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You are here: Home / Recipes / Soups / Homemade Beef Stock

Homemade Beef Stock

January 14, 2014 Updated November 19, 2020 11 Comments

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This year I resolve to avoid processed foods as much as possible.  We all know that homemade is generally best.  I love having homemade beef and chicken stock in my freezer.  The best soups begin with homemade stock or broth.  My mother always started her vegetable soup with a big old soup bone simmering all day with chopped onions, carrots, and celery.

 

I know exactly what goes into my beef stock.  No additives or preservatives.  No salt.  I like to add that later as I’m making a dish.  Homemade beef stock enhances the flavors or gravies, sauces and soups.

 

Homemade stocks are pretty simple. They just require several hours of simmering .  Since I want to freeze extra stock I’m making a large batch.

Homemade Beef Stock:

2 large onions, roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, roughly chopped
3 large or 6 small carrots, peeled, ends removed and roughly chopped
5-6 pounds beef soup bones
3 bay leaves
fresh parsley
fresh thyme

This should make 1 1/2 – 2 gallons

 

Place the soup bones in a large roasting pan.

 

Wash and roughly chop the celery.

 

Wash, peel, and roughly chop the carrots.  Remove ends.  Use good fresh produce.  Remember:  Garbage in.  Garbage out.

Peel and roughly chop the onions.

 

Toss the vegetables in the roasting pan with the soup bones.

 

Place in a preheated 500F (260C) oven.  Roast for about 20 minutes.  If my chance your oven temp does not go as high as 500F, just use the highest temperature you can.

This will brown the bones and veggies and give the stock a rich and deeper flavor.

 

After 20 minutes of roasting, remove from the oven.

 

You can see how the bones have started to brown.

 

The bottom of the roasting pan has wonderful caramelized juices from the veggies and beef bones.

 

Place the veggies and beef bones in a large stockpot that can hold at least 2 gallons of liquid.

 

All of these browned bits and glaze equals flavor.  I want to save all the flavor.

 

Place the roasting pan over a stovetop burner and add 4 cups of water.

 

As the water begins to boil, loosen up the brown bits and glaze from the pan.  Let the water simmer until the glaze has dissolved.

 

Add enough cold water to barely cover the bones and vegetables.  I’m using cold water because I want to slowly simmer the bones and vegetables.  Simmering slowly releases some awesome flavor and marrow from the bones.  This will help create a gelatinous stock when refrigerated.

Pour the pan juices into the pot.

 

Tie a handful of parsley and thyme together with a piece of twine.

 

Add 3 bay leaves.

 

And the bundle of herbs (bouquet garni) into the pot.

 

Cover and simmer over very low heat for 5-6 hours.

 

Remove stock from the heat.

 

Line a large strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth.

 

Carefully pour the mixture into the strainer.  The stock is very hot.

Discard the bones or give them to a dog, or whatever it is you do with your bones.

 

Let the stock cool and then place in a refrigerator.  This will allow any fat (and there will be a lot) rise to the top and harden.  Once the fat has hardened remove from the top of the stock and discard.  (Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this step).

 

 

 

Once the stock has completely cooled and the fat has been removed, ladle into jars or freezer containers for later use.

You will never regret taking the time to make your own stock.   Especially when you make my Vegetable Barley soup coming soon.  The difference between good food and FABULOUS food is making it from scratch in your kitchen.  It is more work, but so worth the time and effort…in my humble opinion.

5 from 1 vote
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Homemade Beef Stock

You will never regret taking the time to make your own stock. The difference between good food and FABULOUS food is making it from scratch in your kitchen.
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword beef stock recipe, homemade beef stock, how to make beef stock
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 40 minutes
Servings 24 servings
Calories 7 kcal
Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

  • 2 large onions roughly chopped
  • 3 celery ribs roughly chopped
  • 3 large or 6 small carrots peeled, ends removed and roughly chopped
  • 5-6 pounds beef soup bones
  • 3 bay leaves
  • fresh parsley
  • fresh thyme

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 500F (260C).  In a large roasting pan add beef soup bones and chopped vegetables. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the bones and veggies are beginning to brown.  Remove from oven and place bones and vegetables in a very large stock pot. Add enough cold water to barely cover bones. Set aside.
  2. Place the roasting pan on a stove top burner. Add 4 cups water and simmer, stirring to loosen up brown bits on bottom of pan then add to stock pot.  Add the bay leaves, parsley and thyme.  Cover and simmer over very low heat for 5-6 hours.
  3. Line a large strainer with a double layer of cheese cloth and place over a large bowl or container.  Remove stock pot from heat and pour liquid through the strainer allowing the bones and vegetables to fall into the strainer.  Allow stock to cool then place in refrigerator until any fat has risen to the top and hardened. Remove the hardened fat and discard.  Ladle stock into individual containers, if desired.  Can be frozen.

Recipe Notes

This should make 1 1/2 - 2 gallons of beef stock.

Nutritional calculations are approximate for all recipes.  The calculations I have used have not included any beef fat that may have on the bones.  I strain and drain off as much of the fat as I can.  

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Beef Stock
Amount Per Serving (8 ounces)
Calories 7 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Sodium 6mg0%
Potassium 38mg1%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 1276IU26%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 5mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Filed Under: Soups Tagged With: beef broth, beef stock, homemade beef stock, step-by-step instruction, step-by-step photo's.

Previous Post: « Spiced Almond Milk Steamer
Next Post: Vegetable Barley Soup »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda says

    June 30, 2021 at 7:35 am

    SO I NOTICED THAT PER CUP IT’S 7 CALORIES, BUT WHERE DID THE 9 CALORIES FROM FAT COME FROM? Am I missing something?

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      July 8, 2021 at 4:23 am

      I’m not sure where you are seeing the 9 calories???

      Reply
  2. Aram says

    November 18, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    Hi janet,
    I’m impressed that the recipe measurs at 9 mg of sodium per serving. Unfortunately the nutrition label doesn’t tell you what counts as a serving. I am assuming its 1 cup. Can you verify?

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      November 19, 2020 at 2:28 am

      Nutritional data is always approximate. The sodium content depends on how much salt is added to the broth. I generally don’t add salt at all. This broth was made without salt. I have recalculated the nutritional data using 24 (8 oz) servings. No sodium was added to the broth. I hope this helps. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Please let me know if you have any further quesitons.

      Reply
  3. Mama Bug says

    January 16, 2014 at 9:34 pm

    Do you have a vegetable broth version of this? I'd love to make my own but we don't do red meat. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      January 20, 2014 at 4:16 am

      I'm not going to lie, I have never made vegetable stock AND I should. I'll checking into some recipes. I'm going to start here: http://food52.com/blog/9536-5-links-to-read-before-making-stock

      Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      January 28, 2014 at 4:23 am

      I just found a link for vegetable stock. Looks easy and delicious: http://food52.com/blog/9431-eat-all-your-vegetables-how-to-use-stems-and-roots

      Reply
  4. Tami Burgess says

    January 14, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    Thank you so much for inspiring me once again! I do make chicken broth but I have never made beef broth so I thank you for the information on how to do it. I do have one question — do I spray the roasting pan with vegetable spray or do I sprinkle a little olive oil on the vegetables and bones before putting it in the oven?

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      January 15, 2014 at 2:13 am

      I don't spray the pan. You could, but I like to bones to stick a bit so I can get the brown bits on the bottom. Sometimes I do have to work a little to release the bones. A little spray or oil would probably be a good idea.

      Reply
  5. Nadine says

    January 14, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    Looks delicious! I never thought to roast the veggies with the bones, I will have to try that next time.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Blessings,
    Nadine

    Reply
    • Janet Barton says

      January 15, 2014 at 2:14 am

      Thanks for your comment, Nadine.

      Reply
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Janet Barton

Hi I'm Janet and this is where I share my delicious made-from-scratch seasonal recipes that I make at home for my family every day.

I believe cooking from scratch, using unprocessed and whole foods is an important part of healthy eating. My goal is to help you create amazing recipes by providing easy step-by-step photos and instructions.

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