How to Use Frozen Bones for Bone Broth?
I've watched lots of videos on how to prepare bone broths. However, I haven't found much information about making it directly from frozen bones.
I have understood that I should move frozen bones from the freezer to the fridge at least 1 day or 2 days before to be safe. (If I want to use them normal way)
Or that I should put those frozen bones in cold water for at least 1 hour before use.
But if I want to use them directly from frozen? Can I? (without roasting them, directly just like that)
If I use a Pressure Cooker, on Low or High Pressure, I don't think there is any problem.
But if I want to use a Slow Cooker?
Generally, for frozen meat, they advice to set on High (Slow Cooker) for 1 hour and then move to Low.
But is it safe to do the same with frozen bones? From a bacterial point of view? Or should I boil them in a stove pot before (for how long?) and then transfer them to the Slow Cooker?
Maybe I'm overthinking it too much but I prefer to understand the process if possible.
Thanks for your help.
Best Answer
The key concept is the food safety 'danger zone'. There is no reason to treat bones (which will have traces of meat on them) differently to meat.
Whatever temperature they start at, you want to avoid the bones spending too much time in the danger zone temperatures. Starting from fridge temperatures rather than freezer temperatures helps this because your stove or cooker will be able to bring them to a cooking temperature faster.
As long as the quantity of bones isn't huge, starting from frozen in a pressure cooker or on a stovetop should have no problem getting to a cooking temperature quickly, but a slow cooker on its low setting might be an issue, as you have noted – follow the advice for frozen meat of using the high setting initially.
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Quick Answer about "How to Use Frozen Bones for Bone Broth?"
Thawed bones will be easier to pack into the pot, but frozen is ok if it's all you have. If the bones are frozen in big chunks, leaving lots of open space in your pot, consider adding less water or plan to move the bones around once they have thawed in the water.Do you need to defrost chicken bones before making bone broth?
It should be completely defrosted, or close to, by then. Microwave it for 5-10 minutes until it's melted. Or, you can simply run hot water over the container until it's loose, then pop it out and place the big frozen chunk of chicken stock in a pot to heat up on the stove. I use this same method with frozen soup.How do you roast frozen bones for broth?
Tossing them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes will brown them for you and you're not too worried about getting the insides cooked (the core reason to why people don't try to roast frozen meat).How do you blanch frozen bones?
Blanch your bonesIn a large saucepan or stockpot, cover your intended bones with cold water and heat to a boil. Cook on high for 20 minutes before rinsing and transferring to a roasting pan.Can you cook bone broth from frozen?
If you are using a couple of ice cubes of the bone broth, then you can use them from frozen. Just take them out of the bag, pop them straight into the pan, and use a low heat to heat the pan and the broth before adding the rest of your ingredients.3 Ways To Freeze Bone Broth
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Answer 2
I use frozen bones from my butcher.
I put them frozen in the oven at high heat (with onions and other vegetables).
I will let them roast from frozen until nice color and put them in pot with water, boil and reduce temp to a simmer.
You could put them in the pot frozen and start your broth the same way you'd do with unfrozen bones.
Answer 3
There shouldn't be any problems in using frozen bones to make stock without thawing in a pressure cooker or regular cooking, you'd just crank up the heat until the bones are thawed, there's no safety concerns with that approach.
If you are going to put them in a slow cooker unattended from frozen the bones could go bad before they heat up enough for safety. However, you probably could deal with that by pouring boiling water on them instead of room temperature to get the process started. It's probably easier to just let them thaw out overnight in the fridge though. If you are around then setting it to high until the water heats up to a safe temperature will be fine. I wouldn't do 1 hour on high and then turn to low, measure the water temperature and keep it on high until it warms up enough.
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