Over the past several years, my husband and I have purchased beef shares from a local grass-fed beef ranch. In every share, we get packages of soup bones, which I love. They make the best-tasting bone broth—and all of those minerals and collagen from the bones are really good for you!
Prep time 10 minutes
Makes 3 to 31/2 quarts (2.8 to 3.3 liters)
3 to 5 pounds (1.4 to 2.3 kg) beef bones
1 large onion, quartered
2 to 3 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
2 to 3 carrots, cut into large pieces
A large handful of fresh herbs (like thyme, sage, parsley, or rosemary)
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Place all of the ingredients into a 6- or 7-quart (5.7 or 6.6 liter) slow cooker. Fill the cooker with water about an inch or two from the top.
2 Cover and cook on low for 36 hours.
3 Remove the bones and large vegetable pieces with tongs, and discard them. Pour the rest of the stock through a large fine-mesh strainer. Let the stock cool until it reaches room temperature.
4 If you aren’t using the stock right away, transfer it to containers for chilled storage. For freezing, I like to use quart-size (946 ml) plastic containers. You can also use mason jars, leaving a couple inches of head space, or zip-top freezer bags.
