How to Make Beef Bone Broth | Roast, Simmer & Strain

Beef bone broth requires roasting the bones at 400°F for 30-60 minutes, then simmering them in cold water with vinegar and aromatics for 12-24 hours before straining and cooling.

The difference between a cloudy, thin broth and a rich, gelatinous one that sets like Jell-O in the fridge comes down to three things: how you prep the bones, how long you cook them, and whether you keep the simmer gentle instead of rolling. Beef bones pack collagen that breaks into gelatin during a slow cook, and the minerals locked inside need acidity and time to release. The stovetop route takes most of a day. The Instant Pot route takes three hours. Both deliver broth that tastes and feels nothing like what comes in a carton.

What You Need Before You Start

This is a one-ingredient-list recipe with equipment you probably own. The ingredients scale up or down from the base below — the vinegar and water ratio stays the same regardless of batch size.

• Beef bones: 7 pounds total, mixing knucklebones, joint bones, and marrow bones for the best collagen and flavor balance.
• Apple cider vinegar: 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup. The acid pulls minerals from the bones into the water.
• Aromatics: 4 onions (halved), 4 carrots (rough chopped), 3 celery stalks, 4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon peppercorns.
• Water: 6 quarts cold water (or enough to cover bones by 2 inches).
• Salt: A pinch during cooking, then adjust to taste after straining.

For equipment, grab a large stock pot (7 quarts or larger), a rimmed baking sheet, a fine-mesh sieve, and a shallow container for cooling. If you are using an Instant Pot, the same list works — just swap the stock pot for the pressure cooker insert.

Should You Blanch the Bones First?

Blanching removes the blood and impurities that turn broth cloudy and bitter. Place the bones in the stock pot, cover them with cold water, bring it to a boil, and let it roll for 20 minutes. You will see a brown foam rise to the surface — that is the scum you want to get rid of. Drain the bones, rinse the pot, and pat the bones dry before roasting. The Northwest Kitchen calls this step mandatory for a clean, clear broth. Skipping it still produces a usable broth, but the appearance and taste suffer noticeably enough that experienced cooks call the difference night and day.

Roasting the Bones for Flavor and Color

Dry heat caramelizes the meat and marrow left on the bones, and that browning is where the deep, beefy flavor lives. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Toss the bones with a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread them in a single layer and roast for 30 minutes, then flip them and roast another 20-30 minutes until they are deeply browned but not charred. Flying F Ranch recommends 450°F for a darker roast, and Alder Spring drops to 375°F — the 400°F midpoint works across all home ovens and produces consistent results on the first try.

The finished bones should look glossy and smell like a steakhouse kitchen. Do not walk away during the last 10 minutes — ovens vary and burnt bones make bitter broth.

Stovetop Simmer: The Long Route

Drop the roasted bones into the cleaned stock pot. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and the apple cider vinegar. Pour in the 6 quarts of cold water — the water should cover the bones by about two inches. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately drop it to medium-low so the surface barely trembles. A gentle simmer is the whole game here. Hard boiling breaks the collagen into a gritty mess and clouds the broth irreparably.

Set the lid on top with a slight crack so steam escapes. Simmer this way for 12 to 24 hours. Every two hours, skim any foam or fat that rises to the surface and check the water level — add more cold water if bones start poking above the surface. RecipeTin Eats notes that the full 24 hours produces the thick, gelatin-rich texture that people call true beef bone broth. Anything under 8 hours leaves the broth thin and hardly different from regular beef stock.

Instant Pot Method: Fast and Reliable

The Instant Pot cuts the cook time from a full day to three hours, and the pressure extraction pulls collagen efficiently even without the long simmer. Blanch the bones the same way if you want clear broth, or skip it for a heartier, cloudier result — your call.

Place the roasted bones, aromatics, vinegar, and water into the Instant Pot insert. The water should barely cover the bones. Never exceed the 2/3 max fill line — pressure cooking needs headspace. Lock the lid, turn the valve to Sealing, and set it to High Pressure for 2.5 to 3 hours. Three hours produces noticeably thicker broth than 2.5, so lean toward the longer time for beef bones.

When the cooking cycle finishes, let the pressure release naturally for 45 to 60 minutes. Resist the urge to flip the steam valve early — fast release sprays liquid and vents the dissolved gelatin. The Revolve Primal Health guide recommends 45 minutes minimum for a safe, clean release.

Straining, Cooling, and Storing the Finished Broth

When the cooking is done, place a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl or pot. Pour the broth through to catch every bone fragment, vegetable chunk, and herb. The solids go into the compost; the liquid is your finished broth.

Cooling needs to happen fast to prevent bacterial growth. The safest method is an ice bath: set your bowl or pot in the sink, fill the sink with ice water, and stir the broth occasionally. If you are not in a rush, leaving it on the counter until room temperature works, but refrigerate it within two hours of finishing the strain.

Once cool, pour the broth into airtight containers. It keeps in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days — a week at the outside limit. For longer storage, freeze it. A deep freezer holds quality broth for up to 6 months. Leave an inch of headspace in glass jars so freezing expansion does not crack them, or use freezer-safe plastic containers.

What Good Broth Looks Like When It Is Done

Properly made beef bone broth turns into a wobbling, gelatinous solid when chilled. That jiggle is the proof that collagen broke down into gelatin during the slow cook. The color should be rich amber-brown, not pale or gray. The taste should be beefy without being salty — you adjust salt after straining, not during the long simmer where the water reduces and concentrates it unpredictably.

If your broth stayed liquid in the fridge, it still tastes fine for soups and stews, but the collagen extraction was incomplete. Next time, extend the cook by 4 to 6 hours or add more vinegar at the start.

Common Mistakes That Ruin Good Broth

• Skipping the roast. Raw bones produce pale, flat broth. Roasting is the flavor backbone, not an optional step.
• Hard boiling instead of gentle simmering. A rolling boil destroys the gelatin structure and makes the broth cloudy. Small, occasional bubbles at the surface are the target.
• Letting water evaporate. Bones left above the waterline stop contributing collagen and minerals. Check and top off every few hours during a long stovetop cook.
• Pouring hot broth into glass containers. Thermal shock cracks jars. Let the broth cool in its container first — the ice bath method solves this before you ever pour it into storage.
• Adding vinegar straight to cold bones without a soak. Some sources recommend letting the vinegar and water sit with the bones for an hour at room temperature before heating, claiming it improves mineral extraction. The difference is small but real if you are aiming for maximum nutrition.

For reference, our tested guide to the best bones for beef broth covers which cuts and sources produce the most gelatin-rich results.