Slow Cooker Beef Bone Broth Recipe

Joshua McGee Blog posts 43 comments

This slow cooker beef bone broth is deeply savory, full-bodied, and naturally gelatinous when chilled. Roasting the bones first builds richer flavor, while a long, gentle cook extracts body from marrow, knuckle, shoulder, and oxtail bones.

Slow Cooker Beef Bone Broth

A rich, savory beef broth made with roasted bones, aromatic vegetables, and a long slow-cooker simmer.

Yield: About 3 quarts   Prep:   Cook:

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Ingredients

  • 3–3½ pounds assorted beef bones, such as marrow, knuckle, shoulder, or oxtail
  • 2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3–4 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 leek, white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise, thoroughly rinsed, and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 handful parsley stems
  • 5–6 garlic cloves
  • 1–2 bay leaves
  • 20 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Marmite
  • Filtered water, as needed (about 1 gallon)

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a roasting pan with nonstick spray and arrange the bones in a single layer.
  2. Roast for 45–60 minutes, turning halfway through, until the bones and any attached meat are deeply browned.
  3. Transfer the bones to a large slow cooker. Carefully deglaze the roasting pan with boiling water, scraping up the browned bits, and add the liquid to the slow cooker.
  4. Add the carrots, celery, leek, parsley stems, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and Marmite. Add enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch.
  5. Cover and cook on Low for 24–36 hours, until the broth tastes rich and full-bodied.
  6. Remove the bones and large vegetable pieces. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into clean, heat-safe containers.
  7. Cool promptly in small, shallow containers or in an ice bath, then refrigerate. Once chilled, lift off the solidified tallow and save it for cooking, if desired.

Storage

Refrigerate within 2 hours. Keep refrigerated for 3–4 days, or freeze for 2–3 months for best quality. When freezing in glass, use freezer-safe, straight-sided jars and leave adequate headspace for expansion.

Notes

The cooked vegetables will have given most of their flavor to the broth and can be discarded. Any tender beef picked from the bones can be reserved for another dish.

Step by step

Assorted raw beef bones arranged in a roasting pan
Use a mixture of marrow, joint, and meaty bones for balanced flavor and body.
Beef bones browned after roasting
Roast until the bones and attached meat are deeply browned.
Roasted beef bones, vegetables, and aromatics in a slow cooker
Add the roasted bones, vegetables, aromatics, and enough water to cover.
Finished beef bone broth in the slow cooker after 30 hours
The broth after about 30 hours on Low.
Freshly strained beef bone broth in a heat-safe container
Strain out the bones, vegetables, and fine particles.
Containers of beef bone broth cooling in an ice bath
An ice bath helps cool the strained broth promptly.
Homemade beef bone broth portioned into pint jars
Portion the cooled broth for refrigeration or freezing.
Jars of beef bone broth stored in a freezer
Freeze in suitable containers with room for the broth to expand.
A round layer of chilled beef tallow removed from the broth
Once chilled, the tallow lifts away from the broth in a solid layer.
Cleaned beef tallow ready to freeze for cooking
Clean and freeze the tallow for future cooking, if desired.
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