GRASS FED BEEF BONE BROTH

With cooler weather approaching, it’s a great time to take stock (see what we did there) and make nourishing bone broths. Our grass fed Belted Galloway beef bones produce the most amazing bone broth - look for them in our meat freezer.

makes about 2 litres 

1.5kg grass fed Belted Galloway marrow bones 

oil for drizzling

2 onions, thickly sliced

1 large head of garlic, halved across ways

1 celery stalk

3 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

Preheat oven to 200°C. Blanch bones in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes.  Drain well.

Place marrow bones in a large baking dish, (Do not over crowd. Use two baking dishes if necessary). Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat in oil.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes.  Turn bones over.  Add onions, garlic and celery, and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until meat is well browned and onion golden.  

Place contents of baking dish into a large deep stainless steel stockpot.  Add enough cold water to cover bones by about 2cm. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a rolling simmer, then reduce heat to low simmer.  In the first 30 minutes keep a close eye on pot and skim off any rising foam and scum on the surface, with a large kitchen spoon. Meanwhile discard any fat in baking dish, add some water and deglaze over a high heat, stirring to pick up any sediment sticking to base of dish.  Add baking dish contents to the stockpot.  Keep stock at a constant gentle simmer for a minimum of 6 to 10 hours (some folk will cook it for 24 hours plus) topping up with water occasionally to keep contents submerged. Basically the longer you cook the more intense the flavour. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Strain stock through a muslin lined large sieve, pressing down hard to extract all liquid into a clean bowl   Cover and refrigerate.  Remove any fat solidified on the surface.  The broth will keep for 4 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note:  The strained broth can be further reduced to produce a thick sticky glaze that coats the back of a spoon.  The reduced broth can be used in making sauces or stored in small containers and kept for a week in the refrigerator or frozen up to 3 months.  Simply dilute with water to desired strength to use for soups.

FIONA’S TIPS FOR MAKING BROTHS

Use a tall stockpot rather than a wide pot to reduce evaporation during the cooking process.

Stockpot is NOT for the scraps and leftovers of the kitchen.

Use only the freshest ingredients, for maximum flavour and quality.

Rinse bones well under water.

The stock should be brought slowly to the simmer and then remain at a  constant  gentle simmer during cooking.  A stock that boils causes the fat is to be dispersed throughout the liquid, resulting in a cloudy and greasy stock.

Stirring stock causes cloudiness.

Skim any scum rising to the surface regularly.

After refrigeration the fat solidifies on the surface of meat stocks and is then easily removed.

The longer a meat broth cooks the more full-flavoured it will be as more gelatin is released

Vegetables and herbs act as aromatics for a stock. Depending on the use of stock other herbs, spices and vegetables other than those suggested can be added.  

Fiona Hammond © April 2019 

Recipe, photos and styling by Fiona Hammond. www.fionahammondfood.com