Organic Bone Broth: Try this Beef Bone Broth Recipe
Curious about organic bone broth? Learn how to make rich beef bone broth and discover its powerful health benefits.
Have you always wanted to try organic bone broth or wanted to know what all the fuss was about? I’m not just going to tell you about bone broth but, I’m going to show you how to make the best organic beef both broth. Find out how to make it and why this stuff is so good for your health.
If you want to do something good for your health it’s time to pay attention. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you’ve probably heard about bone broth.
I mean you must have! Bone broth shops are popping up all over the country. And if you haven’t heard, it’s all good. So keep on reading. I’m going to show you how to make the best beef bone broth at home.
What exactly is bone broth?
Bone broth is a broth made from bones that have been cooked for many hours (sometimes days), to get the collagen and nutrients out of the bones. It’s not the same thing as chicken, beef or even turkey broth. The word “broth” has to be part of the name.
If you’re buying bone broth already prepared, look for the word “bone” in the title to make sure that you’re getting the right thing.
In this recipe, I’m using, pasture-raised grass-fed beef bones. When making bone broth, the bones are slow cooked for anywhere from 12-72 hours to get the very best broth. Beef bones are on the latter end of that scale.
In this case, I cooked the beef bones for 48 hours in a slow cooker, although you can use either a slow cooker or stove top. There is less tending if you opt for using a slow cooker.
Tools You’ll Need
- slow cooker or large 8 quart stock pot
- mason jars
- check out my Amazon shopping list for a more thorough look at what you need
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you may want to consider getting one.
It’s important to use grass-fed and organic bones when making bone broth. Otherwise, you risk ingesting nasty toxins, heavy metals and chemicals that are not good for anyone. That would just cancel out the benefits of consuming bone broth in the first place.
Minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and vitamin k are stored in the bones of animals.
Also important is the fact that when those bones are cooked the right way, collagen is released in addition to the minerals. Collagen is important for strong teeth, hair, nails and supple skin.
Collagen is most abundant protein in the body. However, the quantity of the collage reduces as we age. That’s one of the reasons that joints ache, hair snaps and skin can quickly wrinkle and sag.
Leaky Gut
In addition, collagen provides amino acids and minerals which help to heal leaky gut.
Leaky gut syndrome is condition where large holes form in the intestine and cause nutrients, minerals and waste (that should be excreted), to leak out of the intestine and into the bloodstream.
Leaky gut is a known culprit in autoimmune diseases, food sensitivities, anxiety, decreased immunity and more. So eating organic bone broth is more than about healthy aging and maintaining supple skin. Bone broth can have tremendous health benefits for gut health too.
You may be able to buy bone broth already prepared at the grocery store . But, good bone broth is hard to find.
Making gelatinous bone broth at home is the goal. Turkey, pork and chicken bone broth are also options. You can even mix chicken and beef bones if you’d like. It’s your party you can jam like you want to.
What Type of Bones to Use for Bone Broth
When purchasing bones for bone broth it’s important to stick to using grass-fed, grass finished bones (for beef broth). I like using a mixture of marrow bones a knuckle bone or two. Other bones like chicken tips, chicken feet and joints can be added for a mix, for a good quality bone broth.
- knuckle
- marrow bones (adds richness)
- oxtail bones
- feet bones (of you can get it)
- joint bones
Talk to your butcher if you’re unsure about what to get. I’ve made bone broth several times and after experimenting over the years, I’ve found what works best. Purchase the bones from local farms near you.
Once the bone broth is cooked, allow it to cool on the countertop and then sit in the refrigerator. After being left to settle and chill, what you should see is a layer of fat on top. The bone broth is located right below that.
A good bone broth will jiggle. That’s a sign that along with minerals, you have collagen in the jar too!
I like to use mason jars to easily see the separation and then skim off the fat to reserve for use in later cooking.
One of the goals when making homemade bone broth is to get the broth to gel. The gel is formed by the naturally occurring gelatin in the bones you start with. Sometimes you get it right, other times you don’t. Either way, what you get after starting with the right bones and then slow cooking for hours is pretty nutritious and delicious.
Again, it really depends on what type of bones you start with. If you start with bones with lots of connective tissue those found in beef knuckles it’ll be easier to gel. You can even add some chicken feet if you like.
How to Store Bone Broth
After cooking, store the beef broth in the fridge for up to 5 days. Remaining broth should be stored on the freezer. An easy way to do this is to pour the cooled broth in silicon ice cube molds, freeze and then put into freezer bags for longer storage.
How Long Does Frozen Beef Bone Broth Last?
For best quality, store bone broth for 4-6 months in the freezer.
How to Use Bone Broth
You can enjoy your organic beef bone broth in beef chili, beef stew, in side dishes or by itself.
The resulting broth can also be customized by adding additional herbs and spices like turmeric, cumin, curry or cayenne pepper for an extra anti-inflammatory kick.
A Note About Where to Buy Beef Bones for Beef Bone Broth
Organic beef bones are not easy to find. Even you can’t organic beef bones, here are some other important points to stick by when purchasing beef bones for your bone broth, that are even better than “organic”.
At minimum, make sure that the bones you source have these traits:
- grass-fed
- grass finished
- antibiotic free
- comes from pasture-raised and ethically raised animals
This minimizes the toxic load and makes for a more quality product in the end. Small farms (near you) that are transparent about their farming practices are best. Here’s a small farm where I’ve purchased bones in the past.
Look For These Key Words When Looking for A Farm to Purchase Bones From
As a best practice, look for these words on the farm’s website to make sure that you are getting the best quality product:
- 100% grass fed and grass finished
- no chemicals
- no antibiotics
- humanely-raised
- no mRNA vaccines
- no GMO’s
- regenerative
Tips and Tricks
While this recipe calls for garlic, thyme and onions you can opt to use scraps from a veggie scrap bag (if you have one) instead.
A veggie scrap bag is simply a freezer bag that contains peels from onions, garlics and stems from herbs (like rosemary and thyme), that you would typically throw away. I keep mine in the freezer.
The peels from onions and garlic contain quercetin and lots of other beneficial compounds which make bone broth even more nutritious. If you have veggie scraps available, about 1/2 cup will do in leu of the onion, garlic and thyme mentioned in this recipe.
Recipes Where You Can Use Bone Broth
Organic Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef marrow bones can use a mix of beef bones with cartilage, and some tendons
- 1 onion thickly sliced, peels don’t have to be removed
- 1 head of garlic sliced in half
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 fistful fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt
- Enough water to cover 1 inch over bones
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Roast bones for 20 minutes.5 pounds beef marrow bones
- Flip bones and continue cooking for 20 more minutes.
- Place onions, garlic, thyme, vinegar, peppercorns, bones, salt and bay leaves in slow cooker.1 onion, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 bay leaves, 1 fistful fresh thyme, 1 tbsp whole peppercorns, 1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt, 1 head of garlic
- Add just enough filtered water to the pot to over the bones.Enough water to cover
- Simmer on low slow cooker setting for 24-48 hours.
- Filter the stock and then enjoy.
- Allow to cool before storing.
- *Leftover beef bone broth can be stored for up to 5 days in tightly sealed jars. After that, freeze remaining in silicone cube trays before storing in a freezer bag or container and freezing up to six months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Recipes You May Like
Original: January 20th 2020, Updated February 19, 2024
Updated for content & photos: February 11, 2026
Today was soup day and this beef bone broth was the first one. The roasting onions & beef bones filled the house with delicious aromas that were merely a preview of the finished broth. My only “adjustment” was to use my Instant Pot & made the broth under pressure rather than using the slow cooker function. Opening the pot my nose was met with the scent of rich, deep beef broth. What a delicious cup of healing nourishment I enjoyed once it was cool enough to drink! The batch is now cooling & will be stored in glass jars very soon!
The scent does waft up the whole house. So much anticipation. The flavors definitely don’t disappoint.