How Do You Make Beef Broth

Beef Bone Broth

December 30, 2014

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone

The longer you cook this nourishing broth, the more savory and concentrated it will become. Roasting the bones and vegetables beforehand will add even more flavor and richness. Season with salt and sip this restorative broth on its own, use it as a cooking liquid for grains or legumes, or deploy it as a base for hearty sauces and healthy soups.

Ingredients

Makes about 8 cups of broth, depending on cooking time

4 pounds beef bones, preferably a mix of marrow bones and bones with a little meat on them, such as oxtail, short ribs, or knuckle bones (cut in half by a butcher)

2 medium unpeeled carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium leek, end trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium onion, quartered

1 garlic head, halved crosswise

2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Special equipment:

6-quart (or larger) stockpot or a large slow cooker

Step 1

Preheat oven to 450°F. Place beef bones, carrots, leek, onion, and garlic on a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Toss the contents of the pan and continue to roast until deeply browned, about 20 minutes more.

Step 2

Fill a large (at least 6-quart) stockpot with 12 cups of water (preferably filtered) . Add celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and vinegar. Scrape the roasted bones and vegetables into the pot along with any juices. Add more water if necessary to cover bones and vegetables.

Step 3

Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook with lid slightly ajar, skimming foam and excess fat occasionally, for at least 8 but up to 24 hours on the stovetop. (Do not leave on stovetop unattended, simply cool and continue simmering the next day.) The longer you simmer it, the better your broth will be. Add more water if necessary to ensure bones and vegetables are fully submerged. Alternately, you can cook the broth in a slow cooker on low for the same amount of time.

Step 4

Remove the pot from the heat and let cool slightly. Strain broth using a fine-mesh sieve and discard bones and vegetables. Let continue to cool until barely warm, then refrigerate in smaller containers overnight. Remove solidified fat from the top of the chilled broth.

Do Ahead:

Broth can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

How would you rate Beef Bone Broth?

Reviews (72)

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• OMG. Fantastic. I never post. But, I needed to make a bone broth for French Onion Soup and for Pho. I bought very expensive beef marrow bones and organic chicken bones. I roasted, organic onion, organic garlic, and organic celery, and organic carrot. It was simmering. I needed broth for the French Onion Soup and then, sieved and chilled for the PHO. It took 24 hours. But, the results were fantastic. I did use whole peppercorns. TWO tablespoons. There was not any issue with the spice. It is a fantastic base. Thank you.

• no matter how low I have the burner, the broth cooks away and many pounds of meat and bones, and I end up with only a few cups.

• Enjoyable would say playing with your own taste is always. Expected

• I always make this in a slow cooker and cook for 24 hours or so. It is delish and you can feel how healthy it is when you drink or eat it. I use this as a base for pho and onion soup. Incorporate marrow bones with bones with some meat for the best result.

• any reason not to use a crock pot for this?

• To weigh in on the great pepperCORN debate... I made this over the course of the last 2 days for use in a beef stew. If I were making this bone broth to eat as a stand-alone, I would likely reduce the peppercorns to 1 T. But, once I browned my stew meat, deglazed my pan with red wine, & added the tomato paste, veggies, and salt, I found the pepper to be well-balanced. And, the house smells amazing!

• This is method works perfectly for any kind of bone broth. I use basically the same thing for chicken and beef, I'm sure it would work with ham. Timeless! If you can wait the full 24 hours, it's worth it to do so. And as to the pepper.. 2T of peppercorns is perfectly fine and not at all peppery. I'm afraid reviewers suggesting otherwise used ground pepper or something. Usually I just eyeball it and if I had to guess, I wind up with somewhere between 1 and 2T, you can't even tell there was pepper added in the final product. It just adds a little vitality to the broth.

• I find it peculiar Rhoda suggests discarding everything, including the bones. The marrow is the best part of it. Also, why cut up the vegetables? Do you think they will contribute more if cut up after all that cooking? Over all, not a bad simple recipe. Bake the bones and then slowly boil with vegies.

• I have made this recipe a couple times now and it always turns out well. It seems some reviewers here (obviously novice cooks) They are all stirred up about the quantity of peppercorns the recipe calls for. If you use the quantity of water to result in 8 cups of broth as the recipe states, this amount is perfectly fine. You need to use whole peppercorns obviously not ground pepper. Some people have either too much time on their hands, or not enough stress in their lives if this is a major issue for them. This broth is excellent alone but my favorite thing to do with it is make minestrone soup.

• I had no issues with this recipe whatsoever and used the two tablespoons of peppercorns. I simmered for about 9.5 hours. The final result was a rich, thick and flavourful broth that I provided a wonderful base for French Onion Soup. Will definitely use this as my 'go to' recipe in the future.

• I really wish I had read the reviews! Too much peppercorn!! I knew better but followed the recipie anyway. 2 tablespoons ruins it completely. So disappointed!

• Whole peppercorns, not ground pepper! Good beef broth even after only 9 hours of cooking.

• Note to reviewers: This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of peppercorns not regular ground pepper.

• Made the broth as instructed above, and it was undrinkable. The excessive amount of pepper made the broth to spicy, most especially after fasting. We habanero sauce regularly, but not after a fast.

• What The….?!?!?!
 This is a cruel practical joke and every prior reviewer is a part of it (with a few exceptions)!
It's impossible that this is other than inedibly disgusting with 2 TABLESPOONS of pepper in it! Yes, I should have known better, however I trusted Epicurious, and I trusted the prior raves. Please don't leave a review without including this glaring error. Even if you give the recipe 4 forks. You must state this error, otherwise you're leading people astray, and toward a waste of perfectly good food, and 24 hours of their lives. 
Maybe, just maybe it should be 2 teaspoons. In any case, Epicurious, please correct your error! Seriously! Please.

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Source: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/beef-bone-broth-51260700

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