additions and I find it healing either way. 

I also make my broth the way that nutritionist Sally Fallon recommends. She has a note in her book Nourishing Traditions “that Jewish folklore considers the addition of chicken feet the secret to successful chicken broth.” For years I made broth without chicken feet because I found them difficult to come by. This is the first winter I am actually making my broth with chicken feet! I finally found some from a local farmer who raises chickens as meat birds, who I was already purchasing meat from. I agree with this Jewish folklore because the chicken broth I’ve made without feet is nourishing and tasty but misses the gelatin quality (which makes sense because a chicken’s feet are the part of the animal that has the most ligaments and movable joints, where there is a lot of gelatin). I have noticed when I am eating chicken broth with a lot of gelatin, my digestion functions more smoothly. I’ve also noticed that my joints feel more flexible and less stiff, so I think these are just some of the healing properties of gelatin and I’m sure there’s a lot more we don’t even know about. 

I included a video here on how I like to process chicken feet because it's hard to describe in words. I’d like to add to this video that if you put chicken feet in boiling water for too long (in my case it was only about 20 seconds) the membrane actually cooks to the feet and makes it really, really difficult to remove. Though with practice you’ll be able to feel out the right timing by the feel of the feet.

What You’ll Need:
Leftover chicken bones after roasting a chicken (Backs, necks, wings, breastbones, legs) 
2 to 8 chicken feet (if possible)
​4 quarts water
1 large onion
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
3” to 6” piece of chopped ginger (optional)
A small handful of astragalus root and/or codonopsis root (optional)
Shitake, turkey tails, and/or reishi (optional)
Fresh thyme (optional)
Salt to taste
 
Step by Step:

1. ​Add water, apple cider vinegar, bones, and feet (if available) to a large stock pot or crockpot. I prefer to use my big crockpot because I can just turn it on and leave rather than having a burner on for such a long time. I like to leave my bones simmering for about 24hrs. This is a very variable amount of time depending on personal preference. Some recipes say to simmer for 2hrs or 4hrs, or 12hrs. Find what you like and what is sustainable for your lifestyle. It is more important to make and eat broth regularly, and if a lengthy cooking time is going to deter you from doing it regularly, shorten it. 
2. I add the other ingredients after the bones have simmered about 20 hrs (this isn’t exact). Then I simmer for about 3 hours more (still with the bones).
3. Strain all of the bones and veggies out of your broth at this point. This is where I might add some fresh thyme or other savory herbs for flavor and simmer another 10 minutes. Sit down and enjoy your broth or cook grains in it, or use it as a base for soup.