How to Make the Ultimate Carnivore Bone Broth

Carnivore bone broth is packed full of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Unctuous and fatty, it’s a delicious and satisfying addition to any animal based diet.

For the month of September, my husband and I decided to try a carnivore diet. We already eat very animal based meals, so to go a little further in that direction seemed like an interesting experiment to try together. Plus our toddler loves her steak, so why not make it more of a staple?

The carnivore diet takes on many different definitions depending on how strict it needs to be. It’s basically an elimination diet that can be used to treat health issues. Some people with autoimmune disorders have found relief from their symptoms by consuming only ruminant meat, salt, and water. This is called The Lion Diet. Beyond that, a carnivore diet can be any way of eating that prioritizes animal based foods.

I love this bone broth because it’s an easy way to get more protein and salt without needing to cook an entire meal. I use a hot cup of this bone broth as a meal supplement in the middle of the day when I’m not that hungry, and need something small and quick. It’s also packed with collagen which is phenomenal for joints, hair, skin, and nails.

Chicken feet and organ meats weird you out?

That’s totally understandable. We’re not raised in a culture that eats nose to tail let alone even knows where our food comes from most of the time. To be frank, I came to find our culture’s relationship with food to be disrespectful and unhealthy. Not only did I find it to be disrespectful to the animal that gave its life for my sustenance that I would only eat a part of it and the rest would be discarded, but I also found tons of health benefits to finding ways to use different parts of the entire animal.

Organ meats such as cow hearts are a nutrient powerhouse. And throwing chicken feet from a local farm into this bone broth makes it super easy to get some much needed collagen into your diet. There are tons of benefits to stepping out of your comfort zone and incorporating nontraditional parts of the animal.

However, if it remains a dealbreaker or you don’t have local access, then just omit what you would like out of this broth recipe. Carnivore bone broth can just consists of chicken bones and still be a great source of protein and minerals. Either way, give this a try, and see how you like it.

The benefits of carnivore bone broth

Why should you even go through all the trouble and ick of making this? My two main reasons are health and flavor. Those are always the two elements I’m trying to achieve in my cooking. That means I try to learn from culinary experts on what makes something tasty and then try to replicate that in my own kitchen using healthy ingredients.

1. Health – We hear the word “superfood” thrown around a lot, and most of the time it’s used simply as a marketing buzzword. However, this bone broth is truly a superfood. The two main nutrients that it provides is collagen and protein. It’s also packed with minerals, and it’s super gut-healthy and anti-inflammatory. Learn a little more about it here.
2. Flavor – Homemade broth is a staple in high-end cuisine and for good reason. It can add an unmatched depth of flavor to any ingredient it touches. Fine dining chefs know that the more they can incorporate scratch made broth, the more their food will draw in a crowd.

Carnivore bone broth ingredients

Firstly, I must mention that the best place to get all of these ingredients is from a local butcher. Do a quick Google search for one near you. It’s important to source these “spare parts” of the animal from a place that processes the entire animal at a local level.

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH MEANS I MAKE A SMALL COMMISSION AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

The supplies

I roast the bones in the oven on a sheet pan before adding to the stock pot with lots of water. When it’s finally done simmering, the big bones and pieces get pulled out with a pair of tongs and strained through a colander, and the small bits and pieces get strained again through a strainer and a cheesecloth. And using a funnel makes it easier to get all of the broth inside the mason jars.

• Sheet pan
• Stock pot
• A pair of tongs
• Colander
• Small strainer
• Cheesecloth
• Funnel
• Mason jars

Making carnivore bone broth

This is going to be an easy prep and a long roast time. My suggested timeline is to start one evening, let it simmer overnight, and finish the next evening.

Roast the bones

Let’s start by roasting the bones. I line two sheet pans with aluminum foil and grease with butter or your choice of animal fat. I have a duck fat spray that’s perfect for this. Next, I lay the bones and the chicken feet with enough space in between that they’re not touching.

Roast at 400F/200C for about 20 minutes. This is entirely up to you how brown you want your bones to be. Twenty minutes seems to be the sweet spot for me. You’re looking for a solid maillard reaction.

Transfer to the stock pot

Next I grab a pair of tongs and move all of the chicken feet, beef heart, and marrow bones to the stock pot. I always have a gallon sized bag of chicken bones in my freezer because I save them when I make roasted whole chickens. They get thrown in the pot as well as a package of pork belly.

Fill with water

I fill the stock pot with water just enough to top all of the bones. I prefer my stock to be fairly concentrated, so if you want it to be more watered down, add more water. If you run out of room in your pot, you can always add water later after some has evaporated and it’s reduced down.

Afterwards, I’ll bring it up to a low simmer and do a little heat management to keep it there. We don’t need a rolling boil. If it accidentally gets to a boil, don’t fret. Just bring the temperature down, and try to get it back down to a bubble.

Skim the scum

I know; I’m sorry. “Skim the scum” sounds terrible. It’s just a fun way of saying the bubbles that rise to the surface need to be removed. I check the broth every ten minutes or so in the first hour to do this as the bubbles appear. I keep a mug and a ladle right next to the pot.

The most efficient way to do the skimming is with a ladle. I learned from a chef that the easiest method is to swirl the bottom of the ladle spoon on the top of the broth. This moves all the bubbles to the outside edge of the pot where you can scoop them all up at once. After I’ve filled up the mug, I dump it down the sink.

Important note: Don’t stir the broth. Just use the ladle to skim the top. Stirring makes the finished broth look cloudy and unappetizing.

Simmer, simmer, simmer

Once it’s at a stable, low and slow simmer, let it sit. Don’t touch it. Don’t ever stir it. After about 24 hours, it will have reduced about halfway and look something similar to this:

Then pull the pot off the stove and place the colander inside of another pot or bowl. I like to do this in the sink to minimize any mess. Using a pair of tongs, remove all of the big pieces and bones and transfer them all to the colander. Don’t forget to pour the collected broth from these bones into your mason jars!

Strain the carnivore bone broth

Finally we can strain out the small bits and pieces out of our broth. I like to place a cheesecloth lined strainer on top of a funnel that gets positioned on my mason jar.

When pouring, leave about 2 inches head space if you’re planning to freeze it. When frozen, the liquid expands and, if enough room isn’t left at the top, it will burst out of the jar. Before I knew this, I have had glass jars break in the freezer.

After the jars are filled, you’ll have this beautiful amber liquid gold that will elevate every dish to the nth degree. Because of all the collagen from the beef bones and chicken feet, the broth will gelatinize after it cools, and it will come out looking like this. And that’s how you know it’s good.

Save the image below to Pinterest to reference back to if you need to source the ingredients first. Have you tried this carnivore bone broth? Leave a comment below on how yours turned out! Try this other bone broth recipe too.