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My step-dad always boils the bones from the deer he has harvested and cans the broth. It is a great way to use every part of the animal possible.

hmm, never thought of that Rohn, great idea. Thanks for sharing it.

Even better if you can roast the bones first.

I have a question here and hopefully someone can answer......my broths almost always are cloudy and not clear. Except one batch of chicken broth did come out clear and I'm not 100% sure what I did differently.

Since we had baked chicken last night for supper, as soon as we were finished eating, I picked whatever meat was left then started up a small batch of bone broth in the crockpot and left it to cook overnight and will continue to either tonight or maybe tomorrow. When I checked it this morning, it looked fairly clear and not cloudy. I'm confused as to why and was thinking the only possible difference is that I added some salt this time, that I don't normally. Would adding salt, make for a clear broth vs cloudy????

Why do you want clear broth again? I am never too concerned about whether the broth comes out clear or cloudy, so I just honestly don't pay attention. Most of my broths have a bit of salt, pepper, garlic and vinegar in them and usually onion and meat scraps as well. It is never what I would call clear. Usually it will gel when it cools as well.

It has to do with the mineral content of the water you are adding to the pot to make the stock/broth. If you use bottled distilled water it will be clear. The same goes for iced tea and making crystal clear ice cubes. If you want a clear end product you need distilled water to start with. I personally don’t care if it’s cloudy and refuse to pay for distilled water.

I knew some smart person would have the answer.

But won't more minerals seeped from the bones mean more cloudiness as well then? If that is the case we should all be shooting for a cloudy bone broth.

Yes, but we are talking about different minerals from the bones. Adding a splash of vinegar is helpful to pull more minerals out of the bones and also to settle them down and give a bit less cloudiness to the end product.

The minerals in the water that affect the cloudiness are more likely calcium and lime.

Think of how you add vinegar to the pot of water when canning to keep the mineral/lime scale from setting on the glass jars, same effect with the broth.

No it really doesn't matter to me if it's cloudy or clear. It was just a difference I've been curious about. It still tastes the same and gels the same, so really no biggy. Just wondering.

I have never used distilled or bottled water for broth. It all comes from the same tap.

I always add the vinegar. I hope that it is pulling calcium out of the bones as well as other minerals.