How to Make Beef Bone Broth

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Sip on a warm cup of beef bone broth, use it to braise veggies, or as a base for soups and stews. Whatever your pleasure, broth is a useful food to include in your weekly and monthly meal prep. Follow along with the directions here and learn how to make bone broth with grass-fed beef bones with just a few simple steps.

I use bone broth in many of my easy keto soup recipes, particularly once the weather turns cold.

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What is Beef Bone Broth?

Beef bone broth is a delicious and comforting elixir enjoyed by cultures all over the world.

We’re talking about a nutrient-dense liquid made by simmering beef bones and a few aromatic vegetables and herbs over a low temperature for a long period of time.

Once the liquid is done cooking, it is strained out and becomes a delicious option for soups, stews, sauces, and braising.

Different bones can be used for any classic bone broth recipe. Aside from beef broth, chicken bone broth is quite popular. Lamb, turkey, and pig are also great sources for broth. You can even make fish stock!

Marrow bones, knuckle bones, and joint bones are excellent choices for a quality beef bone broth. Adding in an ox tail or hoof adds connective tissue and lots of gelatin and collagen rich parts too.

Check with your local Ethnic Market (specifically Asian and Mexican Grocers) and ask if they have bones available. A local health food grocer might have them too.

Stopping by your local farmers market may be fruitful too. Do some recon and ask the contact of local ranchers who can sell you grass-fed bones.

While you’re shopping for bones, think about ordering some organ meats too.

If you have my cookbook, The Ketogenic Edge Cookbook, use the various resources listed in “Directories for Sustainably Produced Food” in Chapter Two: Purity of the Elements.

The best online sources I know about for various types of bones are White Oak Pastures and US Wellness Meats.

Is There a Difference Between Bone Broth and Beef Broth?

Bone broth is a unique thing. It’s similar to stock and broth but easily stands out as the most nutritious, thick, and flavorful liquid of them all.

Broth is made by simmering bones (which might still have some meat attached) with a few vegetables (usually mirepoix) in water on the stovetop for up to 48 hours. The result usually becomes quite gelatinous after chilling and can be scooped or cut like Jell-o.

Contrast that with beef broth, which is made by simmering meat (with or without a bone) and mirepoix in water for a maximum of 2 hours. The finish is a thin, lightly colored, and mildly flavored liquid.

How to Make Beef Bone Broth Recipe

There are a few different styles to choose from when you want to learn how to make beef bone broth. This post details the stovetop version but you can make Slow Cooker Beef Bone Broth and Instant Pot Bone Broth too.

STEP 1

If you want to give your broth the richest flavor possible, roast the bones beforehand. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Place the bones in a single layer in a roasting pan or baking dish and roast for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

STEP 2

Transfer the bones to a large stockpot and cover them completely with water. Stir in the acid.

STEP 3

Bring the water to a simmer over low heat and maintain that for 24 hours. Do not let the contents boil.

Keep an eye on the water line, add more water as needed in order to keep all material covered.

STEP 4

Lay a cheesecloth on the counter and place the chopped herbs and vegetables in the center. Gather the sides and tie them together to create a little bundle. Add this to the pot during the last two hours of cooking time.

The ingredients can also be added directly to the pot and strained out later. However, wrapping them up makes it easy to separate any meat that gets cooked with the bones.

For example, if you use oxtail, you want to save all that meat and make a meal with it. Making a little sachet is a simple step that makes the process easier.

STEP 5

Skim off any film that rises to the top. Remove the pot from heat and let cool until you can handle it comfortably.

Once cool, strain everything through a fine-mesh strainer.

How to Store Bone Broth

Store your amazing broth in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If there is a thick layer of tallow that rises to the top, the broth will stay fresh for up to two weeks. Tallow seals the jar and prevents any air from getting in so the broth lasts much longer.

I adore this funnel with strainer insert. It makes the job of straining broth into glass jars a breeze!

For long-term storage, transfer the broth to freezer-safe containers like mason jars, plastic containers, or plastic bags. Make a label with the name and date, then store beef bone broth in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Using a freezer bag saves a lot of space. Wait until the broth is completely cool, then pour it in the bag. Zip it tight and lay flat to freeze. Once contents are frozen you can stack the bags vertically so they fit in a smaller area.

If you use small amounts of bone broth regularly, consider freezing in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, tap the cubes of broth out and store them in a bag. This makes it easy to grab a few and warm them up if you just want a cup to sip.

Beef Bone Broth Nutrition

Nutrition of beef bone broth will vary slightly depending on the exact ingredients and their quality. 

In general, it seems that 1 cup of beef bone broth has about 80 calories which come from 10 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and 4 grams of total carbohydrate. However, there’s an important nuance about the protein which I discuss in the text below about macros. (1) 

Bones provide minerals like 

• calcium
• phosphorous
• sodium
• magnesium
• Potassium
• Sulfur
• Silicon

Marrow bones are nutritionally valuable and add

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin K2
• Omega-3s and 6s
• Iron
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Boron
• Manganese
• CLA

Connective tissue adds even more nutrients like

• Collagen
• Gelatin
• Glycine
• Proline

There are many important vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy and strong. (2)

They biggest nutritional factor is the type of animal it comes from. A grass-fed, pasture raised source will be the best. The relationship between temperature and time matters too. The longer the bone broth simmers, the more you can extract from the material.

Bone Broth Macros

Even though there are many amino acids, bone broth does not have a complete amino acid profile and therefore is not a complete protein. 

If you are tracking macros for a keto diet or other diet, you do not need to consider bone broth in the equation.

Any added fat or tallow in the broth, should be included. Each tablespoon of tallow contains 14 grams of fat.

You will see the tallow rise to the top and solidify as it cools. Beef tallow is a healthy fat and can be scooped off and saved for cooking purposes. It’s delicious!

Is Bone Broth Keto?

For some people, bone broth and a keto diet go hand in hand.

Broth is 100% keto friendly and, while you don’t need bone broth on a keto diet, it has many benefits.

• Electrolyte-rich: If you’re hit with keto flu drink broth with a pinch of added salt (check out our favorite types of salt) to help balance electrolyte supplementation on keto.
• Anti-inflammatory: The glycine in bone broth has anti-inflammatory effects and is a promising strategy for inflammatory diseases. (3)
• Joint Health: Chondroitin and glucosamine, which are both in broth, reduce pain, stiffness, functional limitation, and joint swelling in patients with painful osteoarthritis. (4)
• Weight Loss: Bone broth a low-calorie food, yet because it is so nutrient-dense, it can help with cravings. The gelatin content promotes satiety and can help you feel full. (5)

Use my recipe below and make your keto bone broth this week!

Sip it hot from your favorite mug and feel good about treating yourself right. If you’re trying to cut out caffeine, I recommend a bone broth latte or a cup of pure broth as an alternative to coffee in the morning.

A keto diet is a low carb diet. I know, for most of us who grew up on a Standard American Diet, this concept is totally foreign.

Download our printable (pdf) food lists and make sure your fueling on the right ingredients. Once you get the hang of keto meal prep and establish new habits, the process becomes second nature.

• Keto Shopping List
• Keto Pantry Staples
• Low Carb Emergency Foods

Keto Recipes Using Bone Broth

Once you make your delicious broth what are you going to do with it?

There are a number of options, from stew to soup, sauces to braising.

You can also use it in just about any recipe that uses water. Just replace the water with broth.

Here are some of my best keto recipes using bone broth:

• Slow Cooker Beef Stew – A delicious keto beef bone broth soup recipe, this is a family favorite of ours that we eat all winter long.
• Braised Beef Shank – Braising makes this tough cut of beef melt-in-your-mouth tender. This is a cheap dinner meal you can make all year long.
• Slow-Cooked Organ Meat Stew – Have you tried kidney or heart before? They are actually delicious and this slow-cooked stew proves it.
• Quick and Easy Egg Drop Soup – This is a quick and easy meal I make when our children are hungry and I needed dinner on the table 5 minutes ago. It’s easy and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand.
• Easy Braised Cabbage – Need an easy keto side dish? Braised cabbage is simple, elegant, and super tasty.
• Keto Soy Sauce Alternative – This homemade soy sauce allows you to enjoy the same great flavor of soy sauce but not have to eat any soy!
• Easy Cajun Dirty Rice – Serve the spicy Cajun dish as a side or main portion of the meal and bring the flavors of Louisiana to your table.
• Pepper Pork Tenderloin – A simple but tasty recipe, this 3 pepper pork tenderloin medallions is an easy skillet dinner you can make in under 30 minutes. 

Carnivore Diet Bone Broth

This homemade bone broth recipe may be suitable for those on a carnivore diet since this broth is fiber-free.

If you’re meat-based and lean toward keto carnivore recipes, you’ll love this broth.

However, if you think you may be sensitive to any of the herbs or vegetables used here, it will be best to make the Carnivore Diet Bone Broth Recipe instead. 

This second choice is best for those with a strict carnivore cooking style who wish to stick to carnivore diet recipes exclusively.

For more ideas on what to eat on a carnivore diet, download our Carnivore Diet Food List. It’s a printable pdf so you can save it on your device or print it out at home, whichever is best for you.

Where Can I Buy Bone Broth?

It’s great to make your own homemade broth but not everyone has the time. It’s useful to have a few containers of shelf stable bone broth ready-made so you can pull it out whenever you need it. 

Kettle & Fire offers the best store bought bone broth for keto that I know about.

I have a Kettle & Fire Review of my experience and share some specific insights I have about them as a company. 

They have some great deals on classic bone broth bundles and also carry keto soups made with bone broth!

One of the reasons I like Kettle & Fire so much is because they use organic ingredients and grass-fed beef. The broth has a fantastic flavor. 

You can buy their bone broth online AND if you use the promo code PRIMALEDGEHEALTH, you’ll get 15% off at the checkout.

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This post was originally published July 2019 and later updated with new images and directions in October 2020.