Basic Beef Stock

This is definitely the way to make a good beef stock. The only change I made was to roast the bones for a lot longer at a lower temp. I actually roasted for about five hours in order to bring out the flavors. (Just a tip: every time I cut an onion, peel potatoes, carrots or chop celery, I save all the peels, put them in a zip lok bag and throw it in the freezer. In a few months I have a good start on my stock) The vegie and seasoning combos were perfect which created a wonderful stock. I used this recipe to make french onion soup. My hubby Drew and the kids order french onion almost every time we go out for dinner as their appetizer. I never do because of the high salt content, so I was very pleased to be able to make a wonderful stock and at the same time control the amount of sodium. My kiddies say "thanks Wolverine"!

i've made my own beef-bone stock for yrs, but never thought to roast the bones until i stumbled across this recipe. i used whatever was on sale: beef marrow bones, and beef spare ribs, didn't have any parsnips so i omitted them. Added a whole bulb of garlic along with the roasting part. The stock came out AMAZINGLY AWESOME. The roasting gave the stock a whole new dimension of flavors and gave the stock a beautiful caramel color that my previous bone-stock recipes lacked. The roasted garlic scent was very obvious, i thought it added depth to the stock, but it might be too overpowering for non-garlic lovers. But overall, it's a beautiful stock that's worth the effort.

At last: a recipe contributor who knows the difference between beef stock and beef broth. Broth is made by simmering bones and beef pieces. Stock is made by roasting the bones first. They are two totally different foods. This one is excellent. Great for all kinds of recipes, but it makes an especially good French onion soup.

Very good tasting beef stock. It is very time consuming and lots of work, but definitly worth it in the end. I will be using this stock to make onion soup. Since it is a complicated recipe I doubled it so that I can freeze some for later use. I used 6 lbs of beef ribs and doubled the rest of the ingredients. The ribs have more meat than soup bones so it still had a wonderfully rich flavor. The only small change I did was use beef bouillon instead of salt.

I used whatever tired old veggies I had in the fridge, as well as whatever beef bones, old stewing beef, etc I had in the freezer. I made a huge pot to freeze in tubs for other recipes. After letting it cool and sit in the fridge for the night, I skimmed off the fat, discarded the veggies and bones and I shredded all the meat that was left to make chili in the slow cooker today.

This is, by far, the best beef stock I have ever made. It was simple to make, and I particularly like the long cooking time. I think a long cooking time makes the stock heartier. The only ingredient I couldn't get was the parsnip; so I would continue to make the stock without it. It is perfect exactly as I made it. I didn't even have to add extra salt or other seasonings. Thanks for this gem.

Made this recipe using my Nesco roaster and am very happy with the result. This is a very easy recipe and smells delicious while simmering.

Marvelous! Such a wonderful, easy thing to make. I left out the parsnips, because I never buy such things, as well as the tomato and garlic (because my son is allergic, sigh). I also, on the recommendation of my butcher, tossed in a couple of nice short ribs to add extra flavor, and I added about a teaspoon of paprika to give some of the punch that garlic would have given it. I used potato peelings instead of the potato flesh and roasted the bones/ribs/carrots/onions for a little over an hour at 400 degrees. I also let it simmer for a good bit longer than 5 hours to let it reduce. A wonderful result, and the house smelled amazing all day!

Amazing! My first attemp at homemade stock. This recipe wasn't complicated at all and great for a day cleaning around the house. I used beef ribs baked for an hour then basted them with tomato paste, added veggies and roasted an addl 30 minutes. DH was totally blown away. You cannot get this from a can. Thanks Wolverine!

A keeper. I picked up beef shank bones and beef neck bones from my local butcher (very inexpensive). The neckbones had meat on them whereas the shanks were mostly just bone. Roasting at a lower temp for several hours is just what I did. Not wanting the onion and carrots to blacken, i removed those after the first hour of roasting and saved in the fridge until time to simmer. I shopped specifically for preparing this recipe, and glad I planned ahead. The end result was magnificant.. a well-rounded robust stock with the perfect flavor. This recipe yielded the full 8 cups (2 quarts). Next time I will double this recipe (using a 12quart stock pot) to yield a gallon. Gotta make sure you leave it covered while it simmers, otherwise all your good stock will evaporate. [To those who low-rate this and other recipes after having altered the recipe, remove your rating as it isn't fair to the submitter].

Used rutabaga instead of parsnip. Dried parsley instead of fresh. 1 pack beef short ribs instead of bones. Added shredded meat back in at end. Used to make clear broth soup for sick family. Discarded celery/potatoes/rutabaga. Saved carrots. Added brown rice at end. jason loved it!

I also did like Linda Mclean (and others) roasting at 300 or 4 hours turning occasionally. During last hour I tossed in a small head of garlic as well. I didn't have parsnip and didn't use the potato. Used dried parsley as its all I had. I did have fresh rosemary which I added 2 large sprigs of. (I'm a rosemary fan). I didn't drain off the fat because after 1st straining I chill stock in frige, then remove solidified fat on top. I keep and freeze the fat to use in making refried beans, savory pie doughs, homemade noodles, etc., vs commercial lard which has hydrogenated fats, yuk & I hate to waste anything that can b repurposed. As for the rest of directions, spot on. I dig making my own stocks which I freeze in portions for many applications. I use beef neck bones (very meaty) I get for $1.49 lb. The soup bones I see are just that - nothing but bones. I tried those before and didn't get great results. Oxtail would work too but it costs more. Thanks for the post for honest to goodness 'stock'.

I followed the recipe to a T, and it came out very bland. I used fresh marrow bones, veggies and fresh herbs. I roasted the bones and vegetables and slowly simmered the whole thing on the stove top. After 4 hours, it produced 4 cups of stock. Adding more water would only make it blander. It smelled great and I was really looking foward to using this, but it wasn't worth sitting around the house all day to make such a small quanity. I make great chicken stock all the time, so this isn't a new concept for me.

fantasic flavours hands down beats store bought broth. browned bones as recomended at a lower temperature for about 4 hours then threw it all into a slow cooker for about 24 hours. strained everything out and let sit in the fridge over night so I could remove the fat. used it for french onion soup for a party and was told it was the best anyone had ever had :) will definitly make as often as possible

Well, I got the stock made, and it tastes really good, but it sure doesn't look like the picture posted. Mine is fairly pale looking. I followed the recipe to a "t" but increased the roasting time to 45 min. Also, even after all the straining and clarifing, mine had gross-looking stuff in it. I was praying it wasn't the egg, although I didn't see how it could get through all that cheesecloth. When I heated it again and stirred it, it disappeared. I regfigerated it overnight so I could take off all the fat, and yet it still seems fatty. I'm not sure why you would want to discard the meat. I grew up poor and hungry, so I very rarely throw food away. I diced it up to yield four cups. One cup is now simmering in Beef and Barely Soup III from this site (best B and B soup EVER!). I froze 2-1/2 C. for beef hash, which I serve with eggs, homemade biscuits and salsa. Finally, I froze 2 small packs for quesadillas, made with beef, sauteed peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream on the side.

I am having trouble finding beef bones to use for this recipe. I have made stock before at restaurants I have worked at, but I am not sure what beef bones to get at the grocery store. Any help would be aprreciated.

I learned this one from my Mother over 60 years ago. The only thing I have changed is the way to deglaze the roaster. I use a big splash, (1/2 to 3/4 cup) of Sweet Vermouth.

Delicious! My first time making any sort of stock, and it turned out wonderfully tasty and sweet. Thanks for some great tips!

I roasted the bones with tomato paste on them for one hour, then added to a pan with onion, leek, celery and carrot - brought to a boil then put in my crock pot hoping that it would still turn out. Needed to use a little more soup bones as it tasted more like vegetable broth when it got done, but it worked great for a soup the next day with leftover roast pieces, celery and angel hair pasta. It is very time consuming but it is worth it. Mine seemed fine using the crock as oposed to a stock pan all day (didn't want to babysit the stove)I let it sit in the fridge overnight and the fat was easy to skim off the top. Thank you for the help!

Amazing stock. Roasting everything in the oven gives it a fantastic, rich flavor. I will never used store-bought stock again.

This is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket. I did leave out the tomato (the tomatoes we can get in PA in January aren't great) and parsnip (used more potato instead). I saved the meat (which literally fell off the bones) to use for another meal rather than discarding it. I got 3 quarts of stock.

Absolutely the ONLY way to make stock. I made a huge batch and froze some for future use. It is perfect for those who have allergies to soy and other ingredients found in premake broth and much tastier. Thanks for sharing.

Made it as read except I roasted the bones for an hour before preparing the stock and added extra potato instead of parsnip. There was a ton of fat that congealed on the top when I let it cool, which I skimmed off. So don't leave out that step.

I followed several other suggestions, roasted the bones for 5 hours turning every 30 minutes, then for the last 1-2 hours added vegies. put all in the crockpot for 24 hours along with fresh parsley, thyme and onions from the garden. also added to the crockpot cheese rinds, which add fabulous flavor to any stock, as well as peppercorns, garlic, and fennel seed.

I used approximately 10 lbs worth of beef bones and fat- roasted at 300 for 3 hrs, then added vegetable scraps that I had frozen- celery, onions skins and ends, carrot ends, green pepper bits, cucumber ends and any vegetable past its prime from the fridge and added 1 head garlic, roasted another hour at 350, then put in 12 qt stockpot, added water to almost the top, salt, peppercorns, parsley, and 3 bay leaves, and a splash of vinegar (you can't taste it but it leaches vitamins and minerals from the bones) . Brought to almost a boil, then turned to low and simmered for 8-12 hours. I skimmed most of the fat off, but didn't bother to clarify it. Then I pressure canned in quarts at 10 pounds pressure for 40 minutes. Wonderful! Approximately 7 qts of beef stock to can......perfect for any recipe needing beef stock or beef broth.

Such a delicious and hearty stock! I actually improved upon an old family recipe for beef vegetable soup, which has corn, cabbage, peas, green beans and tomatoes in it. I added those plus the celery and carrots, and I also added about a pound of stew meat (browned first) for the last 2 hours of simmering, just to beef it up a little - so to speak. Absolutely great recipe!

A lot of work! It did make the house smell really good BUT my husband was surprised that we were having pizza instead of homemade beef stew for dinner.

This turned out really well. I couldn't add the tomato (my daughter is allergic) and I didn't have any parsnips or fresh parsley and couldn't go out to get them during a blizzard. I also added in some tough stir fry beef during the simmering stage and it cooked beautifully so we had some yummy meat to add back into the soup we made the next day. Thanks for the recipe!!

This turned out wonderful! The only change I did was roast the bones at 300* for about four hours (until the bones were brown), turning the bones over about every half an hour. Oh, and I got a little confused with the directions with the celery and ended up adding them to the roasting pan, and I don't regret it! I will be making this again, probably this week! Thank you!

I made this stock yesterday and was expecting to get a rich beefy result.I chose this recipe due to it's high rating, however, I neglected to read through all the reviews first. I am so sorry I didn't. What I ended up with was a flat vegetable broth. I followed the recipe to the letter, even buying the bones (plus an extra meaty shank) from a local butcher shop (and paid dearly for them). I went to the grocery store today and bought another 5 pounds of soup bones. After roasting, they are now in the pot along with my "vegetable broth" from last night. I will probably try this again, but will be sure to follow the advice of many reviewers;roasting the bones at a lower temp for several hours and will also try using the neck bones as well. It could be that what we know as soup bones no longer hold the flavor they once did. I don't know if the way the animals are raised today has anything to do with it. I know it can change the taste of meat, flavor of milk, etc. I hope that my final result will yield a strong enough beef flavor. If not, this will be one very expensive vegetable broth.

Good decent basic beef stock. Easy to make.

I think this is the only way to make ALL soup stocks (turkey, ham and chicken). I usually use only the celery, carrots, peppercorns and a whole onion (with skin on, it adds color)and discard it all after simmering. Thanks for posting, your soups will never have more flavor. m

I followed this recipe pretty much as written except that I omitted the parsnips because I didn't have them on hand, used dried parsley, and baked the bones at a lower temperature for longer as suggested by others. I used free range bones so there really wasn't much fat to skim. The broth was very dark with excellent flavor. After straining it, there was no need to clarify it. It was perfect. Some of it was used for a beef vegetable soup (found on this site) and the rest was frozen into ice cubes for use in flavoring rice and other dishes. I will definitely be making this again.

First time making beef stock and this worked GREAT. I had 3 pounds of soup bones so adjusted accordingly. After chilling overnight to solidify the fat, I had beautiful jellied stock. I took 4 cups of stock and added 4 cups of water and made a vegetable beef soup that was FANTASTIC, rich and velvety broth.

Great recipe. Made beef barley soup from this stock.

This is a perfect beef stock recipe !!!!!

Great Recipe... I Just bought regular beef bones from my local Meat Market and it worked out great!!!

Great recipe !

I must have done something wrong. I baked the bones for a solid hour, did everything the recipe said, and honestly this didn't taste very beefy at all! It tasted more like vegetable stock than beef stock. I used normal marrow/soup bones, had nice fresh vegetables, everything seemed okay. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but this recipe wasn't very good.

Simple and tasty!! Makes great stock for veggie soup...

Very good!

The flavor was OK. I used neck bones which have some meat. Followed the recipe as written. Smelled great while cooking. Looked great while cooking. I skimmed fat after a night in the fridge and what remains looks more like beef stock jello than something you'd use as soup. I haven't tried warming it back up yet, but I'm unsettled by what it looks like.

wow, who would think that so much flavor could be rendered from bone? Thanks for the wonderful recipe. it was easy to follow and the results made my soups sing!

Very rich, flavorful stock. I made a double batch and used some to make chicken and rice b/c I was out of onion soup mix and the rice tasted so much better with the stock.

Great recipe! Thanks for the tip to clarify the stock. Very easy.

This is excellent and well worth the effort to make it. (Note to self: I had to use the big stock pot and not the dutch oven.) Followed the recipe exactly but didn't clarify it at the end due to my family's preferences. Thanks!!

after roasting the veggies and bones I put everything into the slow cooker. I adjusted the water to 8 cups, knowing that I could dilute the stock later if need be. cooked it on high for about 5 hours and went about my daily activities.

I've never made beef stock or broth before and have the extra challenge of being on a highly restricted diet designed to reduce inflammation. I altered this recipe quite a bit, but am thrilled with the results. I roasted beef shanks, Vidalia onions, and garlic together, sprinkling on some sea salt. Everything then went into the stock pot, with the deglazed bits from the roasting pan and water to cover, plus an inch. I added more sea salt, too. After about 8 hours, I had a rich, fragrant, tasty broth. Strained, it will be perfect for my cooking needs. And no yeast or anything else I need to avoid!

Fantastic

Very good although I found it to be very mellow. It also didn't seem to make a whole lot, which isn't bad but for the time it takes to do it, I was hoping for a little more. I also found that you have to add a lot more water than specified and add water as you go along otherwise the bones/veggies will burn. Also, I was skimming the fat off as I went just so that I could ensure that it was clear and not cloudy.

One very important incredient was left out, vinegar. Add two tsp to this quantity. It won't be tasted but it does help extract the minerals from the bone. Broth should be simmered for 24 hrs min. so a crock pot works well.

Need a really good beef stock recipe. Today at the store I started reading labels on all the liquid and other kinds of stock and broth, they all contain among other things, lots of sugar, if not the first ingredient it is in the top. I don't like my beef or chicken dishes sweet unless I want them to be. Could not find a single one without some form of sugar or sweetener. I found it incredible. How do diabetics manage to avoid sugar when it is in so many products? Thank you for the recipe.

Yummy! However I realized that I didn't really want a soup-curry. I wanted regular thick curry so I added 4 heaping tablespoons of flour. I also added 3 carrots (peeled/sliced) and bell peppers. I followed someone's idea of only 4 cups of broth and 2 heaping tablespoons of curry powder. DELICIOUS! At first it is not as spicy, but have some milk by because as with other curry, your mouth begins to flame up after a few bites!!

I did 2 lbs of bones braised in roasting pan per recipe. Transferred bones to a 4.5 qt crock pot covered with water almost 2/3rds full. Cooked on low for 24hrs. Had to add a cup of water half way through. Shut cooker off left to cool and strained through mesh sieve. Refrigerated stock overnight. Skimmed a thin layer of fat off surface of stock and transferred half to a pot for a soup and froze the rest to use next month.

Perfect in every way.

The only change I made to this recipe was to pour the fat into the Dutch oven along with the roasted soup bones, carrots and onions, and then deglazing the roasting pan and adding its liquid to the Dutch oven too. Since I chill the broth to congeal and remove all the fat once done simmering, I like to get the flavor that the fat carries with it, too, but without the grease.

I used beef feet cause I was told from the owner of the butchery it was the same as reg marrow bones.....yeah they are not.. Marrow bone in bc Canada 5 $ per pound feet 2.50 per pound....... 30$ later and 14 hours my stock is gross..... Not the recipe fault... Mine for being cheap.... Am gonna try again with proper marrow bones

This is a Great recipe for beef stock. I bought beef bones, but I also bought beef necks that had a ton a meat on the bones ($1.99 lb) at publix. Coated bones lightly with vegetable oil, added fresh garlic, onions and carrots and baked 375 for 2 hours which turned meat very brown. Added water to cover and more for evaporation, added more onions, carrots, celery and seasonings and cooked on stovetop for about 3 hours house smelled fantastic. Strained again and stock was a rich brown due to roasting bones first.

Quick and easy. I will definitely make this again.

Awesome stock easy to do very easy only difference I baked them for two hours instead and canned all my stock

I did not add the parsnip or the tomato and added a glug of ACV. It turned out wonderfully! I canned the broth in quarts.

I was looking forward to this being good. How easy is it to put in a slow cooker and just wait? Maybe it was the bones that I used, but this was no better than dish water. I would have given it one star, but I will try it again with bones from a different source and use reviewers input.

This turned out absolutely delicious. Made it to make gravy to pour over meatloaf to be served to 80+ ladies at a retreat.

Thank you for this recipe. I am never buying canned again, there is no comparison in flavor and this is so much healthier for my family. I choose not to the clarify the stock. I love the flecks and color. To get rid of any fat, after straining the stock, let cool for a bit, stick in the fridge and the fat will congeal on top, just skim it off. I will save some of the fat, measure out by the teaspoon and freeze. I add to some recipes to add richness. The stock I will freeze into ice cubes (1oz each). Makes it easy to keep and measure out later for recipes.

This recipe made a nice stock. Cooled and removed fat, so I can freeze it in portions.

I skipped the roasting step because I used the bones (with rib meat) from a rib roast I had smoked the night before. I placed everything in a stock pot, brought to a boil, then covered and simmered for about 3 hours. Then I removed all the meat from the bones, cubed, and put both meat and bones back into the pot and simmered uncovered for another hour to reduce. I was going to make a beef stew, but wound up using a can of green beans instead of tomatoes and this became a wonderful vegetable-beef soup. Yes, I could have strained and clarified for a stock, but this was just too good to pass up. For those who say it is bland, taste and season as you go.