Beef Bone Broth

This makes about a gallon and a half of broth, so you need a large, heavy-bottomed pot; mine holds about five gallons. You can halve the recipe, but it is labor-intensive enough that a big batch is easier.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds beef marrow bones
• 5 large carrots
• 1 large onion
• 7 celery stalks
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 can plain tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Avocado oil for drizzling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; not necessary, but it makes cleanup much easier.
2. Cut the vegetables into big chunks and crush the garlic with your hand, but don’t dice anything. Nothing needs peeling, but wash everything well.
3. Divide the bones between the two sheets. Salt and pepper them, drizzle with avocado oil (not canola or vegetable oil), and rub the tomato sauce over them to coat. Divide the vegetables between the sheets.
4. Roast for about an hour, watching that the tomato sauce doesn’t burn. You want the bones browned and the marrow softened; that is where the flavor comes from.
5. Put your big pot in the sink and slide everything in: hold each pan over the pot and pull the parchment so it all slides right in. Rinse the paper and the pans into the pot too, because good flavor sticks to them.
6. Fill the pot with water to the top, leaving a little room for the boil, and don’t let it get too heavy before you move it to the stove.
7. Cook the bones for 24 to 36 hours, depending on their size and fat content. I keep it at a high simmer while I’m home and awake and turn it lower when I’m gone or asleep. Top the water back up whenever it drops to about half.
8. It is done when the marrow has dissolved and the bones are clean. Then let the broth reduce to about half to two-thirds of the pot.
9. Turn the pot off and let it cool for a couple of hours, but not too long. Strain through a fine sieve into jars or freezer bags.

Notes

I fill quart freezer bags with two cups each, lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze, and stack them in the freezer bin; it takes far less room than jars. For a lower-fat broth, chill the strained broth in the fridge and skim the fat that sets on top (I don’t bother; a little fat never hurt). I always use local grass-fed, organic beef and organic vegetables: fewer harmful chemicals, more nutrition your body can use, and a better life for the animals that give theirs for ours. Check your farmers market or an independent butcher. Use the broth in soups, cook grains in it, or sip it like a tea (I stir in Bragg Liquid Aminos for flavor). It makes a wonderful gift for someone who is sick. And the strained solids, minus the onion skins, mix into dog food; ours love it.