by Texas Homesteader ~ 

It took me a long time to jump into the Instant Pot scene. I mean, I already had slow cookers, and I had a high-end stainless steel stove-top pressure cooker too. Why would I spend more money to buy something else I had to store? Wanna know what the breaking point was for me to decide to jump in?

Well I’d borrowed my sisters IP to see if I’d *really* use it enough to justify the cost. One of the first things I tried was bone broth. I was hooked!

Y’all, making your own healthy broth has really never been this easy!

Jump to Recipe

Simple Ingredients

Now some folks toss in saved veggie scraps from the freezer to further flavor their broth. Others add salt or other seasonings. But not me.

My broth is as pure as it can be – made only with bones, water & a splash of vinegar. I don’t add salt because it’s easier to add that when I’m actually using my broth for cooking. Sometimes there’ll be enough salt in my dish already, and other times a small sprinkling of salt is all that’s needed. You know what they say – you can add salt but you can’t take it out. So my broth is made without additional salt or seasonings.

I also don’t add veggie trimmings. I guess if I had onion trimmings I might not mind tossing them in. But I already have an important use for them – I make dehydrated Onion Powder. So there’s never any leftover onion trimmings for me to add.

And (to me at least) sometimes veggie trimmings might add the wrong flavor than what I’m trying to attain with a dish I’m using broth for. To me, carrots add a sweetness. And while that may be ok in a stew, it’s not really desired in my chili.

So to keep everything simple I don’t add any veggie trimmings to my broth. But if that’s something you think you’d like don’t hesitate to drop ’em in!

Making The Broth

OK, really folks, it doesn’t get any easier than this. Into my Instant Pot I chuck in the bones I’ve reserved for my broth. Then I cover the bones to the fill line with water. A splash of vinegar is added – it’s said that draws more calcium from the bones.

Then I replace the IP lid, twist to lock, set the vent to ‘SEALING’ and then press the +/- button to set the cook time to 2 hours. Feel free to  tweak the time if you like, but this is the time that works best for me.

When the broth is done I allow the pressure to release naturally. There’s lots of hot brothy volume contained in the IP so this can take 45 minutes or so! Then I take the lid off the Instant Pot and allow the broth to cool for just a bit to keep from burning my fingers as I deal with the bones.

I use a large strainer spoon to remove the larger bones and pour the remaining broth through a hand-held strainer to remove the smaller bones. I typically strain my broth into a large stainless steel stock pot. Finally I place the strained broth into the refrigerator to cool completely.

Same Bones, 2nd Time Around!

Now I read somewhere that many people were using those same bones to make a second (albeit less rich) batch of broth. So now I always toss those bones right back into the Instant Pot and give ’em another go.

I’ll fill with water, splash a little vinegar and repeat the broth-making process. It’s always worked like a charm for me. At the end of the second batch those bones have done all they can do and are very soft & crumbly. So I’ll often toss them into my *Tumbling Composter.

Removing The Fat

I’ll typically allow my Instant Pot broth to chill in the refrigerator overnight. Then when the broth is fully chilled the fat will rise to the top. I simply scrape the fat away. Some people use this fat for cooking and such, but in our household Bacon Grease is king.

So having no other use for this fat I simply place it into a Repurposed Plastic Jar I keep in the refrigerator for grease. (pouring grease down the sink is a recipe for disaster, y’all!) When that jar’s full I screw the lid on tight and toss the whole thing in the trash.

Preserving Your Homemade Broth

You can store your broth in the fridge for about a week. Go ahead, use it for all sorts of deliciousness throughout the week and marvel at your self sufficiency!

If you want to preserve your broth for a longer time you can store it in the freezer. I like to section it off into plastic peanut butter jars, label and freeze.

Others might pour their broth into ice cube trays or small plastic margarine containers & such. However you think you’ll use your broth, the world is your oyster here.

But although summer in NE Texas is too dang hot & humid to can, oftentimes during the winter months I like to pressure-can my broth. Then those shining jars of broth are ready & waiting in my own pantry – no thawing required.

However you decide to do it, making your own Instant Pot broth is incredibly easy. Pat yourself on the back for your money-saving, healthy eating, self-sufficiency moxxy!

~TxH~

Links In This Post:

• Food Waste: Onion Trimmings Into Onion Powder
• *Loving My Tumbling Composter
• Ways To Reuse Bacon Grease
• Don’t Flush Cooking Grease Down The Drain
• Easily Pressure-canning My Broth

Other Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Bone Broth Is Push-Button Easy!
• IP Pot Roast And Gravy – Comfort Food FAST
• Homemade Yogurt: Instant Pot Method
• Cheesecake Can Be Made In An Instant Pot
• Homemade Tamales – Faster In An Instant Pot

See ALL Our Instant Pot Posts!

Our Favorite Soups

• Endless Soup For A Weeks’ Worth Of Lunches
• MYO Cream Of Chicken Soup In A SNAP!
• Potato Soup – A Bone-Warming Meal On A Cold Day
• Planned Leftovers: Beef Stew w/Leftover Pot Roast
• Hot & Hearty Cabbage Stew
• Taco Soup: A Quick Meal For ‘Those Days’
• Lazy-Cooks Italian Soup
• Planned Leftovers: Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Easy Chicken Broth
• Faster, EASIER Homemade Broth In An Instant Pot
• (Pressure Canning Broth)

See All Our Soup Recipes

Other Simple-Life Articles

• Living Deliberately: Voluntary Simplicity
• How Would Grandma Have Done It?
• Doing Things The Old Way
• Grandma-Approved Cleaning For A Cozy Home
• How To Live The Simple Life Even In An HOA
• Passive Solar Energy Tricks
• Using The Sun: Solar Cooking
• Easy Laundry Detergent Recipe
• How To Make Your Own Laundry-Scent Booster
• Easy Air Freshener In Cute Repurposed Jar
• Lavender-Scented Gardener’s Hand Scrub
• Building Your Life With Your Own Two Hands
• The Fast Life: Slowing Down, Living MORE!

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Reference: Ball’s Website – Canning Chicken Stock