Meat Stock and Bone Broth

Meat stock and bone broth are two of the most nourishing meals (or meal bases) and from my perspective, a kitchen staple due to their exceptional healing properties.  

First up though, what are meat stock and bone broth and what’s the difference between them?

What’s The difference?

They’re VERY similar. 

Meat stock is meat on the bone, cooked in water (with or without flavour builders like onion, garlic, carrot, celery, peppercorns and bay leaves).  It is typically cooked for 2-4 hours on a slow simmer.

Bone Broth is made from meaty joints and pieces of bone that have marrow and or meaty bits left behind from butchering.  Again, it can be made with or without the flavour builders.  It is typically cooked for anywhere from 4-24 hours.

Amines and Glutamates - 2 key factors

As a result of the longer cooking time, bone broths are much higher in amines and glutamates.  

Amines result from the breakdown of protein and increase as a food ages.  There are different types of amines, and histamine is one of them.  If you have significant gut issues or amine / histamine intolerance, allergies, anxiety, MCAS, headaches, and migraines for example,  you’ll likely do MUCH better using (or at least starting on) meat stocks. (You'll also want to address your liver function, methylation and microbiome health amongst other factors!). 

Glutamate is an amino acid (a building block of protein) and our most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter (brain messenger chemical).  It is naturally present and extracted from the meat and bones, normally in the form of bound glutamic acid.  This type of glutamate is present in both meat stock and bone broth and is generally not problematic. 
The glutamate problem stems from another amino acid, glutamine, being unstable in the presence of acid (vinegar is often used in bone broth), heat and liquid.  So during a long bone broth simmer, the glutamine degrades into free glutamate which can act as a neuroexcitotoxin in sensitive individuals.  So while bone broth technically may provide more glutamine, the chances of it degrading to glutamate are high.  So if there are neuroinflammatory or neuroimmune symptoms going on like brain fog, migraines, ADHD, ODD, aggressive behaviours, seizures or anxiety, the increased glutamates can exacerbate those symptoms. Again, in this case you’re best to stick or start with meat stock.   It’s interesting to note that many people with gluten sensitivity or intolerance have issues with an enzyme (GAD) that converts glutamate to GABA (our main calming neurotransmitter).

Something to consider as this can also contribute to increased levels of circulating glutamate.  

Minerals and amino acids

Bone broths are generally higher than stocks in a number of nutrients like glycine, proline, collagen minerals, because of the longer extraction time, plus the inclusion of more bone itself, which provides more of the minerals.  However in healing, more is not always better.

Ease, simplicity and digestibility are best.   When making broth, choose the really jointy bones with more cartilage and gristle for increased collagen as well as marrow bones for the marrow.  

Meat Stock - the one pot meal.

To make a meat stock is to create a one pot meal as the meat is cooked in the water along with the bones.  It results in VERY tender, easy to digest meat, providing much needed protein to those who have had inflamed guts and maldigestion / malabsorption.   Both broth and stock liquid will become very gelatinous when cooled (a great indicator of collagen / gelatin content).

 

	Meat Stock	Bone Broth
Main Ingredients	Meat on the bone - lamb shanks, whole chicken, ox tail, lamb neck etc	Jointy bones with connective tissues still attached (marrow, knuckles / cartilage, tails and chicken necks, not much if any meat.
Cooking Time	1.5 - 4 hours	4 - 48 hours (usually 8-12hrs)
Nutrient Profile	Rich in gelatine, collagen, amino acids, minerals. More glutamine stays intact (heat sensitive and unstable in liquids, so degrades during a long cook time as with bone broth)	Rich in gelatin, collagen. Richer in bone-derived minerals (e.g. Ca, Mg, P and K).   Higher in GAGs (glycosaminoglycans - precursors to collagen) - chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, hyaluronic acid. Higher in glutamate and amines (see below). More abundant amino acids - esp. Proline, glycine, glutamine Bone marrow nutrients: Stem cell supporting compounds, healthy fats incl alkylglycerols), vitamin A and K2 (esp if grass fed).
Digestibility	Very gentle on the gut - soothing and healing for intestinal lining.	Harder to digest for those with gut damage or neuroimmune conditions (due to the higher glutamate and amines)
Glutamate Content	Lower - safer for those with neuroimmune conditions e.g. migraines, brain fog,	Higher due to prolonged heat and water exposure degrading glutamine to glutamate.  It may aggravate neurological symptoms such as headaches, migraines, brain fog, ADHD, insomnia, seizures, anxiety and aggressive behaviours to due neuroexcitatory potential
Amine Content	Lower - safer for those with MCAS, histamine intolerance, migraines, brain fog	Higher - can aggravate histamine / allergy related symptoms, ADHD, Anxiety
Therapeutics	Foundation of gut healing protocols including the GAPS intro diet from day 1 to heal and seal the gut lining.  The best place to start.	Better for later stages of healing, once gut lining has better integrity and inflammation has reduced.  Then you can benefit from the extra nutrients in bone broth.

 

Why Broth-er Getting Stocked Up?

Broth and stock are exceptionally high in minerals, easily assimilated amino acids (like glycine) and proteins (hello foodies botox!).  In fact broth and stock have a “protein sparing” effect, meaning you get more bang for your protein buck (you can get away with having less protein in your diet while still reaping the benefits of a higher protein diet).  We don’t want to skimp on protein though.  Broth and stock are profoundly healing for the gut wall, skin, joints and other connective tissue throughout the body.  They are fantastic for:

• A core part of gut healing protocols.  Stock is a key essential in both the GAPS diet  (Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride) from day 1, and my gut healing protocol in The Complete Gut Health Cookbook  that I wrote with Chef Pete Evans. 
• Preventing and recovering sporting injuries,
• Preventing and easing arthritis
• Improving skin glow, suppleness, preventing and easing wrinkles (fondly referred to as Foodies Botox for this reason!)
• Speeding up recovery from pretty much any surgery
• Healthy lush locks of hair
• Immune support.  Chicken and veggie soup – essentially a meat stock – has long been referred to as “Jewish Penicillin”.  In fact in 2000, in vitro studies indicated that chicken broth may have antiviral and immune boosting activity.  They discovered that some components of the broth inhibit neutrophil migration that may have an anti-inflammatory effect that could ease the symptoms of illness temporarily.
• Improving the flavour of anything you add them too! 
   
  
  

Cheap Nutrition + No Waste

As a bonus, making your own broths and stocks provides very economical nutrition and is also a way to honour the whole animal.  We live in a very wasteful culture, and when it comes to meat we’re often conditioned to only want the prime cuts.  Fortunately it’s the cheaper cuts as well as parts that often get discarded (like the bones) that actually make such incredibly medicinal and nutritious foods. And by using the whole animal we can honour its sacrifice for our nourishment.

 

How to Enjoy Your Broth & Stock

• Drink stock and broth as is, just seasoned with good quality salt and pepper (Stockee or Brothee instead of Coffee!)
• Simmer veggies (low FODMAP ones if you have gut issues / IBS) until soft, add back some shredded stock meat. Season with herbs / spices of your choosing
• Make a simple clear broth soup by pouring hot stock / broth over a bowl of chopped green veggies (the heat from the broth will be enough to lightly cook the veg) 
• Make nice creamy pureed soups with it.  
• Use it in any savoury dish where you would normally add water, for example in bolognese, or cook your rice or quinoa in it, or sautee your brussel sprouts in it! Yum!
• Leftover cauliflower mash in broth / stock / soups makes them deliciously creamy without any dairy.
• Use them as a base for casseroles, soups and stews.
• Freeze into an icecube tray.  Add a couple cubes of broth to your smoothie (sound weird, worlds great!). 
• Add a splash (or a couple frozen cubes of it) to any stir fry or sausages while they’re frying (high heat in this case and let it reduce - makes a deliciously sticky sauce). 

I recommend making a big batch of stock / broth and then freezing a portion or two, so that you have some back up in the freezer when times are busy or you need an emergency meal.  Freezing it also stops further aging / accumulation of amines over time.  I like to use a slow cooker (ceramic dish, no teflon please!) as I can happily leave it on overnight and during the day while I’m out at work, or a big pasta pot when making bone broth so I can use the inner pot to easily pull out and strain the bones.  Any large pot on the stove top works as well.

TIPS:

• Keep the simmer slow and low.  No fast boils. (I bring mine to the boil then reduce the heat immediately for the rest of the time). 
• Keep the lid on to minimise oxygen exposure (and splashes, and reduction through steam loss!).
• Freeze leftovers promptly to preserve nutrients, minimise amines and have amazing superfood ready for back up later in the week.  

  
Meat Stock Recipe 

Meat stocks are fabulous nourishment especially for anyone early on their gut healing journey, pregnant, postpartum or recovery from injury, illness or surgery.  They're low histamine compared to bone broth (which is also a fabulous medicinal food if it suits you). They're also an easy one pot meal.

Meat stocks are SO SIMPLE and can be made with any meat on the bone - lamb shanks, lamb neck, whole chicken, beef shins, osso bucco, ox tail, kangaroo tail are just a few.  Whichever meat you use, the rest of the recipe is the same (the one difference, with ox tail I like to add some extra beef cheek or even diced chuck steak to increase the meat:bone ratio if I’m making a solid meal of it).  Here's how:

GAPS CHICKEN MEAT STOCK

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (pasture-raised organic is ideal)
• 2-4 chicken feet (optional)
• 4.5L filtered water
• 2 onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 carrots
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 TBS sea salt
• 1 TBS dried parsley or ½ bunch fresh parsley 
  

Instructions

1. Add chicken, chicken feet, and salt to large pot and add water.
2. Bring the chicken to a boil and allow it to simmer for about 1.5-2 hours.
3. While the chicken is simmering, chop the veggies and herbs into bite-sized pieces, and set aside.
4. Remove the chicken from the pot and de-bone it, adding the meat back into the pot, and/or reserve some for a different recipe.
5. Add the chopped vegetables and herbs and continue cooking until soft (about half hour).
6. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
7. Transfer into glass storage containers for the fridge or freezer.
   

NOURISHING BONE BROTH

Ingredients

• About 2-3kg of bones (beef marrow, knuckle bones, meaty rib, neck bones, chicken wings and feet – whatever the butcher will give you
• Roughly 3-4 litres of cold filtered water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 carrots roughly chopped
• 2 onions chopped in half
• 1-2 celery sticks or left over bits of raw veg that need to be used up.
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 2 tspns whole black pepper corns
• Optional: a little bundle of fresh herbs such as thyme, oregano, parsley, sage.

Method

• Pop all ingredients in your slow cooker or large stock pot.
• Bring to a gentle boil and remove any scum that bubbles to the top.
• Reduce heat to a very slow simmer, pop the lid on, and simmer for 24hrs.
• 10 minutes out from finishing the broth, it’s quite nice to add some additional fresh parlsey IF you have it on hand, to provide extra minerals and flavour.
• Remove from heat.
• Strain broth through a strainer or remove the bones and veggie with a slotted spoon.
• Store in glass jars / containers in the fridge or freezer.

Freezer Tip

• When putting glass into the freezer, leave room at the top of the jar for the contents to expand, and wait until the broth has frozen before tightly capping the lid. This will prevent cracking the glass.