Ranch Recipe

Ranch Bone Broth

Makes about 4 quarts, 12 to 24 hours

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 lbs Hooser Reserve Broth/Knuckle Bones
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 onions, halved, skin left on
• 3 carrots, cut in thirds
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 head of garlic, cut across the middle
• 2 bay leaves and 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• Cold water to cover by 2 inches

Method

1. Roast the bones on a sheet pan at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once. Skipping this step is why most homemade broth tastes flat.
2. Move them to a stockpot or a slow cooker with the vegetables and aromatics. Cover with cold water by two inches and add the vinegar, which helps pull the minerals out of the bone.
3. Bring it barely to a simmer and hold it there. A rolling boil turns it cloudy and greasy.
4. Twelve hours gives you a light broth, twenty four gives you a thick one. Skim the foam off during the first hour.
5. Strain it, cool it down fast and chill it overnight. Lift the cap of fat off the top in the morning and save it for cooking.

Ranch tip: Good broth sets up like jelly in the fridge. That is the collagen and it means you did it right. Knuckle bones give you the most gel, meaty bones give you the most flavor, and a pot with some of each makes the best broth you will ever cook. It keeps a week in the fridge and six months in the freezer. Freeze a tray of cubes for pan sauces.