Beef stock - especially homemade beef stock is remarkably easy to prepare especially using this tried-and-true classic beef stock recipe. You don't need purchased beef base to prepare a decent beef stock any more than you need those hateful little granules of chicken bouillon to prepare a chicken stock. Just a lazy Saturday around the house, some soup bones and vegetable scraps are all that this beef stock recipe requires.
While we mostly use chicken bone broth in our home, from time to time we mix it up by also preparing a good beef stock. The beef soup bones usually arrive in little paper packages from our meat CSA or for free at the farmers market. In this beef stock recipe, we couple those beef soup bones with leftover vegetable scraps - you know, the odds and ends of onions, the peelings from carrots and celery leaves. The inexpensive bones coupled with the vegetable scraps makes this beef stock recipe remarkably inexpensive to prepare.
A long cooking time provides ample opportunity for the wholesome nutrients present in the beef soup bones to leach out and into the water. The resulting beef stock is rich in nutrients - particularly minerals like calcium. It is also a rich source of gelatin and glucosamine chondroitin. You can read more about the benefits of bone broth.
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David Hill says
Can venison bone be used in place of beef? Also, can the spine be used to make the bone broth?
Jenny says
Hi David,
I haven't used it. In a culinary sense, it should work fine; however, various hunters have expressed concern over using venison spine and the potential of chronic wasting disease.
vb says
I've just heard that beef stock (and broth) made from non organic bones is very likely to be heavily lead loaded
Does anyone know any different ? and also would grass fed beef bones (non organic) be exempt from lead ?
Jenny says
Hi, no, you heard wrong. There was a study on lead in broth and stock made from ORGANIC chicken (not beef, not conventional) that found higher concentrations of lead in broth and stock than in plain tap water. Researchers only tested the broth and stock made from chickens from a single farm, who may have gotten lead in their soil, bedding, feed or water. Source your food well, and don't sweat it.
Diana McKnight says
Where do you get the bones from? Do you go the meat department and ask the butcher for 5-6 lbs of beef bones? I'm not sure if it is going to be worth it!
Diana says
Is filtered water critical? If so, why? thank you
Wendy says
Can this stock be canned? Or is it too thick?
Josefina says
Can you recommend a particular stock pot, one that isn't too expensive?
Annie Berrol says
So what about marrow bones? I don't think those questions have been answered here. I roast the bones first, then remove the marrow and eat it up, then cook the bones at slow simmer for a very long time. Seems to work out quite well, and there is less useless fat to skim off--useless because I don't cook with beef fat.
This is a beautiful blog!
aurah says
Thank you so much for your wonderful work! Do you have a guess on how long to cook venison bones? Also, I like to pressure can up my stock to use year-round, as we only get deer in the fall. I'm curious about the effect of canning on nutritional value...what do you think or can you point me to any info? Thanks again!
Amy S says
I received an All American pressure canner for Christmas. In their manual, it says "Do not use deer bones" for making stock. I don't hunt or eat venison, so I asked my brother why. He said that deer in some areas have a particular disease that is present in the bones and it isn't killed by cooking. The disease hasn't been found where I live, but why risk making your family sick?
Jane Amiotte says
Chronic Wasting disease is what affects the deer and elk.
ERIN POE says
I really want to try this can you tell me a little more about how long the broth will last in mason jars? I have not tried making my own yet but this sounds amazing!
Jodie says
Question, why do you think my bone broth did not gel? I cooked it in my crockpot after the roasting with carrots, onion, mushrooms, celery, garlic and I cooked it for 2 days on low. It was very bubbly, my crockpot doesn't seem to really have a low, it is a 6 qt size. I used 4 lbs of marrow bones and 1 lb of beef rib bones. I used 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar like the recipe called for, but the bones did not get soft and the broth did not gel. I was very disappointed. Any suggestions about what I did wrong? Please email me the answer if you have one. tysm
Jenny says
It could be that it took too long, too high. Generally, I make beef stock on the stove as with this recipe.