Beef Broth Recipe

🦴 The right bones

Use neck, shank or oxtail soup bones: they have meat, flavor and lots of collagen, and that’s what gives the broth body. Avoid using only marrow bones, they mostly add fat. You’ll find them at the butcher counter at the grocery store. If they’re too big for your roasting pan, ask the butcher to cut them, it takes them two minutes.

🔥 Brown everything properly

This is the step that makes all the difference between a dark broth and a pale one. Well-browned bones and shank, caramelized vegetables, tomato paste that turns dark brown: that’s what gives the color and flavor. Don’t pull the roasting pan out too soon, and turn the bones halfway so they brown on every side. If it’s pale in the oven, your broth will be pale in the pot too.

🍷 The wine gets the flavor

Everything stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan after the oven is concentrated flavor, and the wine is what lifts it. Put the pan over medium heat, pour in the wine and scrape well with a wooden spoon while it heats. Let it reduce by half before pouring it into the stockpot: the alcohol taste cooks off and only the good stuff stays. A dry red wine does the job, no need for an expensive bottle.

🌡️ Never let it boil

That’s THE broth rule. If it boils too hard, the fat and tiny particles mix into the liquid and it turns cloudy and bitter. It should barely simmer, with a few small bubbles rising now and then, for the full six hours. During the first hour, skim the foam with a ladle: that’s what keeps it clear.

🥩 The shank, halfway through

After three hours, the shank meat is tender and falls right off the bone. Take it out of the pot, let it cool a bit and shred the meat, removing the fat, then put the bone back in the broth: it still has flavor and collagen to give. If you leave the meat in for six hours, it gives everything to the broth and turns dry. Keep it in the fridge in a closed container, it’s perfect in a beef barley soup.

🧂 Just a little salt

I only add a teaspoon of salt at the start, and I season to taste at the end, when I use it. As it simmers and reduces, the broth concentrates, and a pinch too much at the start becomes way too much at the end. For a soup, salt the soup. And if you want to sip it straight from a mug, add a pinch right before serving.

🧊 If it doesn’t gel, don’t panic

A broth rich in collagen often gels in the fridge, and that’s a good sign. But if it’s still liquid the next day, don’t throw it out: my veal stock didn’t gel either, and it was still full of flavor. It depends on the bones you got. Shank and oxtail are the ones that gel the most.

🍲 How to use it

It’s the base for all your beef soups, your gravy and your hot pot. You can also reduce part of it by half over medium-low heat for a more concentrated flavor in a sauce. Since it barely simmers, it makes more broth than you’d think, so plan some freezer space. And for veal-based sauces, stick with my homemade veal stock.

📅 Make-ahead prep

The day before, chop the onions, carrots, celery and parsnip, then store them in the fridge in a labeled container. Pull out the roasting pan, stockpot, fine-mesh strainer and freezer containers too. On the day, the bones go in the oven first thing in the morning, and the broth simmers for six hours while you do something else. The fat comes off the next day, once it’s set.

❄️ Storage

Homemade beef broth keeps for 3 to 5 days in the fridge in a closed container. It absolutely freezes: portion it in 4-cup containers, leaving a little room at the top because the liquid expands as it freezes. Write the date on each container. You just take out what you need for a soup or a sauce.

✅ What to make with my beef broth recipe

Use it in my beef barley soup or my ground beef, pearl couscous and vegetable soup. For your sauces, make my veal stock recipe. And for a lighter base, try my homemade chicken stock.