Beef stock for beginners

If you don’t cook often, it’s easy to be intimidated by a package labeled “soup bones.” But bone broth, or beef stock, is really easy to make.

Here’s a helpful recipe to get you started.

Isn’t this visual format fun? This talented chef/artist has a fun cookbook that a friend of mine lent to me for a while. And then I saw this free download when I was browsing a Hy-Vee magazine. I recognized her style immediately so I saved it to share with you here.

Obviously, I could end this post here. Bone broth 101: See photo. Done!

But I will also share some of my tips and tricks.

First, let me encourage you to roast the soup bones first. I always used to skip this step, throwing the frozen soup bones right into the crockpot. But once I tried roasting, I have not looked back. It results in a much deeper flavor and color to your broth. Making broth is already such a slow process that the extra time to thaw and roast the soup bones first is usually no big deal. But if the extra step is putting you off from making the broth, I can safely say nothing will blow up if you skip it and get right to simmering the bones in some water.

I cut costs on this already frugal recipe by saving the ends and scraps of all of my carrots, celery and onions as I’m cooking other dishes. Every time (that I remember) when I’m cutting up one of those tasty elements for a dish — which is really often, because they’re delicious and ubiquitous — I throw the ends and outer peels and whatnot into a container in my freezer.

Then when the time comes to make my stock, I don’t have to sacrifice entire carrots and celery stalks to this project. I just dump in my stash of frozen veggie bits and get cooking.

Also, adding the apple cider vinegar probably serves some scientific purpose, but America’s Test Kitchen I am not so I will let you puzzle it out for yourself. Suffice it to say I have skipped that ingredient without dire consequences many times.

Instead of simmering the bones in a traditional pot, pan, or Dutch oven, I usually just use my crockpot. I feel safer leaving my house for the day or two when they’re simmering that way than if they were on a burner on my gas stove or in my gas oven.

However you do it, bone broth is simple as can be, and I always love it. I particularly love not buying it at the store, where it is pricier and usually saltier than I like.

I pour my finished stock into glass jars to store. Then I stick it in the freezer to save for use in any recipe that calls for broth or stock.

Quick tip: Have you noticed that just about every recipe out there calls for chicken broth or chicken stock? Even recipes involving beef, often. I have nothing against chickens, but if what you happen to have is beef broth, it’s fine to sub in your delicious homemade grassfed Svec Farm beef stock. It will be a different flavor; you know, beefier. But very tasty. And depending on the recipe, maybe even tastier

Of course I like to use our stock to make some delicious soup. Recipe for that coming up! ‘Tis the season for soup.

When you are making your soup bones into stock, as a side benefit, you will end up with some tasty meat tidbits. How much meat depends on the way the butcher cut the soup bones, the type of bone, and how many bones you started with.

Sometimes I get quite the harvest of meat when I cook up my soup bones. I have made lots of things with it. Of course it’s easy to add to the soup that you make with your stock. But it’s also handy for sandwiches or quesadillas or tacos, and I’ve even turned it into a take on beef stroganoff or used it in other recipes. Lots of options to enjoy those tender little tidbits.

Enough chatter. Let’s get to it! It’s a long (albeit hands-off) process, so why not thaw your soup bones today?