Recipe: Beautifully Beefy Bone Broth

You may find it useful to read my The Bone Broth Manifesto for additional details about improving the flavor, nutritional content, and color of any bone broth. 

Beautifully Beefy Bone Broth
Yields: About 6 quarts
Prep Time	Cook Time		Special Equipment
15 minutes	24 to 48 hours* *Time can be reduced but quality will not be the same		10-12 quart stockpot Wire strainer Optional: cheesecloth
Ingredients
3-4 pound beef bones, preferably a mix of joint and cross-cut bones		2 cups diced yellow onion, including onion ends and onion skins to add color and nutrients
1 cup diced carrots, heirloom if available		1 cup sliced celery
Leaves from 1 pound celery		1 cup loosely chopped parsley stems and leaves
1 whole medium head of garlic, sliced in half horizontally with skin intact		2 bay leaves
1 TBSP black or mixed peppercorns		4 TBSP powdered kelp (optional)
4 TBSP apple cider vinegar		Salt and pepper to taste (when cooking is completed)
1/8 cup red cabbage OR several red onion skins to add color and nutrients (optional)		1 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
1 TBSP dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, herbes de Provence, or Italian seasoning
Directions
OPTIONAL: I highly recommend roasting your bones, but it is an optional step that you may skip depending on personal preference. Place bones in an oven safe skillet at 400 degrees F for 1 to 3 hours. The more you roast, the better the savory/umami flavors will be in your finished broth. When roasting is complete, tip roasted bones and any juices into the stockpot. Add several cups of water to the skillet and increase the heat to medium high. Use a whisk or wooden spoon to help any remaining pan drippings dissolve completely. Add the water from the skillet to your stockpot.
1. Place all ingredients in covered stockpot with 7-8 quarts of cold water on high heat.
2. Once the pot is at a full boil, reduce heat to simmer. The ideal temperature is 208-210 degrees F. If you have a thermometer, adjust the heat to bring contents to the target temperature. If not, adjust heat so that you see a bubble or two every minute or so. It is not ideal for the stock to boil, but if it does, this is not a big deal. Reduce the heat if this occurs.
3. Check the broth  after 20 minutes. Adjust heat as needed.
4. Maintain a low simmer for a total of 24 to 48 hours. Stir if desired. Broth does not need frequent stirring. If desired, you may even continue cooking for a total of 72 hours.
5. When time is up, remove stockpot from heat and cool until the broth is at a comfortable temperature for handling.
6. Pour broth through a wire mesh strainer. Line the strainer with cheesecloth if desired. Discard bones unless you plan to use them again. If you wish to remove fat, cool broth overnight in the refrigerator and use a spoon to scrape fat from the surface. Save the fat for frying and flavoring. Salt and pepper the broth to taste.
7. Store broth in different amounts according to how you will use it. A mixture of 1, 2, 4, and 8 cup containers is useful for everyday use and recipes.
Recipe Source: www.PrescriptionPlate.com   Recipe and content copyright Amy Ward ©2014, 2015