How to Make Beef Bone Broth

Cody is on day four hundred and eighty-seven. AP English was Wednesday and AP US History was Friday and both went well. Mr. Briggs found me in the hall after AP English on Wednesday afternoon and he said, very quietly, Kaylee, you wrote the kind of essay this exam exists to find. The exam wants a five-paragraph response on a passage. I had written six paragraphs and used a small reference to the kitchen as a structural metaphor for the passage’s argument about routine and survival. Mr. Briggs said the rubric will love it. The scores arrive in July.

And Mother’s Day is Sunday May thirteenth. I am making Mama a brunch this year — eggs Benedict, the recipe I had read about in Family Circle in 2017 and have been holding for the right Sunday morning. Mother’s Day is the right Sunday morning. I am practicing poaching eggs all week.

And the recipe Saturday for the regular post was Instant Pot beef bone broth, made from the bones of the church-potluck pot roast Mrs. Tilford donated to me earlier this week. The whole-roast trim from the kitchen at First Baptist usually goes into the trash; Mrs. Tilford had asked the kitchen volunteers to save them for me. She brought them over in a brown paper bag on Tuesday afternoon, raw and trimmed.

The bone broth recipe is from A Family Feast and uses the Instant Pot to compress what a stovetop simmer takes twenty-four hours to do into eight pressure-cooked hours. Bones, vegetables, vinegar (the vinegar pulls minerals from the bones), peppercorns, bay leaves, water. High pressure eight hours. Strain. The result is a deep mahogany-brown broth that is the kind of broth chefs sell for fifteen dollars a quart at fancy markets. The math: free for the broth itself (donated bones), plus the vegetables and seasonings about $1.50 worth.

The technique is the high-pressure long cook. You roast the bones at 425 for thirty minutes first to develop color and flavor. You transfer to the Instant Pot with quartered onion, halved carrots, halved celery, smashed garlic, two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves, water to cover. You pressure cook on high for four hours, natural release, then pressure cook another four hours, natural release. You strain through a fine mesh sieve. You cool, refrigerate overnight, skim the fat from the top. You have eight cups of mahogany-brown bone broth.

I am freezing six cups in two-cup portions and using two for cooking this week. Mama said, when I made a small bowl of the broth with chopped chives Sunday, baby, this is medicine. The bone broth is going to be a household staple now.

The recipe is below. The trick is the apple cider vinegar — do not skip it. The acid pulls the minerals from the bones into the broth.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 12-24 hours | Total Time: 12-24 hours | Servings: 10 (about 10 cups)

Ingredients

4 pounds beef bones (a mix of marrow bones and knuckle bones)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, quartered
2 large carrots, cut into chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
A small handful of fresh parsley stems
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
12-16 cups cold water

Instructions

Roast the bones. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Spread the beef bones on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once, until deeply browned. This step builds the rich color and flavor of the broth.
Add the vegetables. For the last 15 minutes of roasting, add the onion, carrots, and celery to the baking sheet alongside the bones. Let them caramelize and char at the edges.
Transfer to the pot. Move the roasted bones and vegetables to a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Pour a splash of water onto the hot baking sheet and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add that liquid to the pot—those browned bits are flavor.
Add aromatics and water. Add the garlic, apple cider vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley stems. Pour in enough cold water to cover the bones by about an inch. The vinegar helps draw minerals from the bones.
Bring to a simmer. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce heat to the lowest setting so the liquid barely bubbles. Skim off any foam or scum that rises to the surface during the first 30 minutes.
Simmer low and slow. Let the broth simmer, partially covered, for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the liquid stays at a bare simmer and add more water if the bones become exposed.
Strain and season. When the broth is deep brown and richly flavored, remove from heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or container, discarding the solids. Season with salt to taste.
Cool and store. Let the broth cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. A layer of fat will solidify on top—leave it as a seal until you’re ready to use the broth, then scrape it off or stir it in. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Nutrition (per serving)

How to Make Beef Bone Broth — The Eight-Hour Instant Pot Version from Donated Bones