There's nothing more nourishing than a rich, gelatinous, homemade beef bone broth with the perfect jiggle! This recipe uses just 3 ingredients (4 if you include water), for a simple, clean, pure beef flavour. Perfect in soups, stews, sauces, or to sip on for a collagen-rich, nutrient-dense drink!

What's the Difference Between Bone Broth and Stock?

Although stock and bone broth can be made with similar ingredients, the main difference is the cooking time.

Stocks are generally more watery, with a simmer time of anywhere from 4-6 hours. Stocks often include vegetables or herbs to give a more rounded flavour, and are more common than bone broth in supermarkets.

Bone broth, however, is jiggly, gelatinous, and jelly-like, and is basically a stock that has been simmered for 12-24 hours (or longer). I simmer my beef bone broth for 48 hours, although I've gone as long as 72 hours in the past! As the name suggests, bone broth contains bones and off-cuts, whereas stocks can be made with just vegetables, herbs and spices. Gently simmering bone broth for this extended time breaks down the collagen in the bones and connective tissue into gelatin.

But strictly speaking, a classic, traditional stock is what professional chefs call the jiggly stuff! That's why there's a bit of a debate over whether bone broth is just clever marketing for old-school stock. Modern stock from the supermarkets is a thin liquid though.

Without getting too bogged down in semantics, there's a clear difference today between a watery, flavourful liquid base (stock) and a gelatinous, rich base (bone broth). In this homemade beef bone broth recipe, we are aiming for the rich, gelatinous, jiggly stuff!

Is Bone Broth Good For You?

There's a reason bone broth is an ancient, traditional food! Because we simmer the bones for a long time, we extract maximum nutrition out of them. A beef bone broth from-scratch is truly nourishing, something our grandmothers knew generations past!

That gelatinous, jelly-like jiggle comes from collagen (and gelatin, which is just the cooked form of collagen), and contains amino acids. These include glutamine, arginine, glycine, and more! It also contains minerals like phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and calcium (I mean, it's literally bones!). These are all building blocks to support healthy skin, hair, nails, and joints!

Some studies suggest that consuming bone broth can improve gut health, overall health, and that it can have anti-inflammatory effects! But there's no denying that it's a nourishing drink that for many people, myself included, just makes you feel warm and cosy.

Ingredients in Homemade Beef Bone Broth

This is a simple, easy recipe for homemade beef bone broth that uses just 3 ingredients! Well, technically 4 ingredients, if you include water. But besides water, you'll need beef bones, salt, and apple cider vinegar. See below for the right kind of bones to look for!

If you would like to include onions, peppercorns, celery, carrot, thyme, or any other vegetables, herbs, or spices, feel free to add them. They do add another layer of flavour, but I like a clean, pure, beef flavour. It's just a matter of personal preference! Plus, I skim the fat from the top and clarify it to make my own homemade beef tallow, so I want it as pure as possible.

You can substitute the apple cider vinegar for freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, white vinegar, or even wine. Including an acid in your bone broth helps extract all the minerals from the bones, and helps break down tough connective tissue. Trust me, your bone broth will not taste acidic!

What are the Best Bones for Homemade Beef Bone Broth?

The best bones to use for a gelatinous homemade beef bone broth are knuckle bones with plenty of cartilage, tendons and connective tissue. Think knee joints, oxtail, neck bones, or shanks. These cuts are full of collagen, which breaks down into gelatin when slowly simmered for an extended time. Using these sorts of bones ensures that your homemade beef bone broth is gelatinous and jiggly!

I also like to use meatier bones for that extra beefy flavour, as well as marrow bones. Using beef marrow bones in your bone broth gives it the most lovely, buttery, rich mouth-feel. Plus, bone marrow is full of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K2, as well as B12, and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and more! It does contain some collagen, although not nearly as much as the bones.

I like to use grass-fed beef bones in my bone broth, for the extra nutrients (more antioxidants, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), Omega-3's and more!). Plus you can save the fat and make your own homemade grass-fed beef tallow!

As a rule of thumb, when I make bone broth I like to have at least 50-60% of my total amount of bones as knuckle joints, 20-25% meaty bones, and 20-25% marrow bones. This way the bone broth is gelatinous, full of beef flavour, and deliciously buttery!

How to Properly Make Beef Bone Broth From Scratch

1. Roast The Bones

Place all the beef bones in the oven at 180°C for 45-60 minutes until golden brown. This helps achieve the Maillard reaction, where sugars and amino acids from protein interact, and this creates a deep, robust savoury flavour in food. Roasting bones for bone broth gives you a richer, more complex flavour and darkens the colour. Trust me, you don't want to skip this step!

2. Cover with Water, Add Acid, and Simmer

Place the roasted bones in a large stock pot, and add cold water so they are just covered. Add the apple cider vinegar or your acid of choice.

Then bring to a very gentle simmer. The aim is not to boil the bone broth, or simmer it too vigorously, since this can make it become cloudy. You're looking for a stray bubble here and there. Then, let it simmer on this gentle heat for at least 24 hours! I personally simmer for 48 hours for maximum extraction of minerals, break down of collagen, and richer flavour.

How to Tell When You've Simmered Bone Broth Long Enough?

One of the cues I look for is whether the bones are soft and falling apart. Grab one out of the pot, and press the inside with your finger. It should crumble into a gritty, sandy paste. Any marrow bones will come out clean, and any meat that is on the bones should be incredibly soft, almost like mush.

3. Strain the Bones and Fat, Adjust for Salt, then Store

Once your homemade beef bone broth has finished simmering, strain out all the bones. I like to pour it into a fresh, new pot because there is so much liquid.

Some people like to place it in the fridge to set at this point, and let the fat solidify before taking it off. I just skim the fat while it's hot into a separate bowl to clarify into homemade beef tallow. Do whatever is easiest for you!

Whatever you do, don't throw the fat away! Beef tallow (especially grass-fed) is full of fat-soluble vitamins, is great as a skin moisturiser, and makes the best roast potatoes ever.

While your bone broth is still warm, adjust for salt. This comes down to personal taste and what you plan to use it for. I like to drink my beef bone broth straight, so I add enough salt so that it's perfectly salted as it is. But if using in soups or stews, you have the option of leaving your bone broth unsalted, or lightly salted.

I like to store my homemade beef bone broth a few different ways. Because I make a large batch, I freeze some in containers into 1-cup or 2-cup portions. This is handy when making soups or stews! And yes, you can just place the frozen block right into your pot when cooking if you forgot to defrost your bone broth.

I also keep some in an airtight container in the fridge. Then I just place some in a mug, gently heat it and sip on it for a cosy, nourishing, nutritious drink!

Common Bone Broth Mistakes

Here are the top 5 mistakes when making bone broth, and how to avoid them!

1. Not using a variety of bones. If your bone broth turns out watery or soupy, it's usually because there's not enough collagen in the bones. Use bones with connective tissue for collagen (which breaks down into gelatin, and gives you the perfect bone broth jiggle), marrow bones for richness, and meaty bones for deep flavour.
2. Covering the bones with hot water. It's better to start with cold water and gently heat it. Starting with cold water allows the collagen, vitamins, and minerals to be extracted gently, and avoids the proteins seizing up from the heat shock, which can lead to cloudy broth. Using cold water avoids this, so you end up with a clear broth with maximum collagen extraction!
3. Not adding an acid. An acidic element (apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon or lime, or even wine) helps get maximum extraction of minerals from the bones. You don't need to use much, and you can't taste it!
4. Simmering (or boiling) too vigorously. You only want a stray bubble here and there as you simmer your beef bone broth. If it boils or simmers very aggressively, it can become cloudy.
5. Not simmering for long enough. 12 hours is the bare minimum, 24 hours is great, and around 48 hours is ideal. This long, gentle simmer extracts maximum collagen, vitamins and minerals out of the bones. And as collagen cooks, it breaks down into gelatin. So if your homemade beef bone broth doesn't gel once cooled, it might be because you didn't simmer it for long enough.
6. Not roasting the bones. Roasting the bones for bone broth gives you a deeper, richer flavour, and a lovely golden colour you just don't get from simmering plain bones!

How to Use Homemade Beef Bone Broth

Bone broth can be used in soups, stews, sauces, gravies, or whenever a recipe calls for beef stock. It's perfect in any beef stew, beef or lamb ragù, beef stroganoff, beef noodle soup, or in this classic French duck à l’orange! And for a hearty, slow-cooked meal, use beef bone broth in a smokey Hungarian goulash, or in this Greek lamb stew with orzo (youvetsi/giouvetsi)!

 But one of my favourite ways to enjoy homemade beef bone broth is to sip it on its own as a hot, cosy, nourishing drink!

I truly hope you enjoy this recipe! If you tried it and loved it, I would be so grateful if you left a 5-star review and a comment to let me know how it went! xxx