A Tipi Tale & Chicken Feet Broth

JudyJo’s tipi that she constructed, north of Ft. Collins, Colorado.

My wife JudyJo, who was living in a tipi in Colorado when I met her, used to call January “men in the lodges season." Today it got up to 68 degrees so it was not a typical winter day, and certainly not a “men in the lodges” kind of day.

However, by the time you read this it will probably be much colder with some winter weather in the forecast.

We think cold weather is a good time to make bone broth and to that end we are promoting our chicken feet to make the broth! Have you ever used chicken feet for bone broth? In our modern world, we have moved away from using whole animals. While perhaps it may be a bit odd looking, the cluster of feet simmering in your stock pot or instant pot, bone broth made from chicken feet provides an incredible source of collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin and more. And if you’re fighting a cold or other sickness this winter, you won’t be disappointed to have some of this nutritious broth on hand.

When we process our chicken, the skin on the feet is removed. The feet are very clean and sanitary, so no further cleaning is necessary.

With a quick google search, many recipes and more information can be found regarding bone broth.

Our chicken feet come in 1-2 lb packages.

Here’s JudyJo’s process to make chicken broth for our family.

Place chicken feet in stockpot or instant pot insert. Fill with water, until the feet/bones are covered by approximately 1 inch.

Roughly chop 1 onion, 2 stalks of celery, 3 cloves of garlic, a couple tablespoons of fresh ginger. Add 2 T sage and a couple sprigs of rosemary or 2 T rosemary, and salt according to your taste. Add 1 T apple cider vinegar as this helps draw out the nutrients in the bones and joints.

If using an instant pot, set on high pressure for 1.5 hours. If using stockpot on stove, simmer for 5-6 hours. You want it to just barely simmer, not boil.

Let it cool and strain the broth.

Need further instruction? Here’s another recipe that our daughter uses.

Where can you get these amazing feet and get started?

Horrmann Meats across from Hy-Vee on Battlefield in Springfield has them on sale! We have discounted the price to Seth and his team and they will pass the savings along to you.

And on the farm, you can get them for $1.03/lb! Just contact us ahead of time, to arrange picking them up. Wednesdays are usually the best day for us.

We also have a few packages of beef bones available on the farm, $3.30/lb and we have whole frozen chicken.

Springfield, we plan to make a trip to deliver chicken in February. We will be in touch with the date/time.

Happy broth making friends!