Homemade Beef Bone Broth

Have you heard about all of the awesome benefits of adding in homemade beef broth to your diet? The collagen from the bones is an excellent supplement to help with your joints, skin and hair. Plus, you can use the homemade broth in dishes where you want a little extra beef flavor. I used to just use chicken stock in all my recipes, regardless of the type of meat, because at the time it was the only kind of broth I made. But making beef broth is really, super EASY and very affordable. Plus, your body will thank you for it. How cool is that?

I have been drinking about 1/2 cup a day for the last month, and I'm feeling GREAT. My workouts are better and I think I am recovering more effectively.

Ingredients

1) 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of beef bones (soup bones, oxtail, etc) - you can get these easily and cheap from the farmer's market or your butcher, or from US Wellness meats if you order through them for your meat

2) 1 tablespoon of white vinegar

3) 8-12 cups of water, to fill your slow cooker

4) 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1 bay leaf

Optional: you can add in a cut up onion and/or carrot for flavor. I was lazy the day I made this, and was out of onions.

Instructions

1) Add your bones to your slow cooker.

2) Fill up your slow cooker to the top with water. The more water, the more beef broth you'll get. Add in your vinegar, seasonings, and your veggies if using them.

3) Cook on low for 12 hours. The longer the better.

4) Once your broth has cooked long enough, strain our the liquid into some plastic bowls or containers using a cheese cloth. This will catch all the extra bits and the bones, leaving just nice stock behind.

5) Place your liquid into the fridge overnight, or at least 8 hours until the fat has solidified at the top of your containers.

6) Scrap off the fat from the stock. Keep it! It's rendered beef tallow. Use it for cooking. Look how economical you are being!

Broth plus scraped off tallow/fat

7) Now store your beef broth for use. I freeze about 2/3 of it, and pull it out as needed. Drink 1/2-1 cup a day, warmed, as you would tea, and enjoy the health benefits!