Turkey Bone Broth
Bone broth can be quite expensive when your purchase it at the store. Most people are quite surprised to find out that it’s actually super economical and easy to make at home.
It’s one of those recipes you can set and forget. When it’s done, you can use it for some many amazing purposes — soups, stews, cooking grains, thinning sauces etc. You can also swap it for anything that calls for water in savory cooking.
The benefits of bone broth? Numerous. Bone broth contains gelatin and collagen, the foundations of the amino acid, glycine. In pregnancy, glycine is needed for the synthesis of fetal DNA and collagen in order to support a developing baby’s bones, connective tissues, organs and skin.
Not only does a baby require glycine, but the pregnant mother also relies heavily on glycine so that the body can support the expanding uterus, breasts and stretching skin.
In regard to preconception health, when you are in the TTC journey, consuming adequate sources of glycine, such as bone broth, is also extremely important. Glycine is an important building block for body’s most potent antioxidant — glutathione. Glutathione helps the body to detoxify from the chemicals we encounter on a daily basis and reduces oxidative stress on the ovaries. Remember, oxidative stress damages our egg quality and reproductive tissues.
Turkey Bone Broth
Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass (legs, skin and as much as the carcass as you can put into the crockpot)
Water
1 onion, chopped into quarters
3 large carrots, roughly chopped
1-inch fresh ginger
Garlic bulb, sliced in half, crosswise
Fresh herbs (parsley, sage, thyme etc.)
Apple cider vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Using a large crockpot, add any leftover bones and turkey skin into the crockpot. Make sure the lid is able to fit snugly on the base of the crockpot.
Fill the crockpot with water until you’ve just covered the top of the bones.
Add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, onion, carrots, garlic, ginger and herbs to the crockpot.
Season with 1 tsp salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Set your crockpot to low and allow it to cook for 12-24 hours (I usually let mine go overnight, about 14 hours).
After it’s done cooking, turn off the crockpot and allow to cool to room temperature. Then strain out the broth into a large stock pot or storage containers through cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
Store in the freezer (for up to a few months) or refrigerator (for 3-4 days) if not immediately using for another recipe!
