How to Make Bone Broth (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stove Top)

Have you ever made homemade beef bone broth?

Yes, we know it is very easy to buy beef broth at the grocery store. But homemade bone broth tastes so much better. It’s known as a super-food in some circles. And homemade beef bone broth recipes are incredibly simple. We’re talking bones, veggies and water. It’s that easy. 

Here’s our favorite beef bone broth recipe for the stove top, slow cooker or Instant Pot. Plus, we share some tips and tricks too that make the process easier.

Benefits of Making Beef Bone Broth:

1. Save money and reduce food waste. Many people throw bones away, but that’s such a waste! You can save bones from steak, pork and chicken, and freeze them until you have enough for broth. Or, if you purchase beef from us, your order comes with soup bones. Put those bones to good use!
2. Making beef bone broth is simple. You can use your stove top, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.
3. Homemade beef bone broth tastes better. Once you make homemade broth, you’ll want to drink it alone. It’s that good. Or, you can also use it when making any other recipe that calls for beef broth or stock, such as roast, soups, gravy, flavorful rice, and more.
4. Beef bone broth is nutritious. How nutritious? According to the USDA Nutrient Database, 1 cup of homemade chicken or beef stock ranges from 31 to 86 calories, 0.2 to 2.9g fat, 4.7 to 6g protein, and varying amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and other minerals. Keep in mind that the nutritional content of bone broth varies greatly based on the recipe, type of bone, ingredients and cooking time.

   There are also claims about it improving a variety of ailments from gut health to building your immune system. Some agree with these claims and others disagree. On a personal note, we drink it regularly and have seen health benefits. Many of our customers have told us stories of how it’s helped their health too.

What’s the difference between broth, stock, and bone broth?

Technically speaking, bone broth is more like stock. However, all three are very similar and the terms are often used interchangeably. The biggest difference between the three comes down to cook time and ingredients. The longer the liquid cooks, the more nutrients and minerals leach from the bones.

• Broth: Water simmered with vegetables, aromatics, and meat. Broth can include bones, but it doesn’t have to. It is cooked for a shorter amount of time, about 45 minutes to 2 hours. Broth does not get a thick gelatinous texture.
• Stock: Water simmered with vegetables, aromatics, and animal bones. The animal bones are sometimes roasted, and often there is some meat still attached. It is cooked for 4 to 6 hours.
• Bone Broth: Water simmered with animal bones that have bits of meat attached, aromatics and vegetables. The animal bones are usually roasted in advance. It is cooked for 12-48 hours. The long cook time results in thicker consistency due to collagen-rich gelatin pulled from the bone. Bone broth is usually unseasoned. However, some recipes, like ours, do call for a small amount of seasoning like apple cider vinegar because it helps pull nutrients from the bones. When chilled, bone broth should have the texture and jiggle of Jell-O.

Tips for any Beef Bone Broth Recipe:

We’ve been making bone broth for years and tried many different recipes and cooking methods. Here are a few things we’ve learned:

Blanch the bones.

We discovered this step from bonappetit magazine. Blanching the bones gets rid of any impurities and it’s easy to do. Cover the bones with cold water and bring to a boil. Let the bones simmer for 20 minutes before draining and roasting.

Roast the bones.

Roasting the bones is the most critical step of making bone broth, and will result in a much more flavorful broth. We like using a glass baking dish to roast the bones in.  Whatever pan you use, make sure you can deglaze it with water after roasting and put all the brown bits from the pan into your broth pot.

The best vegetables.

The only vegetables you really need for bone broth is a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery. We like to add garlic too because of its benefits to boost immunity and work as an anti-inflammatory. If you want to add other vegetables, go for it, but it’s not necessary. 

Stovetop, Crock-pot or Instant Pot? 

We’ve used all three cooking methods, and we like them all for different reasons. Something to keep in mind when choosing a cooking method is that the flavor is more intense with longer cook times.

If you have time to let the broth simmer for 24 hours, go with a stock pot on the stovetop or crockpot (or a combination of the two if you don’t want your stove on overnight). 

The Instant Pot is the best method to use when you’re short on time. Or, if you don’t like how your house smells when making bone broth for 24 hours (it is a strong smell). Our go-to method right now is the Instant Pot because it saves so much time.

Storing bone broth.

Store the broth in the quantity you regularly use (or less). If you typically use 8 ounces at a time, use 8 ounce jars (or ice cube trays), not 16 ounce jars. If you’re going to freeze the jars, be sure to leave a little space at the top of the jars so the broth can expand. 

Beef Bone Broth Recipe for Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stove Top

Beef Bone Broth (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stovetop)

Clover Meadows Beef

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 d

Total Time 1 d 30 mins

Ingredients

  

• 4 lbs beef bones this is approximately 1 package of Clover Meadows Beef soup bones
• 8-10 cups of water the amount of water will vary based on the size of your Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stock pot. You want to add enough water to cover the bones.
• 2 medium onion quartered
• 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped roughly
• 3 medium celery stalks with leaves chopped
• 5 head garlic (optional)
• 1 bouquet garni such as parsley (optional)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 450
• Place about 4 lbs of bones (about 1 package) in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle onion, carrots, celery and garlic around the bones.
• Cook for 45 minutes, or until the bones have caramelized.
• Transfer bones and vegetables to a large stock pot, crock pot or Instant Pot.
• Deglaze the roasting pan, and add all the juices and browned pieces from the roasting pan into the stock pot, crock pot or Instant Pot.
• Cover the bones with water.
• Add apple cider vinegar and bouquet garni, if desired.
• STOVETOP: If cooking on stovetop, bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered for 24 hours.
• CROCKPOT: Set your crockpot to high, and bring to a boil (approx 3 hours). Lower your crockpot to a low setting, and cook for 24 hours or longer
• INSTANT POT: Close and lock the lid. Select Manual pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 120 minutes. Allow 20 minutes for pressure to build. Release pressure using the natural-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, approximately 40 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid.
• Remove bones and vegetables from pot.
• Strain the broth by lining a strainer with cheesecloth and set over a large bowl.
• Pour broth through strainer. *Discard solids if only making one batch of bone broth, set aside if making multiple batches
• Let the broth cool, and remove any fat that has formed at the top. **Cover the cooled bowl of bone broth and place in your refrigerator for several hours. The fat will rise to the top and will be extremely easy to remove from the top.
• Put the broth in mason jars and leave about ½ inch at the top so there is room for the stock to expand.
• If you’re going to use the beef broth immediately, you can refrigerate it. Otherwise, put in the freezer.

Notes

*Depending on the bones, sometimes you can make multiple batches of bone broth with the same set of bones. Typically, the second set of broth will be slightly lighter in color. To do this, simply add the bones and vegetables back to the pot and repeat the beef bone broth recipe process. 

**An easy way to remove the fat from bone broth is to place the cooled bowl of bone broth in your refrigerator for several hours. Be sure to cover the broth before putting in the refrigerator. The fat will rise to the top and will be extremely easy to remove from the top.

Products we use making Beef Bone Broth:

One more thing!

So, are you ready to make beef bone broth? We hope so! If you’re in the St. Louis area and need bones,  let us know. They come with all sixteenth, quarter, half and whole beef orders.

Do you want to learn more about beef? Here are a few other beef posts and recipes you may like. Plus, we have an entire ebook about beef that goes through purchasing and preparing beef from a farmers perspective.

• What Everybody Ought to Know About Beef Cuts
• Raising Grass Fed Cattle
• Is It Done Yet? Why Every Kitchen Needs a Digital Meat Thermometer and the Best One
• Ebook – An Essential Guide to Beef: A Cattle Farm Shares How to Purchase & Prepare Beef

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