How to Make Beef Stock

Here's how to make beef stock for soups, stews, and other recipes by roasting marrow bones and simmering them with aromatic vegetables and herbs.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated April 26, 2022
Elise Bauer
Mason jars filled with beef broth.
Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

Years ago, when I was in college, I was told by my Chinese doctor to make soup from scratch for my health (the reasons too long to go into now). In his words, "get beef bones and boil them".

The good news is that I had one of those food epiphanies - soup stock comes from bones? I hadn't connected the dots before. (So why was mom simmering that turkey carcass? Never bothered to ask.)

The bad news is that I hadn't the faintest idea what I was doing; I dutifully went to my local butcher, begged some beef bones, and boiled them for hours with a rolling boil until the bones were practically disintegrating. Then I removed the bones, added lentils and salt, and ate it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the process of making stock, this is not the way to do it. (Granted, if you are calcium deficient and don't care about the taste of your soup, or the grittiness, it is edible.)

How to Make Beef Stock

The trick with stock is to roast the bones first to get some caramelized flavor going, then to slowly heat them in water until a bare simmer, and then let them cook that way, gently, for a good long time. With beef stock, it helps to include some beef scraps or stew meat, as well as aromatic vegetables and herbs. Also, a few veal bones will help provide gelatin to the stock.

Mason jars filled with beef stock.
Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

Making Your Own Beef Stock

If you make a big batch and freeze it, you may save some money. But the main reason is that you'll get a richness of flavor and texture in your homemade stock that you just can't buy at the store.

Beef Stock vs. Beef Broth

Labels on products in the soup aisle use the terms stock and broth interchangeably, but in culinary terms, they two are not the same.

Stock is made from bones and cooked long and slow to extract flavor and nutrients from the bones and any meat and fat left on them. Sometimes vegetables and chunks of meat are added, too, but not always.

Stock also has no or minimal salt. If you taste stock after it's made, you may think it has little flavor or the flavor is "off", but don't fret. Its flavor will perk up when you add salt to the recipe you use the stock in.

Meanwhile, broth is traditionally made using meat, vegetables, and seasoning. Because it already has seasoning, it's more palatable when consumed straight. If you use broth as an ingredient in a recipe, remember the broth is already seasoned when you add salt.

Beef Bone Broth vs. Beef Stock

Are beef bone broth and beef stock the same? Yes, and no. First of all, "bone broth" is a culinary misnomer. Since traditional broth is made from meat, not bones, the "bone broths" that are popular to drink on their own these days are technically stock.

Bone broths are simmered for longer than regular stocks are to extract more nutrients; sometimes vinegar is added to help break down the bones more as they cook. It's then seasoned to make it more palatable—which means if you're using it in a recipe, reduce the salt the recipe calls for.

Storing or Freezing Beef Stock

Refrigerate beef stock for up to one week. Leaving the layer of fat that forms on it on top of the broth once chilled will add a protective layer against bacteria while the stock is in the refrigerator.

Freeze stock for 3 to 5 months in freezer safe, zip top bags or freezer safe canning jars (leave an inch of room at the top for expansion as the broth freezes). Freeze in recipe-ready amounts. If you have a little remaining, freeze the stock in ice cube trays. Once frozen, put the frozen beef stock cubes in a zip top bag for use when a soup or stew needs just a little more liquid or flavor.

Try These Recipes That Use Beef Broth!

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

How to Make Beef Stock

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 6 hrs 45 mins
Total Time 6 hrs 55 mins
Servings 16 servings
Yield 4 quarts

Leaving stock unsalted gives you more control over the seasoning and sodium content when you use that stock as an ingredient in other recipes.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 pounds meaty beef stock bones (with lots of marrow), including some knuckle bones if possible, cut to expose the center marrow, and include at least a couple veal bones if you can, for their gelatin

  • 1 pound stew meat (chuck or flank steak) and/or beef scraps, cut into 2-inch chunks

  • Olive oil

  • 1 to 2 medium onions, quartered

  • 1 to 2 large carrots, cut into 1 to 2-inch segments

  • 1 large celery rib, cut into 1-inch segments or handful celery tops

  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

  • Fresh parsley, including stems and leaves

  • 1 to 2 bay leaves

  • 10 peppercorns

Method

  1. Preheat the oven:

    Preheat the oven to 400°F.

  2. Roast the meat, bones, and vegetables:

    Rub a little olive oil over the stew meat pieces, carrots, and onions. Place stock bones, stew meat or beef scraps, carrots and onions in a large, shallow roasting pan.

    Roast in oven for about 45 minutes, turning the bones and meat pieces half-way through the cooking, until nicely browned. If bones begin to char at all during this cooking process, lower the heat. They should brown, not burn.

    When the bones and meat are nicely browned, remove them and the vegetables and place them in a large (12 to 16 quart) stock pot.

    Roasting beef bones and vegetables to make a beef soup recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  3. Add hot water and scrape up the browned bits:

    Place the roasting pan on the stove-top on low heat (will cover 2 burners). Pour 1/2 cup to 1 cup of hot water over the pan, and use a metal spatula to scrape up all of the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

    Pour the browned bits and water into the stockpot.

    Scraping the drippings off a baking sheet to make a beef broth recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  4. Add vegetables, water, bring to a low simmer:

    Add celery tops, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the stock pot.

    Fill the stock pot with cold water, to 1 to 2 inches over the top of the bones. Put the heat on high and bring the pot to a low simmer. Reduce the heat to low.

    If you have a candy or meat thermometer, the temperature of the water should be between 180° and 200°F (boiling is 212°F). The stock should be at a bare simmer, just a bubble or two coming up here and there. (You may need to put the pot on your smallest burner on the lowest temp, or if you are using an oven-safe pot, place it in the oven at 190°F.)

    Cover the pot loosely and let simmer low and slow for 3 to 6 hours.

    Do not stir the stock while cooking. Stirring will mix the fats in with the stock, clouding up the stock.

    A large stock pot of vegetables to make a bone broth recipe
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  5. Skim scum and fat:

    As the stock cooks, fat will be released from the bone marrow and stew meat and rise to the top. From time to time check in on the stock and use a large metal spoon to scoop away the fat and any scum that rises to the surface.

    (Do not put this fat down your kitchen drain. It will solidify and block your pipes. Put it in a bowl or jar to save for cooking or to discard.)

    Skimming fat off the the pot for a bone broth recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  6. Remove solids and strain:

    At the end of cooking time (3 hours minimum, 6 to 8 hours if you can do it) use a slotted spoon or spider ladle to gently remove the bones, chunks of meat, and vegetables from the pot and discard. (If you see a chunk of marrow, taste it, it's delicious.)

    Line another large pot (8-quart) with a fine mesh sieve, covered with a couple layers of cheesecloth if you have it.

    Pour the stock through the sieve to strain it of remaining solids.

    Straining beef broth through cheesecloth.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
  7. Chill.

    Let cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator.

    Once the stock has chilled, any fat remaining will have risen to the top and solidified. The fat forms a protective layer against bacteria while the stock is in the refrigerator. If you plan to freeze the stock, however, remove and discard the fat, pour the stock into a jar or plastic container. (You can also remove the fat, and boil the stock down, concentrating it so that it doesn't take as much storage space.) Leave an inch head room from the top of the stock to the top of the jar, so that as the stock freezes and expands, it will not break the container.

    Removing the hardened fat from a pot for a beef bone broth recipe.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
    Mason jars of beef broth with the lid off the one in front.
    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
504 Calories
35g Fat
2g Carbs
46g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 504
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 45%
Saturated Fat 15g 76%
Cholesterol 170mg 57%
Sodium 126mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 46g
Vitamin C 2mg 8%
Calcium 32mg 2%
Iron 5mg 27%
Potassium 480mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.