Bone Soup

I was shown a recipe to make to help rebuild bone and cartilage by my acupuncturist - Eileen Han.

She has done an excellent job with my lingering-for-years cough and I think she has it finally licked.  I was told by my dentist that I had weak gum tissue and I needed to have gum grafting.  After discussing it with a specialist and hearing that it might not take due to thin tissue, I asked Eileen about it.

She recommended that I try the bone soup for a few months to see if it would make a difference.  Full service is what I got.  First she took me to 99 Ranch Market to buy some pork bones.  Made sure to have them cut the bones into smaller pieces.  Once we got home, she showed me how to prepare the bones and make the soup.

After the first batch, I went out to buy some more bones and attempt the bone preparation and soup myself.

I went to SF Supermarket to buy some pork soup bones as 99 Ranch did not have any in stock.  It was cheaper at SF Supermarket.

I got three pieces and had them cut the bones up for me which resulted in 18 pieces.

Then it all went into a pot of water at a very low simmer (no boiling) to release the blood and lymph.  My stove has settings from 1 to 10 and I had it at 1.

After about 90 minutes, the pot looked like this.

After rinsing under running water, the bones are placed on a baking dish (lined with foil).

I washed the pot and filled it with water with 3 stalks of green onions and cut and smashed ginger and heated to a low simmer.

After 30 minutes at in the oven at 385 degrees, the bones were done.  I then rinsed the bones under running water.

I then placed three pieces in the pot of warming water and heated to a boil for 10 to 15 minutes then simmered for 4 to 6 hours.  

The broth stayed clear but I skimmed off the small layer of fat.

I placed the remaining pieces in a plastic container for the freezer for my next pots of bone soup.

I drink two cups per day and just reheat the pot as I go.  When I need to use the pot, I transfer the soup into mason jars.  The soup is gone with 5 days.