Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[O] Vegetarian
[O] Pescatarian
[O] Vegan
[x] Gluten Free
[x] Weight Maint
[x] Keto Diet
[x] Mediterranean Diet
[x] Lectin Avoidance:
[x] Oxalate Avoidance
[O] Purine Avoidance: meats ?
HealthLine discusses the benefits of drinking or eating bone broth.
Beef Bone Broth
How to make a hearty, nutritions beef bone broth.
- 2 # Beef bones (Organic, grass-fed, pasture raised beef: knuckle, neck, feet, ox tails, or short rib bones. Also any leftover steak or roast bones from meals.)
- 8 C Water (Whatever your slow cooker allows)
- 1 T Salt and Pepper (Used on bones before roasting)
- 2 T Apple cider vinegar
Mise en Place
Set up the slow cooker. This will have to cook for ~36 hours. Put it someplace that is not under cabinetry, can be left undisturbed, and set the heat to high.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Water
Add enough water to fill the slow cooker halfways. (It will be only after adding the bones that you will add enough water to fill the pot.)
The normal water to bone ratio: 3:1 by weight. This is the minimum amount of bones to water you should use, but you can add more..
Bone Prep
Place dinner leftover beef bones you have in your freezer or fridge into the pot (no need to defrost).
Raw meat should be seasoned with salt and pepper, then placed on a parchment lined baking sheet and roasted for an your, flipping the bones over half way through the cooking time.
Once done cooking, I use tongs to move the meat/bones from the pan into the slow cooker. I will aslo scrape out any juice from the sheet pan as well. I also add some Vinegar at this point to help soften the bones and release its nutrition.
At this point add water to cover all the meat. Place the lid on and walk away. Check every 3h or so, skimming off the dirty-foam that can start floating on the top of the water. Add more water if needed, but keep the level an inch or two from the very top of the slow cooker.
At the 24 hour mark the beef parts will start to fall apart when you try to fish them out of the broth. You can stop here and use the broth, but I continue to cook. At the 36-48 hour mark I am ready to call it.
Strain the broth to catch all bones and meat with the liquid going into a bowl that is nestled in a bowl of ice to cool down, and then poured into glass containers and into the fridge or freezer for later use.
I do not let the stock sit around to get bacteria but also do not put extremely hot food into the fridge as it lowers the overall temp. Before I move to the fridge I want the broth to be near or at room temperature.
Meat
I habitually pick all the meat off bones I use from broth and use that meat, with a bit of broth, to augment pet food. I discard the bones.
Type of bones: Bone broth or stock is a little more viscous than a broth since we are cooking it long enough for collagen to leach from the bones. In the picture I am showing using cut femur bones, but my goal is not a marrow-only broth, I want some meat too so there is flavor. Roasting the bones before using will help add flavor to the broth.
Veggies: I do not add anything but the bones, bit of vinegar, and water to my stock. The reason I do not is that I am not sure what the broth is going to be used for in the future. I keep it plain and rely on the roasted tastiness of the bones themselves to present a base flavor.
Broth in Soups: If I am making a soup broth out of this bone broth I will cook up the beef broth, add a bit more water so it thins out, and add spice, herbs and veggies (onion, garlic, celery, carrots, etc.) to start flavoring the soup.
No aluminum soup pots: Do not use aluminum stock pans for people, like me, can taste the aluminum in the resulting broth. I prefer an enamel covered cast iron slow cooker for the deed or a tall steel stock or ceramic pot.