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The proof is in the jello! I am sharing the BEST, NO FAIL method to get bouncy BONE BROTH JELLO every time: cook bone broth in a SUPER-LOW OVEN! 🤯 What’s more, I use relatively accessible parts like chicken backs, necks, carcasses and/or leg bones which you can easily get from a butcher or save from your home cooked meals. No chicken feet!! Which I’m going to assume is a relief for many people lol (all the power to those who do want to use it, though). This OVEN BONE BROTH RECIPE is your ticket to gelatinous glory and deeply savoury, flavourful broth to sip or create meals with.

Sorry for my aggressive use of caps and exclamation marks just now but I am excited about this! I’ve been making bone broth for 6 years using stove top and Instant Pot methods which both yield delicious bone broth that I treat like the liquid gold that it is. But I didn’t always get very firm jello. I’m not saying no one else has cooked bone broth in the oven but I personally could not find this method on the internet when I searched for it, which really surprises me?! Anyway, this OVEN BONE BROTH method has been fail proof for me and I am confident it will be the same for you.

Please read through my Recipe Head Notes below before starting and as always, let me know if you have any questions in the comment section. Check out my Instagram Reel video too to see that bone broth jiggle 🤩 Eat well and be well,

Sonia x

WHAT IS BONE BROTH?

Bone broth is a clear, protein-dense liquid made by simmering animal bones and connective tissues such as cartilage from any animal such as chicken, beef or pork in water often along with vegetable and aromatics at a very low temperature for an extended amount of time. To me, making bone broth is a no-brainer since it is (a) nutritious (b) soothing and deeply flavourful and (c) is made with cheap (or free!) bones.

IS BONE BROTH HEALTHY?

The belief is that this ‘low and slow’ process described above extracts the collagen out of the bones and cartilage used in making bone broth. Collagen is a protein rich in amino acids glycine and proline. When collagen-rich foods are ingested, the collagen breaks down in the stomach into the amino acids to be used by the body as building blocks to make a variety of proteins including collagen. Collagen has been shown to improve elasticity and moisture in the skin, sooth gut irritation and inflammation, and improve overall joint and bone health. Bone broth is also a good source of the amino acid glutamine, which is notably important for maintaining gut barrier function. A “leaky gut” is one where the barrier “leaks” things like microorganisms, fungi, food proteins and toxins into the bloodstream, leading to inflammation and an immune response. All that said, while there is clinical evidence of the foregoing benefits of collagen, glycine, proline and glutamine, there is a lack of direct clinical research on bone broth itself. (source: Canadian digestive Health Foundation cdhf.ca) Also, some experts question if stomach acids break down those amino acids before they have a chance to be used by the body at all. But that hasn’t put a damper on the huge market of digestible collagen supplements, either. Therefore, I take all of this with a grain of salt, and focus more on the other benefits of making bone broth which is how delicious it is and how cheap it is to make. Any collagen benefits being a definite upside :)

HOW IS BONE BROTH DIFFERENT FROM STOCK? OR REGULAR BROTH?

Actually, bone broth is indeed a stock. The traditional definition of stock is a liquid made by simmering animal bones (with or without meat), vegetables and aromatics for 2-4 hours on the stove. Bone broth specifically does not contain any meat (although often there may be bits of meat attached to the bones) and is cooked over a longer period of time. Both “stock” and “bone broth” yield liquids that gels when chilled because of the presence of gelatin. Regular “broth” is made by simmering meat (with or without bones) with vegetables and aromatics in a shorter amount of time, i.e less than 2 hours, and does not gel when chilled. (sources: bonappetit, thekitchn)

WHY DO I CARE IF MY BONE BROTH GELS?

Apart from it’s superb flavour, bone broth is probably most prized for the presence of the protein gelatin. Gelatin is the cooked form of collagen, in this case, when bones and cartilage are simmered over a long period at a low enough heat to not completely break down the collagen. When consumed, gelatin has been associated with promoting gut health, supporting the immune system by protecting the lining of the small intestines, supporting joint health and improving the appearance of skin, hair and nails. A bone broth that solidifies like jello (gels) once chilled in the fridge indicates the presence of gelatin, hence why we love to see it!

IS IT SAFE TO COOK CHICKEN BONE BROTH AT 150F?

We need heat to extract collagen from bones and connective tissues. Collagen begins to melt at 160f and fully dissolves at 180f. That’s why a low heat is required for bone broth to gel. Extended exposure to a too-high temperature may destroy the collagen thus preventing bone broth from gelling. I set my oven to cook at 150f, which is my lowest oven setting. I know people will question using an oven temperature of 150f for chicken bone broth, when the guideline for doneness is 165f for chicken. Let me assure you, I have done my research and it is safe. Here is an excellent explanation from Thermoworks.com (the maker of Thermapen):

“most people know about 165°F (74°C), but what most people don’t know is that food safety (bacterial die-off) is a function of both temperature and time. You can achieve the exact same bacterial death by holding your chicken at lower temperatures for longer times with the exact same assurance of safety. The USDA provides guidelines for industry on food safety…to indicate how long it takes to kill enough bacteria at a given temperature.”

Based on the chart, the time needed for bacterial die-off in medium-lean chicken at 150f (65.6c) is 3 minutes. JUST 3 MINUTES. Since we are cooking this chicken bone broth for 12-24 hours, it is fair to conclude that this recipe is perfectly safe.

Now that I’ve answered some questions that you may have had, find my recipe below along with recipe head notes.

1. ERR ON THE SIDE OF ADDING LESS WATER TO START: If you’re keen on getting gelatinous bone broth, err on the side of adding less water. Fill it up to an inch below the bones. In particular, I do this when I don’t have super collagen-rich bone pieces (see #2 below). Highly concentrated broth takes up less room to store or freeze. You can easily dilute with water later for drinking or for use in recipes.

2. WHAT TYPE OF BONES SHOULD I USE? When purchasing bones from the butcher, don't shy away from the collagen-rich parts like chicken feet, wings and necks for chicken broth or marrow bones, knuckles and ox tail for beef broth. That said, if I’m using bones saved from a meal (see #3 below), it tends to be thigh or leg bones for us, which are great as well and also produces gelatin especially in combination with other parts. The bone broth pictured in this blog post was made using mostly raw chicken carcasses and backs plus a few cooked leg bones I had saved in the freezer.

3. SAVE BONES FROM HOMECOOKED MEALS: Do not ever throw them away. Once the meat is pulled off and enjoyed, I toss the bones into a ziptop freezer bag and freeze until I have enough or am ready to make a batch of broth. Rinse off the bones if there is a lot of sauce on them, depending on how they were cooked. Usually I mix these saved bones with fresh bones purchased at the butcher. Sometimes, my entire broth is made from saved cooked bones if that’s all I have.

4. SOAK AND BLANCH RAW BONES: If you are using fresh (raw) bones, I highly recommend these two preliminary steps:

• Soak bones to remove blood — Soak bones in the pot filled with tap water for 15 minutes. Drain off the water. You’ll see it will be pink-tinged with blood.

• Blanch bones to remove scum and impurities — Fill pot of soaked bones with fresh water. Bring to a boil and boil vigorously for 10-15 minutes. As the grey scum emerges, skim off and discard.

5. DO I NEED TO ROAST THE BONES? Indeed, many bone broth recipes call for roasting raw bones on a sheet pan in a 400f oven first until they get brown (how long depends on the type/size of bones being used) to extract more flavor. I rarely do this step but you can if you want!

6. WHY IS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR OPTIONAL? Many people swear by the addition of acid in bone broth to extract minerals such as calcium from the bones. However, studies (including one conducted by USDA) have shown bone broths to contain only low levels of vitamins and minerals, much of which is derived from the vegetables used rather than the bones. I know many will continue to insist on adding it, which is why I have listed it. You can’t taste it in the final broth. I’ll leave it up to you to add or not.

7. STRAIN WITH FINE MESH COLANDER OR TRIPLE LAYERED CHEESECLOTH: In particular when making chicken bone broth, there tends to be small bone bits that need to be strained off. Use a colander with a very fine mesh (see photo in blog post) or place three layers of cheesecloth on a colander to strain.

8. FREEZING BONE BROTH FOR STORAGE: I don’t do canning so my go-to storage method is to freeze my broth in glass jars. Make sure to leave a good amount of head space or else it may explode as the air inside expands during freezing! I aim for about 1” head room on straight jars or just under where the glass begins to curve inward on a mason jar, no higher. I have wept over cracked containers and wasted broth. Silicon ice cube trays with large compartments are fantastic too for an assortment of smaller frozen portions to use in sauces etc.

HOW TO MAKE BONE BROTH IN THE OVEN / OVEN BONE BROTH RECIPE (with fail-proof gel)

Recipe makes about 8 cups of concentrated bone broth. Dilute broth with water as desired to drink or use in recipes. If you’re wondering about the food safety of cooking this chicken bone broth at 150f, read the info in my blog post (it is safe).

INGREDIENTS

7 lbs chicken bones, assorted parts such as carcass, back, neck, leg, etc. – see recipe note 2

8 C water, more or less to just barely cover the bones in the pot

Assortment of vegetables and vegetable scraps – I used:

2-3 celery stalks, halved

1 carrot, halved

2 onions, halved

2-3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar – optional, see recipe note 6

METHOD

Place bones in a large stock pot. Note: I use a 7¼ quart dutch oven which holds 6.7 litres; I suggest going a bit larger as mine is very full. Fill with water and allow to soak for 10-15 minutes to release blood. Pour that water out and discard. Fill pot with water again, just barely enough to cover the bones. Set on top of stove and bring to a rolling boil. Blanch bones at a steady boil for 10-15 minutes, skimming and discarding the grey scum as it emerges. This usually happens during the first 10 minutes of boiling. Try not to skim off the oil – that’s good for flavour and for storing the broth. The oil can always be skimmed off later.

Make sure oven rack is adjusted to fit your pot with the lid on. Preheat oven to 150F (Fahrenheit). If you’re wondering about the food safety of cooking chicken bone broth at 150f, read the explanation and information in my blog post. It is safe.

After scum has cleared, make some room and place celery stalks, carrot, onions and garlic cloves into the pot. Add apple cider vinegar. Cover and bring back to a boil. Turn heat off and place the covered pot into the oven. Cook for anywhere between 12-24 hours.

Place pot on stove and bring to a boil. Reduce to a strong simmer and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to cool a little bit to make it easier to handle when straining in the next step.

Strain your bone broth over a fine-mesh sieve. If you don’t have one with a very fine mesh, place a double or triple layer of cheesecloth over your colander to catch the fine bone bits. Let the solids sit for a minute to let the liquid drain through, then push gently on the solids to release as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Don’t be alarmed by the small yield as it is very concentrated. I also like keeping it concentrated as it takes up less storage room. You can dilute with water to drink or use in recipes as desired.

Transfer strained bone broth in batches into glass storage jars. If you plan to freeze the jars of broth, make sure to leave sufficient headroom for expansion during freezing or else the jars will crack and you will cry devastating tears (see note 8).

Bone broth freezes well for 2-3 months. To use, defrost overnight in the fridge or defrost in the microwave.

Do you have trouble getting your bone broth to gel? Have you ever heard of (or made) bone broth in the oven? Do you have any bone broth tips to share with me? If you make this recipe, I wanna hear all about it too or tag me on Instagram so I can see!

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