Nourishing Beef Bone Broth (2024)

I showed you how to make chicken bone broth work into busy, “real mama schedules” in THIS post.

Now let’s talk beef bone broth. Why? Both broths have the same nourishing attributes, but sometimes you need a richer, beefier flavor than chicken broth for certain meals like stew or french onion soup!

Also, beef bones (sometimes labeled as soup bones at your butcher) are super cheap. This is such an affordable way to get vital minerals, nutrients, and protein into your family. I can’t afford more than about 1 whole chicken per week or so, and I use the bones up as good as I can for making chicken bone broth. But I can buy soup bones at a very good price – the farm we get them from sells 3lb bags of just the bones. If you are a family that likes to purchase a side of beef (whether ¼, ½, or whole cow) every year, you certainly have a good supply of bones to use as well. Use them up! I can get 3-4 gallons of beef bone broth out of one 3lb bag of beef bones!

If you are unsure of where to purchase bones from, ask around at your local farmer’s markets. Check out THIS site for farmers in your area that provide raw milk – many of them also sell beef products from what I have found. Find a local WAPF chapter near you and ask the leader – they will be *more* than happy to point you in the right direction!

Tips:

• I roast my bones on a large jelly roll pan – I get quite a bit of fat (tallow) run off and this is fantastic for frying/sautéing in!
• After you roast the bones, scoop out the marrow from the round bones and serve it to the littles (or yourself!). The marrow is a superfood in itself! My big girls eat it right off the spoon but you can also spread it on crackers, stir it into a soup or stew, or smash it into some baby food (I mix a little into chicken or beef purees with the bone broth for baby. Once baby is taking thicker textures I get them used to it right off the spoon!)
• I use my roasting oven and do 2 “rounds” of bone broth with these huge beef bones. I get 8 quarts (about 2 gallons!) of bone broth from one batch and then put them back in for another round and get another 4ish quarts. Doing it this way I usually only need to make beef bone broth every other month!
• Beef bone broth does have a richer flavor than chicken stock – I don’t usually drink it straight out of the mug – although you can! I prefer using beef bone broth for soups like French Onion or Beef Stew. I don’t season my broth while making it that way I can season it to whatever recipe I am using.
• All 3 of my girls will drink beef bone broth straight out of a cup (well my 5 month old off a spoon or syringe for now!)! Don’t forget those babies! Creating a healthy taste palate for menu items like this is so nourishing and is so beneficial to your meal making plans!
• If you have an older crockpot, the seal on the lid may not be very good and you may find the liquid evaporates – I used to put a big pot on the top of my lid to hold it down for a better seal! It works great. OR! Get one of these crockpots with a snap down lid on your wishlist for your birthday or Christmas! I am currently using my oven roaster for my broth making and I don’t have any evaporating issues with it.

Let me know how the bone broth making goes – and what you use it for!