Homemade beef bone broth is a frugal and natural way to get more collagen into your diet. This warming bone broth is perfect to consume if you are in need of some extra nourishment.

It’s simple to make and can be used in a huge variety of dishes, or drank on its own. This recipe uses beef bones, but you can make bone broth using pretty much any type of animal bones.

Specifically for this recipe I used beef knuckle and marrow bones. You can also use joints, shank or oxtail to make beef bone broth.

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Benefits of making your own bone broth

Bone broth contains large amounts of collagen, which helps contribute to healthy skin, hair, nails and joints. The process of slowly simmering the bones in water over 12-24 hours extracts the collagen and goodness from the bones.

Making your own bone broth may seem like a lot of extra effort to go to at first. Especially as stock (bouillon) cubes and cartons of bone broth are readily available to buy. However, the more often you make your own bone broth from scratch, the easier it will become.

Consuming a dish that has been prepared with love and intention can provide so much more nutritional value than something that has come out of a carton. You have control over the ingredients and how it has been made. In my opinion, making bone broth from scratch is well worth the effort!

However, if you find yourself short on time then Kettle & Fire is a good brand of readymade bone broth to have on hand.

How to use bone broth

Bone broth can be drunk on its own as a warming drink. It is especially good for newly postpartum mothers in need of energy and replenishment. It is also good for anyone suffering with gut health issues, or for those following the GAPS diet.

Bone broth can be used in any dishes where stock may be called for. You can use it as a base for your soups and stews. It can be added to curry, chilli, risotto and pasta dishes. You can also thicken it by using flour and make in to gravy. It is always worth having some bone broth on hand!

Ingredient Notes

Use organic ingredients wherever possible.

Filter your tap water to help remove chlorine, parasites and any other nasties from your water.

Don’t forget the apple cider vinegar! The acid in the apple cider vinegar helps to extract the minerals and collagen from the bones.

Use good quality salt like pink Himalayan or Celtic sea salt. These contain more minerals than refined table salt.

I sourced my beef bones relatively cheaply from a local butcher. If you don’t have easy access to a butcher then you can buy beef bones from meat companies online.

Alternatively, you could make Chicken Bone Broth instead and use the bones left over from roasting a whole chicken. You can check out my post on how to make Chicken Bone Broth HERE.

The sizes and amounts of vegetables shown in the ingredients list below is just a guideline. You can use slightly more or slightly less, depending on what you have to hand.

You can even use vegetable scraps and peelings, instead of the whole ingredients shown below.

Ingredients:

2-3lbs beef bones (joints, marrow, oxtail, shank or knuckles)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for roasting the bones)
2 medium size carrots
2 celery stalks
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
1.5 litres (6 cups) of filtered water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Equipment:

Casserole dish
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Slow cooker (or large saucepan / stock pot with a lid)
Steamer or colander (for draining the broth)
Mason jar (for storage)

How to make Beef Bone Broth

STEP 1

Place your beef bones in an ovenproof dish and drizzle with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 1 hour at 180°C/350°F, turning the bones over halfway through.

Raw beef bones in large Pyrex dish drizzled with olive oil

After one hour the bones should look something like this.

STEP 2

Whilst the bones are roasting, roughly chop up the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. If your vegetables are organic then you can leave the skins on.

Chopped vegetables on bamboo cutting board

STEP 3

Once the bones have finished roasting place them into the slow cooker (I use a Crock Pot).

Alternatively, you can make your broth on the stove top and use a large saucepan/ stock pot with a lid.

STEP 4

Add all of the other ingredients to the slow cooker, along with approximately 1.5 litres (6 cups) of filtered water.

The amount of water you will need depends on the size of your pan. Leave space of at least an inch or so at the top, so that it doesn’t boil over.

STEP 5

Set the temperature to high.

Once it has begun to bubble, turn the temperature down to a lower setting and allow it to simmer for 12-24 hours.

You can pretty much leave it once you have lowered the heat to a simmer. However, you may want to check on it every now and again to give it a stir, or to add some more water if the level starts to look low.

STEP 6

Once the bone broth is ready you will need to drain the liquid from the solid ingredients.

I use my steamer for this task, so the solid ingredients are caught in the top colander section and the liquid drains through to the saucepan part below.

To avoid splashes you may want to use a large spoon to scoop out the solid ingredients first. Then pour the remaining liquid slowly into the colander.

If you don’t have a steamer then a colander, or sieve, sat over another large saucepan will also work well.

Using a large spoon to remove the solid ingredients from the slow cooker and place inside steamer

STEP 7

Once you have your liquid bone broth you will want to store it in a mason jar, or similar glass container with a lid.

Bone broth can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or the freezer for up to 3 months.

If you are planning on freezing your bone broth, be sure to leave a gap of a couple of centimetres at the top of the jar, as the liquid will expand when it is frozen.

Recipe FAQs

How much does this recipe yield?

This depends on how much water you are able to add to your slow cooker. Typically if I add 1.5 litres (6 cups) of water to the slow cooker, it will yield 1 litre (4 cups) of bone broth.

However, I do usually top it up with more water once or twice over a 12-24 hour period. This is because some of the water will be absorbed by the vegetables and some will evaporate.

Do I have to roast the bones first?

You can make bone broth using raw beef bones. However, roasting them first will provide more depth of flavour.

How many times can I reuse the bones?

Once you have separated the solid ingredients from the liquid broth, you can then return the solid ingredients back to the slow cooker and fill it back up again with water, salt and apple cider vinegar to repeat the process.

You can make several batches of bone broth using the same bones and vegetables!

If you don’t want to make another batch straight away, then you can freeze the beef bones and reuse them again at a later date.

What should I do if a layer of fat forms at the top of my bone broth?

If you use marrow bones then some of the bone marrow will melt during the roasting process. If you leave any of the jelly like marrow inside of the bones then it will form a layer of fat once the bone broth has cooled inside the storage container.

You can just spoon the fat layer off the top before using your bone broth. I then store this fat separately and use it for cooking things like roast potatoes to add extra flavour.

I find the layer of fat is usually present the first time I use the bones, but this doesn’t happen again in subsequent batches.

More Soup & Stew Recipes from Green Homemaking:

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Beef Bone Broth

Table of Contents:

Benefits of making your own bone broth

How to use bone broth

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients: