How to make
Bone Broth
at Home?
The ancient craft behind every cup. No shortcuts — just honest ingredients, patience, and time.
Making bone broth at home is one of the most rewarding things you can do in a kitchen. It asks very little of you — just time. And it gives back in abundance.
There are two bones to choose from: chicken for a lighter, cleaner broth rich in Type II collagen, or beef for something deeper and more complex — warming, grounding, profoundly restorative. Both follow the same process. Both reward patience in exactly the same way.
What follows is exactly how we do it at The Broth Bar — from our professional kitchen in Monda to your home stove. The craft scales down beautifully. All you need is a heavy pot, quality bones, and the willingness to let it be slow.
Ingredients for
a Great Broth
Quality matters here more than anywhere. The broth is only as good as what goes into it — so choose well.
For beef broth, we also add turmeric, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and star anise. Each one earns its place — anti-inflammatory, digestive, deeply aromatic. Add them with the vegetables.
The Four Steps to
Perfect Broth
Good broth cannot be hurried. It asks only for honest work and enough time — and it rewards both generously.
01
Roast the bones
first.
Before anything else touches water, spread your bones on a roasting tray and put them in a hot oven — 220°C for 30 to 40 minutes. Turn them once halfway. You are looking for deep golden-brown, not burnt. This is the Maillard reaction: caramelisation of the surface that unlocks complex flavours no amount of simmering alone could produce.
This step is the single biggest difference between a broth that tastes rich and one that tastes flat. Don't skip it. The oven does the hard work — you just need to be patient.
02
Build the pot
with intention.
Transfer the roasted bones to your largest, heaviest pot — a Dutch oven or stock pot is ideal. Add your vegetables: onion halved, carrot broken in two, celery in large pieces, the garlic head split across its equator. Pour in the apple cider vinegar. Cover everything with cold filtered water by at least 5 cm.
Bring it slowly to a boil over medium heat. As it reaches temperature, foam and grey impurities will rise to the surface. Skim these off carefully with a ladle — do it every few minutes until no more appear. This produces a cleaner, clearer broth. It takes about 20 minutes and it is worth every one of them.
03
Simmer low.
Never boil.
Once skimmed, reduce to the lowest heat your stove allows. You want a bare, lazy simmer — a bubble every few seconds at the surface, not a rolling boil. A hard boil will cloud the broth and break down the collagen before it can fully develop. Low and slow is the only way.
Simmer for a minimum of 12 hours. We simmer for 16 at The Broth Bar. The longer it goes, the more minerals and collagen are extracted from the bones. In the final 2 hours, add your herbs — bay leaves, thyme, parsley stalks. Taste it. Season lightly with sea salt at the very end.
Leave the lid slightly ajar. Check it occasionally. Top up with a little water if the level drops significantly. This is the patient part — and the most important one.
04
Strain, cool,
and marvel.
When the simmer is complete, remove the pot from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin cloth or a clean kitchen towel. Pour slowly. If you want the clearest possible broth, strain it twice — once through the sieve, once through the cloth alone. Each pass removes a little more.
Let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. In the morning, a layer of solid fat will have risen to the surface. Lift it off with a spoon. Beneath it, you will find a golden, set jelly — that gelatine is the collagen you worked for. That is how you know you've done it right.
Store in glass jars in the fridge for up to 3-5 days, or freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Reheat gently, never in a microwave. Drink it from a cup, use it as the base for soups and stews, or sip it slowly as a morning ritual.
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