Collagen-rich chicken stock aka bone broth for healthy gut and skin

You can boil the bones for about 6 hours in a pot like this. Or use a pressure cooker for 2 hours for a speedier option following manufacturer’s instructions. Photo by Sue Foll

Ingredients

The carcass and bones of a roasted chicken

2 litres of water

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1 onion 

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Take the leftover carcass of a roast chicken, pick any remaining meat off it (you can save this for later for stir fries etc), and put the carcass and bones from the legs and wings, plus any skin and cartilage into a saucepan and cover with water.

Add one carrot, a stick of celery broken in two and a peeled onion or a couple of spring onions whole, and if you have them 2 bay leaves, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (I find this calms down that meaty smell permeating your whole household as it cooks!)

Bring the water to the boil, then turn the heat to a gentle simmer and place a lid on top.

Now leave the broth/stock to boil for up to 6 hours. You want the bones to literally crumble between two fingers - indicating that the minerals have seeped out of the bones into the liquid.

Take off the heat and let the saucepan cool down, then sieve the contents out, and pour the clear liquid into containers and store in the freezer for as and when needed. Or pour into glass bottles in your fridge where it keeps fresh for about one week.

The liquid should be like jelly when it cools down. This is a good sign and means lots of collagen from the cartilage has dissolved into the water too.

Why is chicken bone stock/broth so good for you?

Drinking this hot in a cup with a little sea or rock salt is a delicious way to get micro minerals also known as electrolytes into you eg calcium, magnesium, potassium.

We need these to keep our own bones stay strong and healthy. It’s also a good way to top up lost electrolytes in us lost when we have loose stools. It also tastes a lot better than Diorolyte!

The collagen in stock/broth is good for building a strong gut lining in you AND skin on the outside of your body. If you make it in batches and store in your freezer, it can be cheaper than buying collagen supplements. Much tastier too.

Add it to soups, stews, and stir fries, or as I said, sip it neat.