Meat Stock vs. Bone Broth

When I was preparing to begin the GAPS diet back in 2017 I was practicing by making bone broth each week. I was freezing it into portions to have a nice supply ready for when we began. I was reading through the GAPS book and a cookbook I was preparing to use and came across something called meat stock. I quickly realized that I was supposed to be making meat stock for GAPS and not bone broth. I had a bit of a mental breakdown in that realization. I panicked a little and then got back to work. I had to figure out meat stock.

I quickly learned just how simple meat stock was to make. Later on – probably much later on – I laughed at myself at my initial response to the realization that I had been making the wrong golden elixir for the task before me. And as I grew in my knowledge of GAPS, coupled with my training in 2020 to become a certified GAPS coach, I learned why GAPS starts with meat stock and not bone broth. Their terms tend to be interchangeable in society but they have some significant differences to their structures that make them more suited to different parts of the healing journey.

Meat Stock vs Bone Broth

Meat stock should be consumed at the beginning, and for the duration, of the gut-healing protocol. Meat stock is a shorter cook made with meaty bones. Think raw cuts of meat that have joints and tendons: whole chicken, thighs, legs, quarters, feet, necks, backs, ox tail, shanks, soup bones, and so on. These meaty bones with their joints and ligaments are cooked low and slow for a shorter time – shorter compared to bone broth – in order to pull the necessary amino acids from the joints and ligaments. Meat stock, due to its shorter cook, has a generous amount of proline and glycine. These two amino acids, specifically, are needed in large amounts to heal and seal the gut wall. Meat stock is also significantly lower in histamines due to its shorter cook time.

Bone Broth is an advanced GAPS food – a food to be consume when the junctions of the gut are tight. You take leftover bones from previous meals – think picked-over bones. Bone broth is made from a long, slow simmer of bones. It can be anywhere from 12-72 hours. Bone broth also contains proline and glycine but in lesser amounts. It is a wonderful, healing elixir but one that should be consumed much further into healing. It could be looked at as more of a maintenance-type food for the gut.

Bone broth is also higher in histamines due to the longer cook time. Essentially, bone broth is one molecule away from containing Monosodium Glutamate MSG. MSG, and glutamates, can cause neurological issues to intensify for those who deal with them. This is why some people can feel worse consuming bone broth.

Meat Stock First, Bone Broth Second

After you have had significant healing and the junctions of your gut are nice and tight you can move to consuming bone broth as a good maintenance food for the gut. Both of these golden elixirs are beneficial to the body and should be consumed at the correct time.

I prefer meat stock for its flavor but also like that you can have an entire meal out of a batch of meat stock since it is made with meaty bones that will provide you with cooked meat along with the stock.

Save the bones from your meat stock to make bone broth later. This is a very traditional method of eating “nose to tail” and using every part of the animal. Nothing goes to waste and BONUS: you get gut-healing benefits!

Meat stock and bone broth are both great for using as the base of soups or stews. I will use them as a substitution for cooking rice, noddles or steaming veggies.

For a simple meat stock recipe look at my recipes tab here and scroll down until you find it.