Wild Broth

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I get this good feeling when my refrigerator is empty. Call me crazy. But I have an inkling it has to do with what comes of being more self sufficient. In this case, I was taking on wild boar and wild chicken – both products of our annual Earth Day Rising event – the first year I provided food! I offered a sliding scale donation based buffet table – an array of salads, chutneys, pickles, fritters, poi, dressings, and wild kalua pig, mamay sapote and taro chia seed pudding as well as cold pressed coffee with homemade almond milk – all on the table.  It was a hit.
So as a result, I had lots of bones to work with.
Nicolai Barca provided the bone-in meat, 2 legs and one side rib. He and his friend Evan hunted the pig in Princeville. On the day of our event, Nicolai also educated a crowd of folks on how to slaughter and butcher wild chickens. Yes, this is the kind of event we run 😉
So as you see on the left, I have a pot full of 4 whole chickens including organs and feet. And on the right, a pot full of rib bones and whatever intercostal meat in between as well as leg and hip bones which contain some awesome cartilage.
If you haven’t heard about using Green Papaya to help tenderize meat, you’re reading it here – it’s image_4awesome! Into the chicken pot went:
  • 4 whole wild chickens
  • green papaya from 1 unripe papaya, seeds and skin removed
  • 2 small organic red onions
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 2 large rosemary sprigs
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • leftover brine from pickled radish (*completely optional – however it did add some awesome flavor)
  • water to cover the carcass
Method: Bring the pot to a gentle boil, reduce heat and cover and cook for 1 full day – add water or liquid if it gets below the 3/4 line of your pot. About 1/2 way through the day, add a generous dose of sea salt, stir and keep cooking.
Turn off your pot and allow to cool. Strain your stock into clean jars. Pull your bones out, reserving meat in a tupperware and feed the leftovers to your pigs – Oh, and if you don’t have pigs, try digging a hold and plant the bones in your back yard by a tree. Let nothing go to waste!
As for the boar broth:
  • Take whatever pig bones were left from trimming muscle meat off
  • add 1-2 large onions
  • a few bay leaves
  • 1/2 – 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • water to cover
Method: The process is the same for all bone broth. Add salt somewhere in between. Add different herbs if you like. For this I kept the stock simple because I didn’t have the meat to also flavor and tenderize like I did with the chicken. Cook for a day and a half if can. Strain into large mason jars.
How to use homemade stock?
A great medium for cooking rice, pasta and vegetables. It adds a whole new dimension of flavor and richness. Enjoy all the benefits of wholesome sustainable nourishment.
broth