How to Make Bone Broth: A Simple Beef Bone Broth Recipe
A simple beef bone broth recipe for the hob, slow cooker or pressure cooker, with the bones to ask for, the timings and how to store it.
In this recipe
To make bone broth, roast beef bones, cover them with cold water and a splash of vinegar, and simmer very gently for 12 to 24 hours before straining. That is the whole method. The rest of this page is the detail that makes it turn out well: which bones to ask for, how hot, how long, and how to store it safely.
Beef bone broth recipe
- MakesAbout 2 litres
- Prep15 minutes
- Hob or slow cooker12 to 24 hours
- Pressure cookerAbout 3 hours
Ingredients
- 2kg beef bones: a mix of knuckle or joint bones, marrow bones and a meaty bone such as shin or oxtail
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 onions, halved, skins on
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 2 celery sticks, cut into chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- About 3 litres cold water, enough to cover the bones by 2 to 3cm
- Salt, to taste, added at the end
Method
-
Roast the bones Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Spread the bones in a roasting tin and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once, until well browned.
- Cover with cold water Put the bones in a large stockpot. Pour a little water into the hot roasting tin, scrape up the browned bits and add them to the pot. Add the vinegar and enough cold water to cover the bones by 2 to 3cm.
- Bring up slowly and skim Bring to a gentle boil, then turn the heat down as low as it will go. Skim off the grey foam that rises in the first half hour.
- Simmer gently for 12 to 24 hours You want the odd bubble breaking the surface, not a rolling boil. Keep the lid on but slightly ajar, and top up with hot water if the bones start to show.
- Add the vegetables for the last 3 hours Add the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns. Added at the start, they can turn dull and slightly bitter over a long simmer.
-
Strain Lift out the bones, then pour the broth through a fine sieve into a clean bowl or pan. Season with salt.
- Cool quickly and chill Stand the bowl in a sink of cold water to bring the temperature down, then get it into the fridge within one to two hours. Once it is cold, lift off the layer of fat if you wish.
Which bones are best for bone broth?
Use a mix. Knuckles, joints, feet and oxtail are full of cartilage and connective tissue, which is where the gelatin comes from. Marrow bones add richness. A meaty bone such as shin or short rib adds flavour.
Ask a butcher for beef bones for stock. They are cheap, and a butcher will usually cut large bones to fit your pot. If you need your broth to be halal, buy the bones from a halal butcher.
How long should bone broth simmer?
| Method | Setting | Time for beef bones |
|---|---|---|
| Hob | Lowest heat, a bare simmer | 12 to 24 hours |
| Slow cooker | Low | 18 to 24 hours |
| Pressure cooker | High pressure, then let the pressure drop on its own | 2 to 4 hours |
Chicken bones are smaller and need less time: 6 to 12 hours on the hob is plenty.
Leaving a hob on overnight is not for everyone. A slow cooker is the easier way to get a long simmer, and a pressure cooker gets most of the way there in an afternoon.
Do you need the vinegar?
A little acid is traditional, and it does do something. In one study, making the cooking water more acidic increased the calcium and magnesium drawn out of the bones roughly fifteen to seventeen times. The same study found the amounts were still small, at less than 5% of the daily recommended intake per serving (Hsu and colleagues, 2017).
So add it if you like, but do not expect it to turn broth into a mineral supplement. What you are really making is a broth full of gelatin.
How to tell it worked
Chill a little in a glass. A good bone broth sets to a soft jelly in the fridge, because the collagen in the bones has turned to gelatin. If yours stays liquid it will still taste good. Next time use more knuckle and joint bones, less water or a longer simmer.
How to store bone broth
Cool it and get it into the fridge within one to two hours, and keep the fridge between 0 and 5C. The Food Standards Agency advises eating leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them (Food Standards Agency).
Broth freezes well. Pour it into tubs or ice cube trays, leaving room for it to expand, and use it within about three months. Reheat it until it is steaming hot.
How to use it
Drink it from a mug with a pinch of salt, or use it wherever a recipe calls for stock: soups, stews, gravy, risotto, or the water you cook rice in.
No time for a 24-hour simmer?Our powder is beef bones simmered for 24 hours, then dried. Stir a 15g serving into hot water for 14.3g of protein.
Common questions
Can I just boil bones for broth?
You can, but a hard boil gives a cloudy, greasy broth because the fat is beaten into the liquid. A slow simmer gives a clearer broth with a cleaner taste. Roasting first is optional. It adds colour and depth.
Can I reuse the bones?
Yes, once. The second batch will be thinner, so use less water or mix it with the first.
How much protein is in homemade bone broth?
It depends on the bones, the water and the time, which is why the figures you see vary so much. Harvard Health puts a typical cup of bone broth at about 8 to 10g of protein, against 2 to 6g for most broths and stocks (Harvard Health).
Is there a quicker way?
A pressure cooker cuts the time to a few hours. If you want broth in a minute, that is what powder is for. Ours is beef bones simmered for 24 hours and then dried, so a 15g serving stirred into hot water gives you 14.3g of protein. See the grass-fed beef bone broth powder, or read how powder and liquid compare in our bone broth powder guide.
Wondering how broth compares with a collagen supplement? Read bone broth vs collagen.
Sources
- Hsu DJ, Lee CW, Tsai WC, Chien YC. Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths. Food Nutr Res. 2017;61(1):1347478. PubMed
- Food Standards Agency. How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely. GOV.UK
- Harvard Health Publishing. Savoring the benefits of bone broth: worth a taste? 2025. Harvard Health
Kristian started reGrounded to make nutrition the way people ate before supplements: real food, short labels and nothing added to hide a problem. He writes these guides to set out what goes into each product and what the research does and does not show.
