This Mineral Rich Beef Bone Broth is great for sipping as well as using in soups and sauces.
Bone broths are all the rage these days, selling for as much as a cup of Starbucks coffee at some places. These bone broths are nothing like the kind you buy at the supermarket. They’re rich in minerals and full of natural gelatin.
It’s really quite funny because bone broths have been around forever in the Asian culture and in French cooking (dating back to 1682). Gelatin was considered one of the most nutritious foods that helped facilitate digestion. The French were leaders in researching gelatin and found it useful in treating diseases such as peptic ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice and cancer.
Steps To Making Mineral Rich Beef Bone Broth
There are a couple of key components and steps to making a Mineral Rich Beef Bone Broth:
- Use both a good amount of bones with tendons and cartilage to give the broth some body (gelatin) and some meat for flavor
- Brown the meat in a hot oven to give flavor and color to the broth
- Add vegetables as aromatics and additional minerals
- Add vinegar or tomatoes to the broth to help extract minerals from the bones
- Cook the broth at a simmer for at least 12 hours to extract as much flavor and gelatin from the meat and bones
- Skim off any scum that comes to the surface of the broth
A friend of my recently told me she boils down her entire pot of beef broth to just one cup and then makes it into beef bouillon cubes, freezing them and taking them out for a cup of broth whenever she feels like it.
You can see by the pictures that this beef bone broth has a lot of gelatin in it – in fact, it was pretty much solid. When I melted it down in, it had a sticky mouth feel to it – that’s what you’re looking for.
Make a pot, and freeze it in smaller containers. This broth can be used in soups, stews and sauces/gravies and will add a lot of rich body to your recipes.
Just a few weeks ago, my husband and I ate at a local Chinese restaurant that served a complimentary bowl of broth with a little piece of meat in it. I’m sure it was just sitting on the back burner in the kitchen, made with meat and bone scraps. It was nothing pretty, but it was sure hit the spot on that cold winter day. This is simple, real food that’s been around for ages. Funny how it was used by the French to feed their armies and the homeless way back, and now it’s sold for $4-$8 a cup.
Oh, and don’t throw away the short rib meat or marrow. I’ve got a spicy Korean noodle soup that I’ll be sharing that uses all the little bits and pieces of meat leftover from this Mineral Rich Beef Bone Broth.
Mineral Rich Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef marrow and knuckle bones grass-fed preferable
- 1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs on the bone grass-fed preferable
- 1 1/2 pounds beef neck bones grass-fed preferable
- 1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 3 onions rough chopped
- 3 carrots rough chopped
- 3 celery stalks rough chopped
- 4 dried shitake mushrooms
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch parsley washed well
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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Place marrow bones and knuckle bones in a large stockpot with vinegar and add water to cover the bones. Let sit for an hour.
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Place short ribs and neck bones in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes to an hour until nicely browned. Add to pot, along with onions, carrots, celery, shitake mushrooms, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add some water to roasting pan, scrape up any browned bits and add to the pot. Add more water if necessary to cover all the bones. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 12 hours, skimming surface to remove any scum floating on top.
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Add parsley and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Let cool, then strain broth. Reserve the short rib meat and marrow for later use.
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Refrigerate broth. Remove any solidified fat on top.
Recipe Notes
Make this in a slow cooker if you have one. Adapted from Weston A. Price.
What an interesting post, Jeanette! I had no idea gelatin was considered such a health food back in the day. This broth looks as though it would warm you to your toes.
I didn’t either until I started reading more about it. I just thought my mom made soup using bones so as not to waste anything.
Jeanette, I love me some beef bone broth!! We Koreans make a version of this all the time for soups. . . can’t wait for your spicy Korean noodle soup!!
It’s funny isn’t it that bone broths have been around in the Asian culture for so long, and now it’s becoming a popular food, not a humble one anymore.
What a great idea! I love a good broth!!
Thanks Jenny!
This is such a great post, Jeanette. I had no idea vinegar helped to extract minerals from the bones, that’s so good to know and I can’t wait to try that next time. Beef bone broth is my husband’s favorite especially for beef pho. Yours looks perfect! I love the rich color!
Thanks Kelly – I don’t usually add vinegar to my bone broths but now I will going forward. I love pho – just made some last week – so flavorful!
On my list to try, and your tutorial is great! I tried making a chicken bone broth recently, but forgot the pot was on the stove (after I turned the heat off), only to discover it a couple of days later. Oops!
That’s funny EA – at least the heat was off!
It’s so funny that bone broth is in vogue now! My mother has been making bone broth for years, claiming that there are many health benefits to it. I was highly skeptical of what she said, but she was right all along! Thanks for sharing the recipe! I’m going to need to try it soon!
We always had soups made from bone broth when I was growing up, it is so delicous. I am amxious to make your recipes, thanks for posting it.
Karen, funny how long bone broth has been around. This is a great base for other soups, sauces and stews. Season as you like. I’ve been enjoying it different ways – spicing it up in a Korean Noodle Soup, making other soups and sauces with it. There’s a lot of body to the broth from the bones/tendon.
I’ve been ill for decades really, and have done every alternative medicine possible. But already I am seeing a difference in two weeks. Very good information, thank you!
I’m glad you found this helpful!
The Instant Pot works great for making bone broth too.
Thanks for this suggestion Cheryl – the instant pot is one small appliance I don’t have yet
I know this is an old post, but, can this broth be canned, and if so, how long in the pressure canner? Would the minerals be destroyed in the process?
Thanks!
I am not familiar with pressure canners, but I imagine you could can it. I usually freeze it in quart size containers.