Home Made Beef Stock

The most nutrient-rich part of any animal is the bone marrow, after that organs like the liver, then the muscle.  Unfortunately (fortunately?) humans don't have jaws like a hyena to break open bone and access the marrow.  Fortunately (definitely!) our ancestors figured out long ago how to use tools to break into the bones and get at the marrow's tasty goodness.  Even better, they figured out how to boil bones to make stock, also known as broth.

You can find all kinds of recipes for it online.  It took a long time, but it was pretty easy.

Aimee bought a side of beef a while ago, and I asked her to keep the soup bones just for this purpose.

This is how they look not completely thawed.  I put them in the oven at 400F on one side for 30 minutes, the flipped them and did it again.

I covered them in tomato paste, threw in some onions, celery carrots and garlic.

Back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Now into the crock pots with some pepper, bay leaves and water.

Kids learning, dog snoozing, stock cooking.

After 24 hours on low heat, I strained the stock through a colander.

I then poured it in mason jars.

After chilling the jars in the fridge, I skimmed the excess fat off the top.  The jars then went in the freezer.

As you can see, it's pretty concentrated, but that way it takes up less room in the freezer.  Once thawed, it's read for use in soups, stews and all kinds of other recipes.  I can't wait to put it to use!