Beef Bone Broth
One of the bonuses in getting a whole animal from my butcher, is getting things that you wouldn’t normally get at the grocery store. Like bones. I request to keep all the marrow bones. I use them to make bone broth. The problem with making bone broth from random bones at the store, is that you have no idea where those bones came from, from how many different animals, and the health and lifestyle of those animals. All of those things can greatly contribute to the quality, taste, and nutrition of the marrow itself, and then the bone broth.
I start by roasting the bones before submerging them into a stockpot. Some people will eat the marrow on it’s own and it is quite delicious. But I’m cheap and I need to make the most of my marrow bones so I’m going to make a broth, which I prefer to use throughout the year as stock.
I know, you hear everyone talking about drinking bone broth on it’s own as a health benefit blah, blah, blah. Sure….if you’re really sick and chicken soup isn’t cutting it. Or you’re suffering from some kind of illness that makes swallowing hard….I can see drinking bone broth. Fine. But otherwise? Hard pass. It’s too delicious in place of beef stock to waste on some health fad du jour.
That’s not to say I won’t sneak some marrow out to smear on a leftover biscuit before plunking them into the stock pot, where they’ll be camped out for the next three days. Yes! Three days! Because I want my money’s worth, dangit.
Diane stopped over for tea and was like, “What is that smell?” Yes, the bones smell. Not in a good way. To me it’s like cooking Fritos corn chips. Kinda gross. I might have gagged a time or two. So the house stinks for three days. Well, sorry. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to get the good stuff. And after the first twenty four hours, you stop noticing it. Ha!
I put an onion and some thyme sprigs in there. But that’s it. I’m not going to salt and pepper it because sodium levels in bases can really mess up the final dish you’re using it in and I get really mad when I’ve put so much time and effort into a dish only for it to end up salty. It happens. So why trap yourself? Skip it…trust me. You can add carrots and celery and whatnot, but I’m not after a quasi veggie beef broth. I want straight beef flavor. It makes a difference…at least to me it does…in the end when I’m doing something like a deep beefy gravy.
Day two: I’ve added another gallon of water to the pot and turned the stove back on low. I cook it on low the entire time. Don’t ask me why. Ok, ask me. Why? Because I want a long slow extraction. Think crockpot cooking, only not in a crockpot. Why not a crockpot then? Because there isn’t a crockpot big enough for my bones. How often does a person get to say that in a lifetime?
Day Three: It’s almost over! I’m on the home stretch. When I’m done stinking up the house with beef bones, I’m going to clean the oven and stink it up again. I told Hubs I was cleaning the oven and he asked for pics of me inside the oven. What?! All I did was press the “clean oven” button. Boop! Done.
Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
- As many beef marrow bones as you can muster
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 whole sweet onion
Instructions
- Spread all the bones out evenly on a roasting pan or baking sheet. Roast the bones on 350 for about 30 or 40 minutes or until the bones are browned well.
- With tongs, move the bones to a stock pot and cover with water. Add fresh thyme sprigs and a whole trimmed onion. Cover with a lid and cook on low for three days, turning it off and storing in the fridge at night. Add back water as needed.
- Let the bone broth settle in the fridge for 2 days when it's done cooking. Skim off the fat layer and bring the broth up to lukewarm temperature on the stove. With tongs, remove all the bones and pour the remaining liquid through a mesh strainer to remove any solids.
- Store in measured amounts in any sort of freezer container you prefer and freeze.
Notes
The fat layer is called Tallow and is used as an alternative to cooking oil. You can melt it over low heat and clarify it like you would butter. Pour the clarified fat into a storage container and keep it in the fridge. Tallow is a popular cooking fat alternative in Paleo diets where it's used like lard. Gramma used it in her cooking before there was such a thing as Paleo diets, though.
Save the planet girlfriend. Do you know what your carbon footprint is on that 3 day simmer? lol Invest in a pressure cooker for gawd’s sake.
Some things just take time. I reduced my carbon footprint by not buying commercial beef, by not buying processed beef stock, and by not buying processed cooking oil in a plastic jug that was made with petroleum. Cooking on the stove for three days hardly compares *wink*
Well, yummy yum yum! Ima gonna get me some!? Seriously, I make broth. However, I’ve not approached it in this way before. This is going to be fun and the results much more toothsome than previous efforts. Thanks for sharing.
Of course, anytime! It’s the collagen extraction you’re after and it’s so much better for you than stock!