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Beef Stock is full of healthy gelatin when it forms a jelly when cooled

Anyone who ever spent any time with their grandmother has probably seen her make stock. I know my Tassie Granny could drag the last vestiges of nutrients out of a stone. She had to because she raised seven children and a hungry husband in England during the war. Nothing was ever wasted, and you made due with what you had because there simply wasn’t anything to be had.

My mother spent most of her childhood at Barkby Lodge, which was an old hunting lodge of the Prince of Wales, but the way she describes it to me, it sounded like a farm. They had horses, a yearly pig, chickens, ducks and a huge vegetable garden. During the war, they even had a German prisoner of war who worked as a gardener for them, and he and my grandfather exchanged letters until he died many years later. They grew what they could and this certainly supplemented the rations they received, but they still tried to stretch everything as far as possible nutrition wise.

Broth was what you made with the bones, the ends, the tops and tails of veggies and any extra fat you had laying around. A pot was put on low and things were added and it simmered and simmered for days. Anything usable was added and the stock was then dipped out as needed into other recipes or poured over stale bread for a lunch meal. If you were sick, you got broth, if you were tired, you got broth, if you were hungry, you got broth, if you were alive, you got broth.

Actually, what you got was stock, which is made by boiling the bones of an animal along with vinegar to leach out the calcium and magnesium and put it into solution. Broth is a quick cooked liquid made mostly from meat, and while it is nutritive, its value is much more flavor oriented.

I think a lot of people are overwhelmed by the thought of making stock, but if you do it my way, it could not be easier! Simply place a ziploc bag in the freezer and anytime you clean aromatic vegetables like carrots, celery, onion and garlic, simply put the tops and tails into the bag. When you have a full bag, you can make stock and this is a highly economical use for your scraps. I give the recipe using fresh vegetables though if you prefer it, but both ways are just as good.

I would suggest purchasing good pasture raised marrow bones and sliced hooves to get the most for your bone dollar. My Amish farmer sells them reasonably, and you only need one big bone and a few hoof slices to make a good stock.  You can make the stock without the hooves, but it will not gel and will not contain the healthy connective tissue nutrients like collagen, elastin and gelatin. I thought I might get squeamish about the hooves, but when I went to our local latin specialty store and found them pre-sliced, it wasn’t a bother at all.

Some people suggest browning the bones in the oven before making the stock, to produce a richer flavor and deeper color. I have tried it both ways, and find it an entirely unnecessary step. The stock is just as good without this process.

Using a crock pot creates a virtually hands off stock, but you can of course create stock in a stock pot on very low heat on your stove top. The low simmer and long cooking time will need to be checked, and I do have a bit of anxiety about leaving my stove on overnight unattended. I do not feel this anxiety using the crock pot.

Easy Crock Pot Beef Stock

Makes 2 Quarts more or less depending on the size of your crock pot.

1-2 Grass fed beef marrow bones such as femur bones or shanks cut into lengths shorter than 4 inches, which will facilitate the marrow fat coming out into the stock during the cooking process. You do not need any meat scraps to make a good stock, but if you have any trimmings, fat, sinew or gristle, throw it in for flavor.

2-3 Slices hoof

1 Gallon ziploc bag filled with carrot, celery, garlic and onion trimmings or

2 Large carrots not peeled, chopped into large pieces (if you do not like a sweet stock, use less carrot)

1 Large onion cut into 4 pieces, not peeled

3 Stalks celery with tops chopped into large pieces

8 Whole cloves garlic unpeeled and smashed

2 Tbs or more raw organic apple cider vinegar

1 Small bunch fresh parsley

1 Bay Leaf

1 Tsp. Sea Salt (do not season the stock with salt to taste. Your stock will condense down, or you may be using it in recipes, so you should season for desired salt after it is completely ready and you are reheating it).

Filtered water

20 whole pepper corns

Clean and chop all vegetables and place in crock pot bottom, or empty bag of vegetable scraps into the crock pot. Add the bay leaf, garlic and pepper corns and then add the marrow bones and hoof slices.

Fill the crock pot to the top with filtered water and then add the vinegar. Cover and turn the crock pot on high. Check the pot in 4 hours and skim off any foam and discard. Do NOT stir the stock as this contributes to a cloudy finished product.

Allow the stock to cook overnight, or at least 12 hours. Check it periodically and if the water level drops significantly, add in a bit more to fill to the top. An hour before finishing, add in the bunch fresh parsley by laying on the top of the stock and pushing it in with the back of a spoon.

Your home will be filled with a very distinct and delicious odor during the cooking time, and you may find yourself extremely hungry! When the stock is complete, remove all the vegetables and bones with a slotted spoon to a container. Remove the onions and feed bones and other vegetables to your dog as a treat. My dog loves this! You will notice that the hooves have been completely dissolved and the spongy marrow has swollen up and come out of the center of the bone. All the lovely nutrients from the veggies and bones have been transferred to this delicious and healthy elixir.

Drain the stock into a large glass container through a strainer and allow to cool completely in the refrigerator. The beef marrow tallow will rise to the surface, and you can take it out and store for other uses (making fried onion rings!), or leave it in place. The stock can alternately be poored into ice cube trays and then stored in zip loc bags for future use, or poured directly into 1 quart plastic ziploc bags and frozen. We keep a jar in the fridge and pour out what we need for recipes. Use the stock from the refrigerator within a week, or freeze it.

My kids love to use this stock as the basis for fun soups, or simply seasoned with a little more salt and warmed up in a mug for an afternoon snack. There are so many uses for stock, it is easy to fit this highly nourishing food into your daily diet. It is also a great option for those who wish not to consume dairy as it is high in calcium.

Try this easy, foolproof stock recipe and you will wonder why you ever feared making it! This recipe is a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop Volume 20, Dr. Laura’s Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Grain Free Tuesdays and Tuesdays at the Table. Please also check out my other featured blog hop recipes.