Homemade Beef Stock Recipe | The Prairie Homestead (2024)

If you’ve been into real food for any amount of time,

…then you’ve probablyheard lots of people referencehomemade beef stock or bone broth (or homemade beef broth).

Why People Love Homemade Beef Stock (or Homemade Bone Broth)

First off,homemade bone broth is one of the most nourishing things you can make. Homemade beef stock promotes healthier digestion, reduces inflammation, inhibits infection, and promotes healthy bones and joints.

Secondly,homemade beef stock is muchhealthier and more nourishing than store-bought beef broth or stock. Even those “organic” store broths are just missing the mark. They might not be loaded with the typical MSG, but they are missing out on all the nutrition of homemade bone broth.

And finally, homemade bone broth or beef stock incredibly frugal and simple to make. Where else can youturn leftover bones and scraps of veggies into such avaluable food item? If you know how to toss ingredients into a slow cooker and press the start button, then you can do this!

I prefer to use my slow cooker when making homemade stock. It can definitely be done with a regular stovetop, but I don’t trust myself to leave a simmering pot on my stove for 24 hours without causing a huge mess or burning something down…

There are many different ways to make beef stock, but here I how I do it. Making homemade beef stock is definitely not an exact science, and personally, I think it is one of the easiest real food components you can make.

Learn more Old-Fashioned & Heritage Cooking Tips…

I am passionate about making from-scratch foods in my kitchen. If you are interested in learning through videos and guidebooks, I have myHeritage Cooking Crash Course, where I teach you how to make all sorts of heritage foods like homemade broth, gravy, breads, how to use a both a waterbath and pressure canner, how to make fermented foods, and more.

I also have myThe Prairie Homestead Cookbook, where I share simple, easy, and delicious recipes for heritage cooking in the kitchen. I hope my cookbook inspires you in the kitchen!

Homemade Beef Stock Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs of beef bones (any bones will work, but I especially like knucklebones and oxtails, since contain a large amount of gelatin, which makes homemade beef stock especially nourishing)
  
• 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 10 black peppercorns
• Salt (to taste–I love this one)
• Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (my favorites are beef stock seasonings are rosemary, thyme, sage, and bay leaf)
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Cold water

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Place the bones in a shallow roasting pan and allow them to roast until sufficiently browned. They don’tneed to cook completely, justdevelop adecent brown coloringwhichwill increase flavor.

Wash and coarsely chop the veggies– don’t be afraid to include the carrot, celery, and onion tops. No need to throw them away! Fine dicing is not necessary– just coarse chop and go. I wash the carrots but don’tpeel them.

Addthe veggies and bones to your slow cooker and season with your choice of herbs and spices. Be careful not to add too much salt since the recipes in which you use your stock will probably already be salted. Also, if you store your stock for a period of time, certain seasonings and the salt may intensify. You can always add more saltlater.

Cover completely with cold water and add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (optional) to help the bones release some of their minerals and gelatin.

Set your slow cooker (or pot on the stove) to high and allow the stock to come to a boil, then reduce the setting to low and allow it to cook for anywhere from 12-24 hours.

There may or may not be some “scum” or frothy impurities that rise to the top. You can skim these off, if you wish (I generally haven’t had to really do this).

After 24 hours of simmering, you are ready to strain your homemade beef stock.

I like to set a colander inside a bowl and place them in my sink. You could also use cheesecloth or a large strainer.

Carefully pour the stock mixture into the colander. I like to pour in a little at a time, then use a fork to smash the vegetables in order to release any extra liquid they might be retaining.

You could use your stock right away in a delicious soup, store it in the fridge for several days, freeze it, or can it. My favorite method of preservation is canning my homemade beef stock with my pressure canner, as it saves room in my crowded freezer.Learn how to can your broth here.

Homemade Beef Stock Frequently Asked Questions:

Can you eat the vegetables that are left after the stock is strained?

I supposed you could, but we don’t. I figure that all the “good stuff” has pretty much been leached out of them, so I don’t imagine they would taste like much. However, the chickens love them, as well as the bits of meat that havefallen off the bone.

Why are we trying to make the stock have gelatin?

Not only isgelatin a trademark of a well made, gourmet stock, it also is incredibly good for you. Gelatin has been found to boost the immune system and assist with digestion, as well ashaving amyriad of other benefits. Eating chicken soup when you are sick may not be an old wives tale after all (providing you are eating real soup, not the stuff in the red and white can).

What if my stock DOESN’T have gelatin?

No worries– that happens to me sometimes, too. The beef stock will still be delicious and nourishing.

Why use vinegar?

Adding vinegar to your beef stock is said to help to extract gelatin and nutrients from the bones. I have never been able to taste the vinegar in the finished product and I don’t believe it effects the flavor much, if at all.

Can I do this with chicken?

Absolutely! Homemade chicken stock is just as nourishing and tasty as homemade beef stock. You can find instructions for homemade chicken stock here. And here’s a tutorial for homemade pork broth as well.

There is one downfall to making stock at home– if you allow it to simmer all night, it’s likely the smell will cause you to wake up hungry. But, I think that hardship is worth all the valuable nutrients that homemade stock brings to a real food kitchen. 😉

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