Steps for Canning Bone Broth and Stock

Steps for canning bone broth are easy, however, there are steps which must be taken to ensure that canning any form of broth or stock is done properly. For example, pressure canning bone broth or stock is only way to preserve homemade broth for long-term storage.

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Prior to homesteading and sustainable living I spent an extreme amount of money purchasing broth and stock for cooking. Little did I know then that making it at home, let alone canning bone broth was easy to achieve. 

The moment I became comfortable with pressure canning I ventured into making and putting-up broth and stock of all types. Mind you, pressure canning bone broth is a monthly occurrence on our homestead as it is used for just about everything. And trust me when I say, I do not exaggerate when I say homemade broth is used for just about everything.

It is a pantry staple for us, and soon it will be for you too.

The Benefits of Bone Broth

There are many benefits to consuming bone broth on a daily basis, especially the first batch made in your roaster oven. Here are a few benefits of consuming bone broth – 

• Promotes good gut health
• Benefits the body’s joints
• Boosts the immune system
• Helps to prevent heart disease

Now, let’s break down what’s found in bone broth –

• An amino acid called Arginine. Arginine is necessary for a healthy immune system and has many other essential qualities.
• Chondroitin and glucosamine are components that make up cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. Bone broth helps to reduce pain caused from arthritis and even works to improve joint mobility.
• Collagen works improves, preserves, and builds healthy cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone, and skin.
• Gelatinous bone broth is derived when collagen from the cartilage is transformed into gelatin. Added poultry feet or trotters to a broth during the cooking process ensures that a gelatinous goodness is present within the broth.
• The following amino acids are also found in bone broth – glycine, glutamine, and proline.
• The bones are rich in minerals such as – calcium, copper, magnesium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc.

Tips for Canning Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth is extremely easy to make. However, over the years I’ve learned a few things – 

• Any type of bone can be used
• A pressure canner must be used to make it shelf stable
• Use the bones multiple times
• Add apple cider vinegar
• Roast the bones
• Add poultry feet or trotters
• Reuse bones multiple times
• There is no recipe to homemade broth or stock

Bone Selection

Any bones can be used for making bone broth. However, the bones from wild game tend to provide a stronger, more gamey-flavored broth than the others listed. 

• beef
• chicken
• rabbit
• waterfowl
• pork
• wild game
• fish

Because broth is used regularly around here, I like to make monthly batches at a time in a 22-quart roaster oven. This allows me to freeze bones until there is enough to make a large batch of broth. Keep in mind the ratio is 2:1 in regards to bone to water.

If you are using a large roaster oven, it will require a large amount of bones to fill the roaster. Not filling the roaster with enough bones will lead to an unappealing broth.

Again, homemade broth is not one size fits all. Feel free to mix the type of bones used, as it creates a great-tasting end product. 

Necessary Equipment for Making Bone Broth

Depending on who you ask, bone broth can be made with the traditional method and with an Instant Pot. However, you will never catch me making bone broth with an IP, but instead through the traditional method of cooking the bones slowly and on low heat. Learn why I prefer the traditional method below. 

• Roaster oven, stock pot, Instant Pot
• Fine mesh sieve
• Quart-size mason jars or pints (for canning)
• Pressure Canner (to make a shelf-stable item)
• Baking tray (for roasting bones)
• Ladle

Included are the instructions for how to make bone broth using a roaster oven or stock pot. I will not be able to help those who seek to make bone broth using an InstaPot. An Instant Pot allows the bones to be used only once. For me, this is a wasteful method.

Remember, pressure canning bone broth is the only way to make it shelf-stable.

Roast the Bones

Raw bones can be used to make bone broth. However, a better flavor is achieved when the bones are roasted.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Remove as much of the meat and fat from the bones as possible. Place the bones onto a baking sheet.
3. Roast the bones on both sides for 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Once the bones are roasted, place them into the oven roaster or stock pot.

I would advise not to skip this step. It does make a difference in the overall flavor of the broth.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Many will argue as to whether vinegar is necessary for making bone broth. Some believe that adding vinegar helps to release the minerals and calcium found within the bones. I am one of those people.

• 2 tablespoons of vinegar to 1 gallon of water for poultry bones
• 1/2 cup of vinegar to 1 gallon of water for denser bones such as cow, pig, and larger wild game

I prefer apple cider vinegar. However, distilled white vinegar will also work. Again, this is based on your discretion.

Poultry Feet or Trotters

Gelatinous goodness is what one strives for when making bone broth. Luckily, this can be achieved using poultry feet such as chicken, turkey, duck, and geese. In addition to poultry feet, pig trotters can be used to create a gelatinous broth.

Of course, remember a few tips before adding poultry feet and trotters to the roaster oven or stock pot.

• Poultry feet must be cleaned well, and the yellow covering found on the feet should be removed. The yellow coating on the feet can cause the broth to become bitter.
• A tip for cleaning trotters: scrub well with the help of a toothbrush or similar item.

Use the Bones Multiple Times

The homesteading life we live teaches us not to waste. This includes the bones used for making broth. Unlike a toaster oven or stock pot, the Instant Pot rushes the process, preventing the bones from being used multiple times.

Poultry, rabbit, beef, pig, and wild game bones can be used multiple times before the bones are given to the pigs or discarded.

For a new batch of broth, freshen the roaster oven or stock pot. The process is quite simple –

1. Remove the spent herbs, onions, garlic, feet
2. Add additional water
3. Place a new batch of herbs, garlic, onions, and feet into the pot
4. Add additional apple cider vinegar

Spices, Herbs, and Onions

There is no recipe for making bone broth. None at all. A ‘traditional recipe’ uses discarded items such as bones, vegetable scraps, garlic, onions, and fresh or dried herbs.

The term, a pinch of this, a dash of that, a handful of this, is how many measure the ingredients for making broth. Ingredients for making bone broth consist of the following items –

• Oregano – fresh or dried
• Thyme – fresh or dried
• Rosemary – fresh or dried
• Bay leaves – fresh or dried
• Italian parsley – fresh or dried
• 4 to 5 carrots stalks
• 2 to 3 heads of fresh garlic (including the skins)
• 2 to 3 onions (including the skins)
• Peppercorn
• Sea Salt – I prefer Redmonds Real Salt as I utilize it for fermenting, curing, and canning

Add saved vegetable scraps to add flavor to your bone broth. However, make sure to use the right type of vegetable scraps to create a rich, clean flavor.

The following vegetables will make the broth unpalatable –

• Vegetables in the Brassica family – cause a bitter-tasting broth
• artichokes – the flavor is quite strong and overbearing
• potatoes – overtakes the flavor of the broth
• Older herbs and vegetables – alter the flavor of the broth
• Powdered herbs – create sediment within the broth and can be overbearing in taste when not measured correctly

Bone broth is a low acidic item that will require the use of a pressure canner to make it shelf stable.

Water

Using clean ingredients creates a healthy broth. This includes the type of water used.

A water source that contains no fluoride or chlorine is essential to a healthy bone broth. Spring or drinking water is ideal for those who rely on city water or have high minerals and sulfur in their well water. 

A Medicinal, Nutrient Dense Food Item

I have a golden rule: reserve the first batch of bone broth for medicinal purposes. Bone broth is excellent when the common cold or flu bug is hit or consumed daily.

Separate the first bath of bone broth from the other. Follow the steps indicated below and reach for a jar as needed –

• Remove from the pressure canner and wash jars and lids with mild soap and water
• Mark the dried jars with an M (medicinal) with the date
• Store separately from other batches made from the same bones

Use second and third batches of bone broth for cooking.

Can Bone Broth and Stock based on the Correct Altitude

The processing time for home canned foods is based on the altitude you reside in. Find the correct altitude for where you reside by Google searching your address. The goods must be processed properly to eliminate all bacteria from jars of food. This requires knowing the altitude you reside in for pressure canned and hot water bath canned goods.

Remember that the processing times below are based on broth with no meat or vegetables. Making homemade broth begins with knowing the correct PSI based on your altitude.

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Let’s Recap

The steps for canning bone broth are easy. Take a minute to read this quick recap –

• roast the bones to create a better-tasting broth
• reserve vegetable scraps to add flavor
• add herbs and spices to your liking
• adding raw apple cider vinegar to the broth (optional)
• use enough water to cover the bones barely
• create a gelatinous product by adding poultry feet and/or trotters
• allow to simmer on low for 12 hours
• use the bones multiple times until they crumble to the touch

Steps for Pressure Canning Bone Broth

How to can bone broth is extremely easy. Print the steps for canning bone broth and store in a safe place for future use.

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Yield: 8 quarts

Steps for Canning Bone Broth

Print

Steps for canning bone broth are easy, however, there are steps which must be taken to ensure that canning any form of broth or stock is done properly. For example, pressure canning bone broth or stock is only way to preserve homemade broth for long-term storage.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 12 hours

Additional Time 25 minutes

Total Time 13 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

• Grass-fed or pasture-raised bones (wild caught fish for fish bone broth) - Enough bones to fill the stockpot or roaster oven
• Herbs and vegetable scraps of your liking, you can never have to much
• whole peppercorn, to your liking
• Redmonds Real Salt, to your liking
• Clean water which does not contain fluoride or chlorine, enough to cover the bones

Instructions

Make the Broth

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Rinse the bones and place onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Allow the bones to roast for 20 to 25 minutes on both sides.
3. Place the roasted bones into a stock pot or roaster over. Add the desired herbs, garlic, onions, carrots, vegetable scraps, peppercorns, and salt to your liking.
4. Rinse the poultry feet or trotters and add to the stockpot or roaster oven.
5. Add only enough water to slightly cover the bones.
6. Allow the broth to simmer for 12 to 15 hours. A roaster oven is great for simmering the broth overnight.

Steps for Canning Bone Broth

1. Once the broth is done simmering, warm jars and lids.
2. Prepare the pressure canner.
3. Place a small fine mesh sieve onto the warmed jar. Using the ladle add the broth to each jar, making sure to leave a 1-inch headspace. Make sure that no meat or herb scraps are in the jars as the canning time is based solely on the broth.
4. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean dishtowel dipped in distilled vinegar to remove any grease from the broth or food particles.
5. Add warmed lids and rings to finger tight.
6. Place jars into the pressure canner.
7. Process the jars based on the altitude which you reside. Refer to the processing time chart in the article.
8. Once the canning process is complete, remove the jars from the pressure canner and allow the jars to set for 12 hours.
9. Check that the lids have sealed. Lids which have not sealed should be placed into the refrigerator and used as quickly as possible.
10. Wash all jars that have sealed with dishsoap and water.
11. Label jars with content and date. Store the jars in a cool dark location.

Notes

Make sure to only add enough water to slightly cover the bones. Adding to much water will cause a flavorless broth.

Remember, there is no set recipe for making bone broth. The flavor is achieved based on the ingredients on hand. Remember, use vegetable that will not create an undesirable flavor. Refer to the article to a list of these items.

As mentioned, the processing time is based on the broth itself. Any meat or vegetables remnants within the canning jars will require a processing time different then what is shared in the article.

Remember, bones can be used until they are brittle to the touch. Remove the older herbs and vegetables are refresh the stockpot or roaster oven with fresh herbs, vegetables and spices. Again, cover the bones with enough water to slightly cover them and begin the simmer process again.

Recommended Products

I may make a small commission at no additional expense to you based on the affiliate links shared in this recipe.

• 
  Presto Pressure Canner for Low Acidic Foods
• 
  My Book - The Farm Girl's Guide to Preserving the Harvest
• 
  Fine Mesh Sieve 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

32

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 2Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 20mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

Nutrition information is not always accurate.

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Additional Broth and Stock Recipes

Learn how to can homemade broth of all types –

• Organ broth
• Vegetable stock
• Fish broth

As you can see, the steps for canning bone broth are quite easy.

Using kitchen scraps and poultry saved from processing chickens will ensure a delicious and healthy broth is achieved. As you can see, how to can homemade broth is easy and ideal for those who seek to consume a clean food source.

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