How to make Beef Bone Broth

It may seem like I always have a fresh batch of bone broth in the works, because I make 1 or 2 batches every week. We enjoy a mug of bone broth every day as a part of our healthy lifestyle! My secret to no fuss bone broth is using my crock pot/slow cooker (but you can easily translate this recipe into stove friendly if you don’t have a crock pot/slow cooker or want to make a GIANT batch!)

Many of you have asked for my recipe and I’ve typed it up on Facebook and Instagram so many times.. I decided I should probably do a quick post showing my exact process 🙂 Today, I’m talking specifically about Beef Bone Broth, but the same basic principals apply to chicken bone broth which I will cover in a separate post soon.

What’s so Great about Bone Broth?

Bone broth is known as a super food. The cooking process breaks down bones and connective tissues – including proteins, minerals and fat – that heal the body in various ways. And because bone broth comes from pure nature, it’s sometimes more beneficial than taking supplements, especially for people with severe digestive problems.

When you ingest bone broth, it feeds the body with collagen, which is the building block of cells to bones, ligaments, cartilage and the brain.  Gelatin, a form of collagen used in food, is used (among other benefits) to help digestion because the liquid gets absorbed into the body quickly and without much effort. Making bone broth excellent for people with food sensitivities and gastrointestinal disorders because it is usually very safe and tolerable for the body.

There are other virtues of bone broth. Bone marrow helps the immune system by carrying oxygen to cells in the body.  Minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are essential for maintaining healthy bones and generating energy. And using cartilage-rich bones such as knuckles and chicken feet is said to be effective in treating arthritis and other degenerative joint diseases.

For example, people with food intolerances who suffer from a variety of digestive problems, often find bone broth is a way to superfeed the system without causing digestive discomfort.  In this example, the immune system has become so hyper-sensitive (from food intolerences) that it may also attack beneficial foods such as celery, navy beans and chicken. The body uses the collagen and other connective tissues in the broth to rebuild the damaged tissues like the intestinal lining. In this way, the bone broth heals the gut (i.e. leaky gut) without irritating the body.

Here’s what you need to make Beef Bone Broth:

• Grass Fed Beef Bones – Any beef bones will work with or without meat. Knuckle and Marrow bones are best, but not necessary. If you do not have a local source I recommend order thing them from US Wellness Meats (click HERE)
• Slow Cooker/Crock Pot –  No matter what size you have, it will work. However, I prefer to use a large oval 8 quart model so that I can make enough broth to last us a full week. Bigger Pot = More Bones = More Broth 🙂 (click HERE for the slow cooker/crock pot I have & recommend) 
• Raw, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar – Just a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar helps to draw the minerals out of the bones (This is the only ACV we use, buy HERE)
• Salt & Pepper – We only use Celtic Sea Salt (buy HERE) and Real Salt (buy HERE) in our kitchen, and so should you. Cheap Iodized Table Salt is bad for your health, where as Sea Salts are full of essential vitamins and minerals!
• Filtered Water – It’s a no brainer really. We all know that our tap water is horrible. It’s contaminated with everything from fluoride to chlorine. At our house we have 2 filters for drinking water, we recommend both equally (they both remove all the regular yucky stuff PLUS 99% of Fluoride) Berkey (learn more HERE) is a free standing, gravity feed water filter (no electricity needed) and Aquacera (learn more HERE) is an inline filter with a separate drinking water faucet at your sink, ours is also used to filter the water in our refrigerator’s automatic ice maker.

How I Make Beef Bone Broth in my slow cooker/crock pot:

1. Put your bones in your slow cooker/crock pot…

2. Season your bones with lots of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper….

3. Roast your beef bones (dry, do not add any water) for 6-8 hours on high…. (feel free to nibble at the meaty bits, they are super yummy! If you’re bones are very meaty you can pull the meat off the bones to eat then return the bones to the pot for broth)

4. Add water (preferably filtered) and a splash of ACV,to fill your slow cooker/crock pot and cover…

5. Let your (covered) broth cook on LOW for 48+ hours (that’s 2 days)…

6. Taste your broth, add additional sea salt as needed.. You can enjoy your broth right out of your slow cooker or Strain and store it in jars in the fridge (Like we do at my house)

When your broth is chilled in the fridge, the fat will solidify on top and can be removed, if desired (my hubby likes the fat in his broth, I do not) and your broth will gel (like jello) .. the stiffer gel your broth sets into the more gelatin it has in it (more gelatin = better broth)

Now you’ve made a beautiful batch of gut healing, nutrient dense bone broth – have a mug every day!! If you’ve made more than you can eat up in a week you can freeze, can or make into bouillon (get my recipe for Homemade Bone Broth Bouillon, click HERE)