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As I have been sharing the past couple weeks, I love bone broth and meat stock. These incredibly healing foods have been a critical part of my healing process, and I would not be where I am without them. However, they aren’t always….practical. This is where homemade bouillon comes in!
The concept of bouillon is brilliant: a tiny, portable cube that can be used to instantly make a large quantity of broth. Wonderful! Much better than the hours it takes to produce the homemade stuff. Takes up much less space than those quarts and quarts of bone broth. But even when I hunted down a gluten-free, MSG-free (except not really) bouillon, this is what was in it:
salt, flavor (hydrolyzed corn protein, salt), sugar, Contains 2% or less of silicone dioxide (anticaking agent), natural flavor (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, sugar, whey powder [from milk], lactic acid), chicken fat, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, dehydrated cooked chicken (contains natural flavor), dehydrated parsely, turmeric, onion powder, spice, garlic powder.
That ain’t real, folks.
So what are your choices if you want to stock up on broth? Buy a new chest freezer or eat that ingredient list? Thankfully, there is one more option.
Homemade Bouillon – Condensed, Portable Bone Broth
I first tried this idea out after moving in with my in-laws. We were sharing very little refrigerator and freezer space with them, and I was already taking up my fair share of space with my monthly meat orders. I was also producing a lot of bones as I made so many soups for myself while on GAPS Intro. These bones were making a lot of broth, and I needed to figure out what to do with it.
The concept is so simple: boil down the broth until it is significantly reduced and condensed. Then store it until needed and add hot water to reconstitute. Due to the gelatin in the broth, this “homemade bouillon” will gel quite firmly, making it stable in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months, rather than just several days.
It can be used in any way that you may need broth: making soups, cooking vegetables or legumes, or drinking from a mug. I love that I can bring a pint sized mason jar of this condensed bone broth with me on vacation, and it will provide all the broth I need for the whole trip!
How much you condense your portable bone broth is up to you. I usually go for a 1/16 reduction. This yields a very firm end product with a simple conversion: one tablespoon (plus water) equals a cup of broth. This means that for every quart of broth that I start with, I reduce it down to a quarter of a cup. With time, I learned how to gauge the thickness of the end product so that my thinner broths would yield condensed bone broth of a similar strength to the stronger ones: the broth should be thick and almost syrupy.
If I want to make a mug of broth for myself, I just put a spoonful of my homemade bouillon in a mug, fill it with hot water, and add a little salt. And with the homemade bouillon, you also now have the option of selecting the strength of bone broth that you need.
Note: While I love this method and the way it allows me to store extra broth easily for travel or times when I don’t have any cooking in the crock pot, I recommend always trying to use traditional broth when possible. I never tried this method until I needed it because, frankly, it’s a waste of power and water if you do not have to use the condensed broth. This method also should not be used while on GAPS Intro, when only short cooked broths should be consumed.
Ingredients
- Bone Broth
Instructions
- Pour as much bone broth as you wish to condense in a large pot. Wider pots are preferable.
- Allow the broth to simmer, uncovered, until reduced. Depending on how much broth and what type of pot your use, this may take up to several hour. Be sure to watch it so that it doesn't reduce too far and burn!
- When the broth is reduced to a thick syrup, pour into pint sized mason jars. Allow to cool, stirring occasionally to combat any separation.
- Store in the refrigerator for several months, or freeze for even longer.
- To use: add 1-2 tablespoons of concentrated bone broth to hot water and stir to combine. Use as you would traditional broth.
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Shared on AIP Recipe Roundtable, Allergy Free Wednesday, and Wildcrafting Wednesday.
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Super cool Chloe! I may have to start doing this since I will be living with in-laws for a time pretty soon. There definitely won’t be enough space for the things I’m used to prepping in the kitchen. This sounds like a fantastic option 🙂
Yep, that is why I started – living with the in-laws and no storage space! Good luck. 🙂
My sister keeps trying to tell me that making my own bone broth is easy, but I’ve never really believed her. I do think I could totally handle this recipe though – thanks!
It is very simple! Definitely try it!
Wow. This looks so simple and easy.
I don’t use a lot of beef broth, but thankfully when I do need some I have found an organic product at costco that works great. May have to try this myself though.
It is! Takes a bit of time and energy, but pretty simple and so useful.
Love this, saves space and time for when you need it! Plus, I loooove cooking with bone broth so this will come in so handy.
Thanks! It is definitely useful at times!
What a fantastic idea! Pinned!
Thank you!
This is such a great idea!
Thank you!
Looks decadent! (Does that make me weird?)
Haha, maybe a little! Glad it looks good!
I love how easy and fuss-free this is. I’ve seen dehydrated bouillon cube recipes and I’ve been wanting to try them but it’s just too much work right now.
Agree! I have wanted to try them as well, but haven’t had the equipment.
I have always wondered if I could just condense my own broth to make bouillon (as we do use some store-bought once in a while). Thanks for the tips. I’m definitely going to try it.
Hi Chloe. I highlighted this recipe as one of my featured favorites at this week’s Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable. Thanks for linking up!
Thank you!
This is so easy; it makes we wonder why I have not done it before. Thanks. And congrats on being selected as a featured blogger at Wildcrafting Wednesday.
Hi! I’m new to this world of traditional cooking and have learned so far to make bone broth (from pasture-raised animals) and fermented veggies. I’m traveling this summer and have heard about potable broth, such as you’ve described here. I’m wondering though, you say to store it in the fridge or freezer, so this seems like it’s not safe to travel with since I won’t have access to a fridge for at least a day or two? And taking it on an airplane seems risky!
I haven’t tested leaving this out for a long time, but it does have a longer shelf life at room temperature than normal broth. If you can put it in a cooler or in something with an ice pack, I wouldn’t worry about a day or two. But I wouldn’t want to risk it at room temperature for that long.
Hi! I have a question about making chicken stock: how many pounds of chicken bones do you start out with? Do you then just cover the bones with water? I’m afraid I am adding too much water when I make stock. Thanks!
I couldn’t tell you how many pounds, but what I do is fill a gallon freezer bag with bones. When it is full (usually 2 whole chickens, a chicken and a package of soup bones or two, etc.), I put all of it in my crockpot and just cover with water. It’s easy to add too much water. But even if you do, it’s still good stock! It just won’t gel as well or be as nutrient dense as a more concentrated stock.
Interestingly enough if you took it a step further you could have room stable pocket soup, a precursor to bullion. Townsends covers this, it was a pretty regular technique in the 17 and 1800’s