Sunday 16 August 2015

Beef Super Stock (aka Bone Broth)

Carole's Chatter: Bone Broth


I heard in so many places that this Bone Broth was so good for you that I decided to try it myself.  It's really like doing a beef stock but letting cook out for a lot longer.

Cutting to the chase, the end result was edible (so long as salt and pepper was added) but not all that yummy.  I will be using it in soups, stews and casseroles though – and I'm sure it is full of goodness.

Next time I make a bone broth I might use chicken bones – their flavour might be a little lighter.

The texture of the finished broth when cold is jelly like – I guess that is all the gelatine – which is supposed to be so good for you.

If you want to try this yourself, this is how I did mine:

I bought 2/12 kilos (say 5 pounds) of beef bones from the butcher.  They were large bones and very cheap.  I roasted the bones in the oven for about 3 hours before putting the bones into my slow cooker (they took up about ¾ of the room).  You then cover them with water (I used filtered) and add some aromatics and seasonings.  I added:

Bay leaves
Garlic oil (instead of fresh garlic which I don't tolerate well)
Pepper
A carrot cut up into chunks
A good splosh of apple cider vinegar (any sort of vinegar would do)
2 dried red chillies
A piece of cassia bark
Some fresh herbs

Despite all this flavourful stuff the end result was bland – so I'd add even more next time.

I cooked this on low for about 27 hours – yes, more than one day.  You are supposed to keep cooking until the bones have a bit of a crumbly consistency.

Then I did something wrong – but rescuable.  I let the broth cool over night.  Then I scooped off the thick layer of fat off the top – and kept it for future use.

Carole's Chatter: Bone Broth before removing layer of fat


But what I should have done was to sieve the broth while it was still hot and then let it cool.  Because I did it the other way round I had to reheat it to be able to sieve it.  Also  it would have been better if my sieve was a finer one.

But the end result looked clear enough – but as I said I think it is an acquired taste – only made edible by the addition of salt, sherry vinegar and cayenne pepper.

4 comments:

  1. So, basically, homemade beef broth, with a little extra bones. LOL

    I'm not much of a soup person and the whole jellied thing kind of is...ick. ;-)

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  2. I make a lot of soup in the fall and winter so I may do this! I have never roasted the bones first so I will give that a try! Louis Dean bought us a chest freezer - he put it in our gazebo - so now I will have a place to actually STORE frozen food and be able to FIND them!!

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  3. I love organic bone broth!! I make it regularly in a crockpot for digestive issues and the collagen.

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  4. One of my grandmothers used to make this, but I've never tried to do it myself. Sounds like it's pretty easy.

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