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If you’re a believer in green smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and grain bowls, get ready to embrace bone broth. Sip on the latest health craze at Blackbelly Market in Boulder, where chef-owner (and Top Chef Season Five winner) Hosea Rosenberg begins selling the nutrient-dense broth today. He’s offering two varieties: bird broth (made from the bones of chicken, duck, and turkey) and a beef-and-pork combo—or combine the two for what Rosenberg calls barnyard broth. Ten-ounce cups go for $4 and to-go quarts run $12.
The reasoning behind the craze is this: When simmered, bones slowly relinquish their gelatin, collagen, and amino acids—things many believe our bodies need and crave. Restaurant kitchens, and Rosenberg’s in particular because of his whole-animal butchering program, end up with an abundance of bones. “[Bone broth] makes sense with our butchering program,” Rosenberg says. “We would make stock anyway. For this you just simmer longer—like for 48 hours.” Rosenberg starts the process by chopping bones and roasting them. Then he adds carrots, onions, celery, dried spices, and filtered water. As the giant pot slowly simmers, it turns into liquid gold. The final product is clear and clean tasting, and far more subtle than stock.
For those wanting to amp up the flavor, Rosenberg offers add-ins: Bragg apple cider vinegar and liquid aminos; Ozuké‘s kimchi and ruby calendula kraut; and mushroom tea made from steeping dried porcini and shiitake mushrooms. The key is to go light—a drop here, a drop there so as not to overpower the broth. Rosenberg’s perfect combo: barnyard broth plus a dribble of apple cider vinegar, a dash of liquid aminos, and a hint of mushroom tea.
The bone broth phenomenon may seem new to Americans but in many Asian countries broth has long been a breakfast mainstay. “If you think of it, bone broth makes a lot of sense,” Rosenberg says. “In Thailand breakfast is a bowl of broth with a meatball and scallions.”
Tip: If you buy in bulk, consider storing the broth as Michelle Tam, author of the popular blog Nom Nom Paleo, does.
On the horizon: Look for Bones to start peddling bone broths too. Once the program launches customers can order online and stop by to pick up sipping broths and stocks for soups and cooking.
1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, 303-247-1000
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