My Go-To Beef Bone Broth Recipe
Have you ever tried doing an internet search for the best beef bone broth recipe? Wow, there are so many opinions aren’t there!? For the last couple years, I’d just given up and “winged it,” until I was given this awesome recipe! So here are five keys to get the most nutritious, tasty bone broth!
Giving Credit: This recipe is from Stephanie Bearup, the “Real Food Expert” in a naturopathic membership community I’m part of called Fiercely Empowered Mamas (FEM). I’ve been given permission to share this recipe, which comes from FEM’s members-only vault of natural remedies and nourishing recipes. For those curious, my take on FEM is at the bottom of this blog post.
On to the recipe!
As a prepper, I believe there are some things we should all know and practice making from scratch. Beef bone broth is high on that list because of its amazing ability to offer comfort, remineralize the body, and speed up healing.
Recipe Printable
Print out the recipe (PDF) here. If for some reason you are having trouble with the link, please contact me and I can send it to you over messenger or email.
Ingredients
- About 4lb beef bones; marrow, knuckles, fatty connective tissue bone
- About 3lb meaty bones; short ribs, meaty marrow bones, shanks
- 1-gallon cold filtered water, or until everything is just submerged
- ½ cup acidity; apple cider vinegar or a good red wine will work
- 2 onions
- 3 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1 teaspoon Real Salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
- 2 bay leaves
Key 1: Use Grassfed Beef Bones
It will have more nutrients and fewer toxins. It is better for the planet. And you’re more likely to be supporting a local rancher.
Budgeting tip: If you live somewhere like I do where organic grassfed meat is expensive, one way to cut the cost is to buy a quarter or half cow at a time from a local rancher and freeze it. It costs more upfront but saves you a lot over time. When the cow gets butchered, I always ask for the soup bones and as many extra bones as they can give me!
Key 2: Roast your Bones First
The bones must be roasted prior to beginning the broth. This will take about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Place the bones in a deep 9×13 dish. A shallow pan is not advised as there will be fat drippings and possibly fat splashing during roasting.
Roast the bones until golden and brown, about 1 hour. You may place bones in the oven frozen, but you will need to add a bit more time until they are perfectly roasted.
Key 3: Use a Tall Stainless Steel Pot
I have made many bone broths in my instant pot, but when I switched to good ol’ stainless steel on the stove, I saw a big improvement in the flavor! This also is a safer material to use in cooking, without risk of toxins from a non-stick coating getting into your broth. The main downside is you’ll notice the smell more in your home. Not gonna lie, it kinda smells like farts!
Pot size: You will want at least a 12 quart pot for this recipe. As you can see in my photos, I need to buy a bigger pot! I’m hoping to get a solid 16 quart pot as a Christmas gift this year (hint hint to my hubby if you’re reading this!)
Remove the bones from the oven. Don’t forget the “brown bits!”
Layer the bones at the bottom of your pot. Add in the veggies and seasoning. This can be organic veggie scraps or garden scraps you’ve saved in your freezer, or a few carrots and celery sticks. I’ve even used freeze dried vegetables and they’ve added great flavor.
Key 4: Add Acid
Add vinegar to help break down the bones. My go-to is organic apple cider vinegar, though Stephanie says an acidic red wine is tasty too. Depending on your end purpose for the broth, one may be more preferable.
A good rule of thumb is a half cup of acidity for one gallon of water.
Key 5: Start with Cold Water
The water must be cold and slowly heat up to a boil, to allow the acidity from the vinegar to draw maximum nutritional benefit from the bones.
I prefer to use filtered water that I’ve refrigerated. The “cleaner” ingredients I can use for our healing broths, the better! My family has been very happy with our gravity-based Big Berkey water filter. To me, this is a very “suburban prepper” friendly product as it isn’t something you’ll stash away and forget about in your basement. It is easy to make room for it in your kitchen, able to move with you, and once you have it you’ll want to use it every day to improve your health! We also added extra mineralizing rocks to the bottom of our Berkey.
Simmer time: Once you have achieved a rolling boil, turn the burner down to a simmer. Simmer for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 72 hours. During this time, make sure that the bones remain fully covered with water so they don’t spoil or get moldy.
I know this is a huge variation in simmer time. It comes down to how long you can commit to having a pot take up one of your stove burners, or how soon you need to use it. I asked Stephanie her thoughts on this and she said: “I never do less than 12 and I often pull it off at 24-30 hours, depending on our schedule.”
Final Steps: Strain and Chill
Strain out the bones and veggies. Pull the meat off of the meaty bones. It is delightful in dishes such as soups or even shredded tacos, stroganoff, etc. You may scoop out the cooked marrow from the bones and enjoy as you choose. Dogs may also like to chew on leftover bones.
Once you have strained the broth well, it will need to chill overnight. After it has chilled you will be able to remove congealed solid fat from the top and use it as you choose.
Underneath the fat, you should find a dark, rich, gelatinous broth.
Typically, I either store it in mason jars in my fridge and use it over the next few days, or make a broth-based meal for dinner that evening. You can also freeze it. I find the easiest way to freeze liquids is with silicone ice cube trays. It speeds up the defrosting time and it’s easy to store the cubes in a freezer bag.
Enjoy in soups, stews, gravies or as a comforting drink.
Extra Bone Broth FAQ
1. Can I use non-grassfed (regular) bones?
Personally, I’d say yes. I know it can be hard depending on where you live to source the highest quality ingredients. And the key when changing your lifestyle for the long term and improving your health is one baby step at a time! If you can’t get 100% organic grassfed bones, at least still try to source from a local rancher and look for a no extra hormones added option!
2. Do I really need to take off all the fat from the top?
No, but keep in mind that all that fat is going to trigger your bowels. But maybe you want that effect! I have given my children bone broth with the fat when they are constipated, and it does get things moving! I tend to separate the fat and keep it in a dish in my fridge. If I feel I need it, I will put a small amount back into my broth when I’m drinking it or use the fat as an alternative to oil/butter when cooking. Keep in mind it has all the seasonings you added to the bone broth, so use it for a recipe where these seasonings will complement your dish.
3. How long does bone broth last refrigerated?
Five days, according to most sources.
4. Can I reuse the bones for another round of broth?
Yes. In this case, don’t scoop out the marrow. I like to cool and freeze the bones and label them “once used.” Then when I have a smaller amount of bone that I want to turn into broth, I just add in some of the frozen once-used bones.
5. Why do you specifically suggest using Redmond’s Real Salt in the broth?
Real Salt is unrefined and organic, from the salt mines of Utah. It is known to have the highest mineral base and is a true superfood. Switching to this salt (plus having a good iodine supplement as the salt is not iodized) is one of the foundational recommendations in FEM. If you’ve been using pink Himalayan salt for years like I was, it’s worth noting that most of these lower-cost pink salts have had their mineral base refined and bleached out of them. It’s just marketing hype with no real benefit.
About Fiercely Empowered Mamas (FEM)
As a prepper and a medical mom, I no longer want to be without the information and resources I now have access to through FEM. I don’t trust that our current medical system is sustainable or even always has our best interests at heart. As moms, it is essential to take our power back, know how to follow our God-given mama intuition, and be the healers in our homes. This FEM community gives you the tools to fast track your way there. It’s worth it.
FEM offers you access to a certified naturopath, Dr. Tonya Holcomb, along with her 12-month signature course, members-only vault of remedies and recipes, and a private Facebook group. Here’s a list of all the amazing goodness:
- Dr. Tonya answers questions weekly in her “Ask Me Whatever Wednesday” lives in the private Facebook group.
- Submit your current health issue in advance and receive a customized protocol through Zoom-based Care Clinics.
- The course and coaching give you the foundation to shift into the mindset of being the healer for your home, knowing how and when to choose from a wide array of naturopathic remedies.
- Quickly get answers from the FEM vault of natural remedies and recommended supplements.
- Access a growing list of nourishing recipes, plus tune into Stephanie Bearup’s regular cooking demonstrations in the private group.
- Ask questions in the group at any time, with “Team Tonya” and many other knowledgeable long-time FEMs offering their experiences. The advice is more solid and the group is more encouraging than most of the free “natural living” groups I’ve tried on Facebook!
- You also get placed into smaller groups so you can connect with a FEM Alumni Mentor and fellow FEMs who live in your region!
When deciding if it was worth investing into last year, I compared it to the cost of a couple of my family members seeing a naturopath monthly (which is quite expensive in Canada, and we didn’t have healthcare benefits for it). FEM came out with significantly better value. Plus I would be getting community support and foundational information to fully understand the world of naturopathy and what remedies are best in different situations.
But the greatest value to me has been having that backbone of REAL informed consent. I am a medical mom to three children with hugely varying medical needs that have required me to see specialists. Many times I felt these specialists led me astray, giving me medical advice (such as keeping my son on Miralax for three years) that made things so much worse and never did more than offer a band-aid to the real problem. I wish I had FEM from the very beginning of my parenting journey! I would have avoided so much. But that’s exactly why I chose to continue with FEM in 2023. You get the vault and course for life, but can pay a minimal fee to keep accessing the Facebook group and acute care clinics after the first year.
Try it out: You can get a taster of the full FEM community in the “Mamas Fast Track to Healing and Raising your Kids Naturally” free Facebook group. There are some incredible classes in there from FEM Founder and Certified Naturopathic Doctor Tonya Holcomb, as well as a real food workshop with Stephanie.
Mama’s Fast Track is a temporary group offered in November and early December. It’s packed with information and even if that’s all you do, you’ll have gained so much. Doors for FEM 2023 are open now for a limited time. See the full offering right here.
On a totally selfish note, I would absolutely love to have more prepper mom friends join me in FEM. I’m one of those people who is more motivated to make lifestyle changes by doing it with others I know!
