I have a confession. Despite raising our own beef cows for years, I almost always have a carton of beef broth in the pantry for cooking. I can’t tell you the last time I bought a package of ground beef or a steak that wasn’t from my own freezer or a fellow farmer, but I’ve held to the habit of buying beef and chicken stock. It was always the extra effort of ‘making broth’ that kept me reliant on the grocery store. I’m a busy woman - I can’t be expected to babysit a pot of bones all day. What’s next, churning my own butter?! (Truthfully, I might.)
This weekend I was out of beef broth, which I needed for my standing rib roast recipe. Ugh. Was I really going to go to the grocery store and buy a box of College Inn broth to go with my decadent, show-stopper of a rib roast from our very own beef? No, no, this had to be done with the best stuff. I finally looked up recipes for beef broth, and landed on one that could utilize my trusty Instant Pot. You can follow along and cook on the stove or a slow cooker if you prefer, cooking for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours for ultimate flavor.
Instant Pot Beef Broth Recipe
Step 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with oil or cooking spray.
Step 2. Arrange your beef bones (soup bones, marrow bones, short ribs, etc.) on the sheet with chopped celery, carrots, whole garlic gloves, and a quartered onion. I used two 2-lb beef soup bones, 2 celery stalks, 2 large carrots, 1 onion, and 5 cloves of garlic. Roast for 45 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Step 3. Boil 6-8 cups of water to add to your Instant Pot, or boil in regular stock pot. If using a regular stock pot, you might need to add water as you go to keep bones and veggies submerged.
Step 4. Transfer the meat and vegetables to your cooking pot, filled with the boiling water. Add 2 bay leaves, 10 whole peppercorns, 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and any other herbs and spices you wish.
Step 5. If using the Instant Pot, pressure cook on manual for two hours, and do a natural release. If cooking on the stove, bring to a boil and simmer for 8+ hours.
Step 6. Remove your bones, meat, and vegetables. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Step 7. Allow the broth to cool, and discard the layer of fat on the top.
That’s it! Enjoy your tasty, wholesome beef broth :). Broth will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months if frozen. This recipe yielded about 7-8 cups of broth for me. I set aside two cups for my rib roast, and the remaining 5 or 6 cups went directly into the base of a beef stew, which incorporated all of the tasty meat that came off of the soup bones — yum!
All in all, it was an easy and pain-free process, and I don’t think I’ll go back to buying cartons of stock unless I’m in a real pinch. I hope you’ll give it a chance, too! Oh, and if you’re already eating cuts of beef that contain bones, you can freeze those leftovers for future beef broth, adding more value to your purchase. If you try it out, let me know what you think!
-Olivia
This recipe yielded ~8 cups of broth. I saved 2 cups for cooking my rib roast dinner.
