Grass fed beef bone broth has become quite popular in recent years.

In my experience, there are three keys to making bone broth at home. First, always roast your bones in the oven first. This gives them a deeper, roasted and savory flavor. If you’re looking for a more mild flavor you may want to skip this step, but just know that we can’t be friends then.

Second, the longer you leave your bones simmering, the more flavorful and nutrient-dense your broth will be. That’s why I choose to use a slow cooker. I feel much more comfortable leaving my crockpot on overnight than my gas stove.

Third, where you get your bones matters. For the most nutrient rich broth, you need bones from animals that actually get all their nutrients. When it comes to beef, your bones absolutely need to be from cattle that are grass fed, and raised on pasture. Pro tip: Organic does not mean that they’re grass fed OR raised on pasture.
Also, grass fed does not always mean they’re 100% grass fed. Many grass fed cattle are fattened on grains before they’re slaughtered, which significantly affects the nutritional makeup of it’s meat and bones. Always double check when you buy your bones. If you’re not sure, you can order 100% grass fed beef that’s pasture raised on small family farms right here.

I love making grass fed beef bone broth at home. It’s not difficult, and it stocks my kitchen with a versatile superfood that works as a recipe ingredient and a standalone food. Yes, I occasionally drink my bone broth as a savory nutrient supplement.
When I make grass fed beef bone broth, I try to make the end result as versatile as possible. I don’t add sweet vegetables, and I make it very concentrated. That way, I can add dish-specific ingredients later and I can water down as needed.
For that reason, this bone broth turns out very gelatinous when refrigerated. That’s how you know it’s rich in healthy collagen and minerals. When it’s done, I freeze the broth in ice-cube trays so I may easily portion them out depending on my use. Two bowls of soup, use warm five cubes plus water. One cup of broth, use two cubes plus water.

Slow Cooker Grass Fed Beef Bone Broth Recipe

Serving Size: 20 servings

Cooking: Intermediate

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 12-24 hours

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs grass fed beef bones
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, or 1.5 tbsp dried rosemary
• 3/4 onion
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1-2 tsp peppercorns depending on how peppery you like (I do 2)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (crucial – helps extract minerals out of the bones)
• 8-10 cups cold water

Beef Bone Broth Directions:

1.) Wrap a cookie sheet in aluminum foil. Place bones on cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Roast for 30-45 min. When your bones turn dark brown/black around the edges, they’re ready to go.

Before and after roasting.

2.) While bones are roasting, add 8 cups of cold water to crock pot with all other ingredients.

3.) When bones are done roasting, transfer them to the crockpot and add water to submerge them as much as possible.

4.) Set crockpot on low (medium temp on a 3-setting slow cooker) for 12 hours.

5.) Let the magic happen.

6.) At 12-14 hours, your broth is probably good to go. I like to continue to simmer mine until I feel confident I’ve extracted every last drop of nutrients from them. When making this batch, I simmered for 14 hours total. I’ve simmered them as long as 20 hours before and had great results. One way to check is to tap your bones with a metal spoon. If the bones are getting pretty soft, they’re probably done. If you’re unsure, the good news is you’d have a hard time overcooking your broth, so go as long as you need to.

7.) When your broth is done, turn off the crock pot and let cool for about an hour.

8.) Then, pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer or colander into another vessel. Depending on your preference for purity, you can strain your broth one more time through cheesecloth for extra-pure broth. I’ve found that the straining once through my colander has been fine for me, but I have used cheesecloth before and it produced a beautifully pure broth.

9.) Place strained broth in refrigerator and let set for 10-12 hours.

10.) Fat and impurities will rise to the top and harden as the broth jellafies. Remove the hardened fat with a spatula and your hands.

11.) Transfer broth to ice cube tray and freeze. (warming the broth to liquid state will result in prettier broth cubes). Now you have ready-to-use broth cubes! Season to taste and add water as needed for each use, and enjoy!