Bone broth: the slow-simmered base every AIP kitchen leans on

This recipe does not move quickly, and it is not built to. Chicken bones need 24 hours in the slow cooker; beef bones need up to 36. Nothing here rewards being rushed, and there is something worth sitting with in that, on a protocol that is itself asking you to trust a long, slow process over a quick fix.

The real test of whether it worked shows up in the fridge afterward. A broth that sets into something closer to jello than liquid pulled real collagen and gelatin out of the bones, and that is not a cosmetic detail. Gelatin is rich in glycine, an amino acid researchers tie to the body's ongoing work maintaining the gut's inner lining, the barrier that keeps what belongs inside actually inside.

Bones and scraps that would otherwise go in the trash become the base for half the soups and braises in this bank. Skim the fat, strain it well, and freeze it flat in bags or portions, so a night with no time to start from scratch still has a real broth waiting in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds soup bones (grass-fed beef soup bones, or a stripped chicken or turkey carcass)
• 1/2 pound joint bones (beef knuckle, or 2 to 4 chicken feet)
• 2 cups vegetable scraps (onion ends, carrot peels, celery tops)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 fresh sage leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Filtered water, to cover

Method

• If using raw beef bones, roast them at 375 F for 15 minutes first, to deepen the flavor. Skip this step for an already-roasted chicken carcass.
• Combine the bones, vegetable scraps, apple cider vinegar, sage, bay leaves, thyme, and salt in a slow cooker. Cover the bones with about an inch of water.
• Cook on low for 24 hours for chicken or turkey bones, or 24 to 36 hours for beef bones, skimming any foam from the surface occasionally.
• Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Cool it quickly by setting the pot or bowl in a larger container of ice water, rather than adding ice directly, which would dilute it.
• Refrigerate in glass jars and use within about 5 days, or freeze in silicone molds for individual portions that keep for months. Skim the fat layer off the top before using.

*Adapted from unboundwellness.com by Michelle Hoover*