I love to make beef bone broth in the dead of the winter. It can be such a great comfort food. However, this winter has been so warm, I never got the urge to make it. But now I need it. Bone broths are major players as part of the Detox Challenge. For those following the GAPS Intro, bone broths are a staple, so you need to have a lot on hand. Certainly you can use chicken broth, but just for a change and also to get different nutrients and bone marrow, beef broth is key.
Using the bones and meat of grassfed animals is also important. The best place to source grassfed beef is through your local Weston Price chapter. The chapter leader will be able to direct you to the most local farms in your area that raise their animals on pasture. There may also be a buying club that you can join where you can purchase meat and other pasture raised products.
Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
2 pounds beef marrow bones and a knuckle bone, preferably grassfed
2 pounds beef meaty bones (I used oxtail), preferably grassfed
3-4 whole carrots, unpeeled and whole
3-4 stalks celery, whole
1 onion, unpeeled, cut in half or whole
4 heads of garlic unpeeled (optional)
2 bay leaves (where to buy herbs and spices)
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (less if you hate the taste of vinegar like I do) (where to buy organic cider vinegar with the mother)
bunch of fresh parsley
Equipment
- 5.5 – 6 Quart Dutch Oven (where to buy a Le Cruset Dutch Oven)
- 6 Quart Crock Pot (where to buy a Hamilton Beach Crock Pot)
- 10 Quart Stock Pot (where to buy a stock pot)
Instructions
- Place the bones and meat in a large roasting pan
- Roast in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until browned on top
- Flip the bones and the meat and brown for another 15 minutes
- Place the browned bones in the pot with the vegetables and seasonings and fill with water leaving at least one inch from the top
- Pour in the vinegar. Some instructions say to leave bones sitting for one hour before you turn on the heat–I’m too impatient for that
- If using the top of the stove, bring to a boil and quickly lower to a simmer
- If using a crock pot put on low and this will keep it at a perfect temperature
- For both methods, remove any scum off the top when it appears
- For the last hour of cooking, place the bunch of parsley into the broth
- Bone broth may be cooked from 12 – 72 hours. I cooked mine for 24
- Remove from the heat and carefully remove the bones with some tongs. At this point I usually remove the marrow and eat it with salt.
- Pour the broth through a sieve into another pot to cool
- Put the bones and everything in the sieve back into the pot and fill with water again. You can reuse these bones a second time. Some people say 3 – 4 times but I have never tried that.
- When the broth is cooled fill the mason jars, cover and refrigerate. They can stay for 1 -2 weeks in the refrigerator as long as there is a layer of fat on top. This protects and seals it.
- Freeze some in smaller containers for use in soups and stews
How to find your local Weston Price Chapter

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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Delicious! I make veal bone broth the same way – our local beef farmer gives them to me by the bucketload whenever she delivers our regular beef parcel… Do you think beef bones are more nutritious than veal bones? (Veal is great for making concentrated, gelatinous sauces, but has a less “beefy” flavor than beef broth and I’m wondering whether they’re as nourishing.)
Hi Conner,
I’m sure they are just as nutritious and probably have a milder taste.
Awesome post! I’m pinning this to my pinterest board for recipes. Thanks for sharing it!
Been lovin’ our bone broths around here. It’s not really been soup weather, but they are so very good for us, we’ll drink them year around. In fact, we’ve started a perpetual broth in the crockpot all the time!
Thanks for sharing this at http://www.beyondthepeel.net/2012/03/homemade-sweet-and-spicy-bbq-sauce.html. I absolutely love my Le Creuset and recommend it to anyone that will listen. hahaha
Great, easy directions, thanks! And good tip on being able to use them multiple times. I’d never heard that. When you say meaty bones, do you mean bones with a little bit of meat still stuck to them?
Hi Steph,
Yes, adding some bones with meat and also just some meat will give it a little more flavor. I use the oxtail as it is meat with the cartilage and then the bones as well.
Beef broth is always good. I love a soup of hearty broth.
I always make my beef broth with a nice meat bone, it is always so good. Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Miz Helen
Hi Jill, I love a good beef stock, and I love eating the marrow afterwards! I love it if you would share this at Sunday Night Soup Night! Hope to see you there.
Thanks for linking up Jill! Look forward to seeing you at Sunday Night Soup Night next time you have a soup/stock/chowder recipe.
I’ve been wanting to make my own stock, just to have it on hand for other soups and stews. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for linking up to Friday Food at Momtrends.com!
Jill,
You’re going to love our post on broth. We stewed the same batch of bones **12** times and got gelatin each time. I still shake my head in disbelief.
http://www.traditional-foods.com/bone-broth/
I’d be honored if you’d share this post on our new weekly link up — Friday Food Flicks (I love that marrow bone picture).
— Amanda
Your bone broth sounds both delicious and nutritious. I like that you added garlic as well, both for flavour and health reasons!
Hi Jill,
Thanks for sharing this very helpful recipe on Allergy-Free Wednesdays! Hope you’ll join us again this week with another great recipe!
I love making bone broths; I don’t make beef broth very often, but it’s awfully yummy! Thanks for sharing at Healthy 2Day Wednesday; come back tomorrow and see if you were featured!
I love having broth in the freezer – there are so many good uses for it!
Your blog is fantastic – I am looking to feature some food bloggers on my blog & would love for you to consider the opportunity. Here’s a link to the post with details : http://bit.ly/GHuRbR
wow, I didn’t know all of that. Thank you for the info. Great information.
We may have met by chance…but we become friends by choice.
http://simpleesue.com/try-one-new-recipe-a-week-german-apple-puff-pancake
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