What To Do With Left Over Bones
I have had some soup bones in my freezer for quite some time. I have the chicken stock recipe mastered and now I have the beef stock recipe tackled.
Beef broth is a bit more challenging to make. The finished product should be a jelly like substance (cold) and then quickly turns to a liquid broth once heated.
There are several key elements that are very important when making a homemade beef stock and I will go over them in this post.
A Step by Step Guide To Making Bone Broth
The first things you want to get are some good beef soup bones and neck bones from a grass fed source if possible. I buy a quarter side of beef every 4-6 months so I always request these bones when the butcher is asking for my cuts.
You should also be able to get healthy bones from your local health food store. You might be surprised how much meat is still attached to these bones. This will add some great flavor to your broth. This recipe is adapted from the Weston A Price Foundation’s recipe.
The first thing you want to do is brown your bones on both sides. I just browned my Soup bones. Once browned Remove from pan and add to stock pot. Add some hot liquid to the pan that you just browned the bones and heat to a boil and scrape all the little bits of flavor off the pan and add that to the stock pot. If your bones are too big to brown on the stove top, you can add them to a roasting pan and roast them in a 350º F oven for 20-30 minutes or until browned.
Add the neck bones to the stock pot and 1/2 cup of vinegar. I used organic apple cider vinegar.
Add enough filtered water to cover the bones. I added about 5 quarts of water.
Allow to sit for 1 hour at room temperature. This is a very important step. This helps in pulling the natural gelatin out of the bones making your broth very nutritional.
Add chopped celery, carrots and onions to the stockpot. I used about 3 stalks of celery and the leaves, 3 large carrots, and 2 large onions. Add some herbs at this point. I added about 5 sprigs of fresh thyme and 3 bay leaves. I did not add any salt or pepper. I like my stock to be a virgin stock and prefer to add my salt before serving.
Bring stock to boil and scrape the scum off. This is a key step to tasty stock. If you are using grass fed bones, you will have very little scum to scrape off the top. If you are using conventional beef bones, you will have quite a bit to scrape off. If the scum is not scraped off, this could alter the taste of your stock to a less desired flavor.
Reduce heat to the lowest setting. You are looking for a very low simmer with just a bubble or two popping up in the center. Cover your stock pot and cook for 24-72 hours. I cooked mine for 24 hours.
Strain your vegetable beef mixture out of broth. I use a colander to get all the big stuff out and then I run it through a fine strainer (what I would sift flour in) to get all the finer pieces out.
Discard the vegetable and you can use the meat in a casserole or in some fajitas. Also, the marrow (the substance in the middle of the soup bones) is absolutely wonderful spread on some healthy toast or crackers.
Cool and refrigerate stock overnight.
Once chilled, remove the fat that has hardened on top of the stock. Reserve fat in a mason jar and use the fat to sauté vegetable in.
You will notice once the fat is removed that you have a thick jelly like substance. This is what you are looking for.
The gelatin has been extracted from the bones creating a nutrient dense stock that has a jello like consistency. Once you reheat the stock on the stove, it will return to a thin traditional stock that is full of amazing flavors and is absolutely wonderful for you!
Click here to learn more about the amazing health benefits of bone broth!
This stock can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and can be frozen for up to 6 months.
How To Make Organic Beef Stock (Bone Broth)
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours 20 minutes
Yield: 15 cups 1x
Category: side dish
Method: stovetop
Cuisine: american
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Learn how to make a nutrient dense traditional organic beef stock.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds grass fed beef soup bones (beef marrow and knuckle bones)
- 3 pounds grass fed neck bones or meaty rib bones
- 1/2 cup organic vinegar (I used organic apple cider vinegar)
- 4–5 quarts of filtered water
- 3 ribs of celery with leaves, chopped
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 large onions chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper if desired
Instructions
- See instructions above for detailed instructions.
Notes
Please note: It is hard for me to provide nutritional information for this recipe because the cuts of meat that one may use, the amount of vegetables used and if grass fed meat or conventional meat are used. These factors would all change the nutritional information significantly. This stock is full of protein and low in calories and carbohydrates.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
I made my last batch very similar except no vinegar. Does it draw out more of the marrow?
When do you add the vinegar, Halle? With the filtered water?
The vinegar aids in extracting the gelatin out of the bones. Yes you add it with the filtered water Julie
@ Rhonda did you have a really thick and jelly like broth?
Sometimes my food co-op has soup bones that look like dinosaur femurs or things you’d toss to a huge cartoon dog. Not the right size or shape to brown in a pan. Could these be roasted in the oven to bring out the flavor?
It wasn’t as thick as I would have liked so definitely vinegar next time. : )
absolutely Julie! Put in a roasting pan and roast on 350 F until brown, 20-30 min
As always, thanks!
I’ve tried making beef stock several times and have not been able to get a thick gelatin consistency. The taste was not good either. I followed the necessary steps. What am I doing wrong?
@Daryl Ann Are you using bones from a healthy source and are they grass fed? Also are you skimming the scum off?
@hallecottis Yes. I skimmed off all the scum. I did not use bones from grass fed beef.
@Daryl Ann Getting bones from a healthy source of meat (grass fed) is imperative to making great stock. Lots of times the butcher will give them out for almost free.
This is the first time I made grass fed beef bone broth i didn’t know I was to put vegetables in it at this point it has simmered Low for 24 hours, wondering if I can save my oops turn it to soup, what do you think? Thank you
I realize this is a very old post but it came up while searching for grassfed bone broth recipe. My question is why throw away the vegetables? When I make turkey or chicken broth I always love the carrots and celery after straining. I’m getting ready to make beef broth using grassfed beef bones and veggies from our garden. Any reason not to save the veggies?
You certainly can use them, but they cook for so long that they are really quite soggy and a bit over cooked.
Hi Halle,
I am making my first ever batch of beef stock. I did 2 lbs of grass fed marrow bones, carrots onions and celery, with one gallon of water. I have literally had zero scum to skim off. It’s worrying me. Does this mean I did something wrong? I roasted the bones first, then added the acv with the water, brought to a boil then reduced heat to a few bubbles. But I literally have not had anything to skim off the top.
I wouldn’t worry about it at all. One of my batches had very little scum and it was amazing!
I JUST MADE BEEF BROTH FOR THE FIRST TIME. I THINK IT TURNED OUT GREAT.
QUESTION: THERE IS A LOT OF MEAT ON THE BONES. CAN I USE THAT FOR BEEF AND NOODLES?
Happy it turned out for you Marita! I’m not sure the meat left on the bones will have much flavor and my guess is that it will be quite overcooked after the long cook time for the broth. You could try it, but I don’t think it will be too palatable.