Dem Bones Dem Bones

This is a very exciting weekend for me because I'm attempting to make my first bone broth.

Here are my bones, all roasted and ready to go.

They're marrow bones and oxtail bones, supposedly grass fed though I have my suspicions about that.  Ideally I'd have more joint bones - knees, shoulders, etc.-but even the Boulder Mega Whole Foods doesn't carry them.  In fact Whole Foods had zero grass fed bones and told me to call back in a couple of days, maybe they'd get some in, maybe not.  I got these bones from Lucky's which is my local grocery store and way more awesome than Whole Foods.  Though I'm not entirely sure I believe these bones are grass fed.  Anyway, Google informs me that there are loads of ranches in Boulder County selling grass fed beef, bones, organ meat, etc.  I'll have to do some calling around for the next batch but these will do for my first attempt.

I've got a pot on the stove and a crock pot going.  You're supposed to simmer the bones for anywhere from 24-72 hours and since I spent an asston of money on these bones, I'm going for 72 hours to get the maximum nutrients out of them.  Here's what the crock pot looks like today.  We'll see what it looks like in 3 days.

I was concerned that the smell of the bones cooking would be nauseous making but it's actually the smell of the apple cider vinegar that's setting my stomach to queasy.  I hate the smell of both vinegar and fermenting apples so this is a special sort of hell for me but thankfully it's warm enough to open some windows and hopefully the smell will calm down in a bit.  Will have to think of something particularly good smelling to cook for dinner.

The internets are full of videos and blogs about bone broth and how to make it but I never saw any tips for keeping dogs out of it.  This was my technique for the crock pot when I went to masters swim practice but I hadn't plugged it in yet so I'm not sure what to do for the rest of the weekend. 

The other pot went on top of the fridge.  I'll have to figure out a way to block off the entire kitchen.  Because Naughty Dogs.  I do not want to come home to Strummer wearing a stock pot's worth of bone broth and onions.