Gut Healing & Immune Boosting Chicken Soup/Bone Broth
The key to a good chicken soup is the low and slow cooking process. This draws all the nutrients out of the chicken bones which provide a whole host of health benefits particularly relating to a healthy gut and strong immune system. This is how you do it....
Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken, approx. 1.5 kilos, preferably organic
Extra chicken carcass / bones (optional)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
15 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (this helps draw the nutrients out of the bones)
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
Sea salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oil in a stock pot and add the onion, thyme and oregano cook for a few minutes until the the onion starts to brown
Whilst that’s cooking, prepare the chicken by removing most of the skin from the breast and thighs. Just use your hands to pull it off and discard. You can skip this step but it reduces the fat content.
Add cold preferably purified water to the stock pot, to bring the temperature down first and then add the chicken along with the apple cider vinegar. The water level should just cover the chicken and bones so add more if you need to.
Bring the water to the boil then reduce the heat to a light simmer and cook covered for 2+ hours. The longer you cook it the better the flavour and health benefits. Up to 12 hours is ideal!
After 2-4 hours of the chicken cooking, use tongs and a big spoon separate most of the chicken meat out of the pot and onto a plate. The chicken will fall off the bone. Leave the bones to continue to break down in the soup until you are ready to take it off the heat.
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the remaining bones from the broth (easiest using a spoon with holes) as best as you can and add the diced carrot and celery or any other veggies you like and cook uncovered until the veggies are soft.
Whilst the veggies cook, shred the chicken meat and add it back to the broth. There is likely to be more chicken than you need so use it for salads during the week.
All the fat will settle to the top, so use a spoon to scoop it out and discard. This is easier the next day once the soup is chilled and the fat has set.
Enjoy!