Cooking bone broth: Pressure Cooker vs Slow Cooker
Bone broth is becoming known as a Superfood and many people are turning to this old fashioned recipe in order to improve a wide variety of health issues. It might sound like something from the Victorian age but there are so many reasons to eat bone broth, it seems like this is something we should all be doing today.
Bone broth is easy to make and it’s very economical so there’s no real reason to buy it from a shop, even if you can find it on sale. The big question is how to cook it? You can make bone broth in a pressure cooker and you can also prepare it in a slow cooker. So which method is best?
Cooking bone broth in a pressure cooker is faster than cooking in a slow cooker but it still takes time to prepare, cook and set. Because the aim is to break down the bones in order to extract the marrow, the connective tissue, and the cartilage, it needs to cook on high pressure for a longer time than most other recipes.
You should aim at cooking for about an hour at high pressure if you are using poultry bones. It takes much longer for other types of bones, around 4 ½ hours in order for beef bones or mixed bones to break down releasing all their nutritious goodness.
You can brown bones off in the oven beforehand for added flavor. You can also add vegetables and flavorings such as garlic and herbs.
You also need to add vinegar in order to help tissue breakdown, the usual recommendation is to use apple cider vinegar for health and flavor reasons.
Cooking bone broth in a slow cooker is a lengthier process. The recipe is the same i.e. plenty of apple cider vinegar, vegetables, and other flavorings but the cooking time is much longer. You should aim to slow cook your bone broth for around 12 to 72 hours.
Bone broth is not the same as conventional broth that uses tough cuts of meat and provides a nourishing cheap meal. The aim of bone broth is to extract the goodness from the bones alone and the end result is a thick gelatinous clear liquid with a mild meaty flavor. Once your bone broth has cooked you need to strain off the surface fat which rises to the top.
You can freeze the bone broth once it cools so have it on hand for the coming weeks. You don’t have to go through the inconvenience of cooking from scratch each time you want it.
Bone broth is currently fashionable but it is easy to see why. It is good for just about everything including bone health, gut health, skin health, and even weight loss. As an additional benefit, it is tasty and filling and crammed full of vitamins and amino acids. Many people drink a cup of bone broth daily to improve general health.
Medical advice is that bone broth is extremely good for you. Because each batch will vary depending upon the quality and the quantity of the bones you use, there is no real advice about how and when to take it. However, health experts agree that because bone broth has such a rich nutrients profile it helps support the body and its many functions.
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