Can I Make Bone Broth In A Slow Cooker? | Slow Simmer Magic

Yes, a slow cooker can make rich, gelled bone broth when you simmer the bones on low heat with enough water for 12 to 24 hours.

Slow cookers handle bone broth well because they keep a steady low temperature for many hours without fuss. You add bones, water, a splash of acid, and a few aromatics, then let gentle heat pull collagen, flavor, and gelatin from the bones while you get on with your day.

What Bone Broth Is And Why People Make It

Bone broth is a long cooked liquid made from animal bones, connective tissue, and often vegetables. The extended simmer gives more time for collagen and other components to move into the water, which sets the broth apart from lighter stocks that simmer only a few hours.

Writers and clinicians often point to protein, collagen, and small amounts of minerals in bone broth. Harvard Health’s overview of bone broth notes that a cup usually brings around 8 to 10 grams of protein along with small amounts of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, while Cleveland Clinic guidance on bone broth stresses that it should sit beside, not replace, a balanced pattern of eating.

Bone Broth Versus Regular Stock

A classic stock starts with bones and aromatic vegetables, then simmers three to four hours. A bone broth pot usually runs at least 10 to 12 hours, and many cooks push that to 24 hours or more for beef. That extra time gives a thicker body and more concentrated flavor, and when the broth cools in the fridge you often see a wobbly gel and a cap of fat on top.

Making Bone Broth In A Slow Cooker For Gelatin Rich Results

A slow cooker gives consistent gentle heat so you can leave the broth alone while you sleep or head to work. The goal is steady heat in a safe range, not a roaring boil that shakes the pot and clouds the liquid.

Core Ingredients

You can use chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, or fish bones in a slow cooker. Leftover roasted bones from dinner work well, and raw bones from the butcher are fine too. Backs, necks, wings, feet, knuckles, and marrow bones carry plenty of connective tissue.

For each three to four pounds of bones, plan on about three quarts of water. Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar or lemon juice to help pull minerals and collagen from the bones, then toss in onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and a few herb stems.

Step By Step Slow Cooker Method

Use this method as a base and adjust once you know how your slow cooker behaves.

1. Prepare the bones. Blanch raw bones briefly in simmering water or roast them in a hot oven until browned.
2. Load the slow cooker. Place bones in the crock, add vegetables and spices, then pour in cool water until the bones are just covered, leaving an inch of headspace.
3. Add acid and set to low. Stir in vinegar or lemon juice, secure the lid, and set the cooker to low so the broth reaches a gentle simmer.
4. Skim early foam. During the first hour, skim off gray foam that rises to the top.
5. Let it go for 12 to 24 hours. Poultry bones usually give plenty of body by 12 to 18 hours, while beef or pork bones may need closer to 18 to 24 hours.
6. Strain and cool. When the broth tastes rich and the bones look chalky, switch off the cooker and strain through a fine mesh sieve into shallow containers.
7. Chill and store. Cool in the fridge, lift off any solid fat if you prefer, and label jars with the date and type of bones.

Slow Cooker Bone Broth Time And Bone Type Guide

The times below give a starting range. Some slow cookers run hotter or cooler, so adjust after a trial batch.

Bone Type	What It Adds	Slow Cooker Time Range
Chicken backs and necks	Balanced flavor, gentle body	10–14 hours on low
Chicken feet and wings	Extra gelatin, silky texture	12–18 hours on low
Turkey carcass	Deeper poultry flavor	12–18 hours on low
Beef marrow bones	Rich mouthfeel, mild beef taste	18–24 hours on low
Beef knuckles and joints	High gelatin, firm gel in fridge	18–26 hours on low
Pork neck bones	Savory body with mild sweetness	16–22 hours on low
Fish heads and frames	Light, clean flavor	4–6 hours on low

Food Safety Tips For Long Simmering

Since bone broth sits warm for so long, safety matters as much as flavor. The aim is to keep broth either hot enough during cooking or cold enough during storage so bacteria never have a chance to grow.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service warns about the band between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, often called the danger zone for cooked food. USDA’s food safety danger zone chart explains that cooked dishes should stay at or above 140 degrees when held hot and should move through this middle band quickly during cooling.

During cooking, keep the slow cooker set to low or high, not warm. Warm is handy once broth has already boiled hard, yet for many models it may dip too close to the danger zone for long stretches.

When you stop the slow cooker, strain the broth into shallow containers no deeper than a few inches, then place them in the fridge so the liquid cools past the danger zone within a couple of hours. Leaving a full crock of hot broth on the counter overnight is not safe.

For longer storage, chill the broth first, then freeze in wide mouth jars or sturdy containers with headspace. Guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation instructions for meat stock shows how closely time and temperature tie into safe handling.

Tuning Flavor And Texture

Once you trust the basic method, you can fine tune flavor and texture to match how you plan to drink or cook with the broth.

Roasting And Browning Bones

Roasting bones before they go into the slow cooker adds toasted notes and darker color. Spread bones on a baking sheet, brush with a thin coat of oil, and brown them in a hot oven until the edges darken, then transfer them to the crock and add water and seasonings.

Vegetables, Herbs, And Acid

Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leeks, parsnips, herb stems, and mushroom trimmings all work well. Avoid too many bitter vegetables such as large cabbage wedges, since they can leave the broth harsh after a long cook. A spoon or two of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice helps break down connective tissue and adds a hint of brightness.

Common Slow Cooker Bone Broth Questions

Home cooks who wonder about slow cooker bone broth often have follow up questions about time, equipment, and how to use the jars they stack in the freezer from time to time.

Can I Make Bone Broth In A Slow Cooker For 24 Hours?

A full day on low heat is common for beef and pork bones. Many extension and safety resources note that broth can simmer many hours as long as it stays above 140 degrees Fahrenheit during the cook.

How Salty Should Slow Cooker Bone Broth Be?

For a broth that you plan to sip from a mug, a light pinch of salt during cooking can help flavor along. If you want a base for soups, sauces, or grains, leave salt until the end so you can adjust once the dish comes together. Articles on bone broth and health, such as Harvard Health’s bone broth discussion and Cleveland Clinic articles on broth and wellness, point out that homemade versions let you tailor salt intake while still bringing warmth and flavor.

Best Ways To Use Finished Broth

Keep a jar of chilled broth in the fridge for quick cooking. Use it to cook rice, quinoa, or other grains, stir it into pan sauces, or deglaze a skillet after searing meat or vegetables. A warm mug with a pinch of sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, and a twist of black pepper makes a simple comforting snack. Leftover broth freezes well in small portions.

Slow Cooker Bone Broth Troubleshooting Guide

Small tweaks often fix batches that seem cloudy, bland, or too fatty. Use this table as a quick reference.

Issue	Likely Cause	Simple Fix
Broth tastes weak	Too much water or short cook	Simmer longer with lid ajar to reduce
Broth tastes too salty	Salt added early or salty bones	Top up with unsalted water or mix with unsalted batch
No gel in the fridge	Few joints or feet, or short cook	Add more collagen rich bones next time and cook longer
Thick layer of fat on top	Fatty bones or skins	Chill, lift off fat, and save it for cooking
Cloudy broth	Hard boil or heavy stirring	Keep heat on low and avoid rapid boiling
Bitter taste	Over roasted bones or burned vegetables	Use moderate roasting and trim blackened parts

Practical Takeaways For Home Cooks

A slow cooker keeps bone broth almost effortless. You load the crock at night, wake to a kitchen that smells like soup, and strain a pot of golden liquid that sets into gentle gel in the fridge.

Use a mix of bones rich in connective tissue, give them plenty of time on low heat, and treat safety steps as part of the recipe. Stay out of the danger zone for long stretches, cool the finished broth fast, and store it in clearly dated containers so you rotate through your supply.