How to Make Homemade Beef Broth

My First Attempt at Homemade Beef Broth.

Subtitled, Or How NOT To…

I can be very compulsive when it comes to trying new things in the kitchen, and sometimes things just don’t work if you don’t even attempt to research just a teensy bit before barging head-on with a new recipe. This was one of those times. My husband wanted to make a beef stir-fry with our leftover tri-tip steak. We also just happened to be out of any chicken or beef broth. I have always made my own chicken broth, but had never tried to make beef stock. However, I had been planning on doing so because I had been stockpiling beef rib bones in the freezer for just such purpose.  It was only about 4:30 and figured I had plenty of time to whip up some beef broth. I mean, it would be just like making chicken broth, right? Throw the bones into a pot of water, add some veggies and spices, and simmer for an hour or two, right?

Bones in Roasting Bag

Well… no. After a couple of hours, I realized I must have done something wrong, as the broth looked suspiciously like vegetable broth. At this point, one of my online friends pointed out to me that I needed to roast the bones in the oven first after I embarrassingly bragged about making my first batch of beef broth. Oops. All was not lost, though, as we went ahead and used the vegetable broth (with a brief hint of beef) for our stir-fry sauce, and it came out fine. I went ahead and froze the rest of the broth for a later use and rescued the bones (once again) so I could try attempt number two the next day.

Round two worked out perfect. I happened to have a turkey roasting bag on hand, so I put the bones and veggies in that. It made it a snap to turn the bones over half-way through the cooking time. Now we have plenty of beef (and vegetable) stock in our freezer for future concoctions!

Homemade Beef Broth

About 4 pounds of beef bones
3 to 4 carrots (or a half bag of baby carrots)
2 celery stalks with leaves
1 onion, quartered
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Seasoning (I used Garlic and Herb)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
10 whole black peppercorns

Roasted Beef Bones

Place the bones and veggies in a turkey roasting bag, then arrange in a layer on a large baking sheet. Cook in a 400 degree oven for one hour, flipping the bag after a half hour. Pour the contents of the bag into a dutch oven or large soup pot, then fill the pot with water. You can add more fresh veggies at this time if you want, I did. Then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for four to six hours, adding hot water as needed. The longer you cook it, the deeper brown your stock will turn. When ready, line a colander with cheese cloth, then strain the broth into another pot or bowl. You now have a healthy, no-salt beef broth!

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