Bone Broth Semi-fail...looking for tips for next time!

instantpot
beef
broth
(G. Andrew Duthie) #1

Originally posted to Help needed with Bone Broth, but realized that it was probably better to start a new thread…

So, I just made my first batch of beef bone broth in the Instant Pot. Here’s what I did:

Roasted the (defrosted) bones for 30 minutes, turned, and then 30 minutes more, with cracked pepper and salt before roasting, and more added when turning the bones. Some of the bones had a good bit of meat and fat on them, so I ended up with around a cup of beef fat in the pan, which I saved.

Put the roasted bones into the Instant Pot, added a handful (around 1Tbsp, probably) of peppercorns, and around a Tbsp of kosher salt, as well as 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar. I also added some bones I’d saved from short ribs I made the other night.

Filled to the max line (6 quarts) which was just over the amount needed to cover the bones. I probably could’ve used less water, and I will next time, as the pot leaked some broth when I went to release the pressure. I used the manual setting with high pressure for 240 minutes.

While I can’t say that the smell of the resulting broth was gross, it wasn’t quite what I had expected. The broth itself doesn’t have a very strong flavor, although it’s a slightly gamey flavor compared to just beef.

Not quite sure what, if anything, I did wrong. Should I have roasted the bones longer? Added more seasonings when cooking the broth? Tossed in an onion, some garlic, and celery? I wanted to try without any veggies the first time out, but I’m not sure how happy I am with the result.

Any tips welcome.

Help needed with Bone Broth
(matt ) #2

Cook it way longer. 24 hours is not too long. The bones will break in your hand when you are done. You can do pressure cook all day then slow overnight and pressure cook them again the next day.

#3

Adding aromatic vegetables do help (like carrot, garlic, parsley, basil, celery, fennel, onion, etc).

I find dried spice much better to combat the gaminess. I always throw in a few cloves, some bay leaves and a handful of herbs de Provence, as well as rosemary. I don’t add vinegar. I find it too aggressive.

Another strategy is to take it down the Pho soup taste. When you roast your bones, add a couple of onions (roughly chopped), a few cloves, a star of anise, some pieces of lemon grass and a few pieces of fresh ginger (split in half) to the bones while roasting. Throw it all (bones, onions, spices) in the pot to make broth.

I should also add…I don’t pressure cook. I boil, stove top, for up to two days, super low heat, constantly removing a few cups to sip, and adding fresh water.

My two cents…

(Larry Lustig) #4

I read elsewhere (but I think on the forums) about the importance of removing the marrow from the bones after 12 hours or so (not pressure-cooked). I realize you’re cooking for much less time but with the pressure perhaps whatever extraction the other person was getting after half a day is already occurring in your broth.

(Richard Morris) #5

I have a slow growing laurel tree in a pot in my backyard. I tax it for a few bay leaves every time I make a broth. Also a bush of lemon thyme if I am making beef broth. I drop in a whole lemon (have a lemon tree too) if making chicken stock.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #6

I’ll try it that way next time. What about spices or veggies? What, if any, do you use?

Thanks. Honestly, there’s no vinegar taste at all in the resulting broth, which isn’t surprising since it was 2 Tbsp in nearly 6 quarts of liquid. Definitely going to try going with some spices and herbs next time.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #7

I’m wondering at this point whether there might be some merit to putting it back in the pot tomorrow with some herbs and such, and letting it reduce somewhat, which would both add flavor from the aromatics, and concentrate the broth flavor somewhat. Thoughts? Bad idea to re-cook once it’s cooled?

#8

If I were you…I would go for it! That pressure cooker is an aggressive attack on living organisms.

(Brenda Soderlund) #9

I cook just the roasted bones and vinegar on the stovetop, barely bubbling for two days - skimming the first few hours. The last 2-3 hours of the 2nd day I strain and degrease the broth, remove the meat, then add a bag of frozen vegetable bits I’ve accumulated in the freezer - carrots, onions, celery, cilantro and parsley stems, fennel trimmings, etc. along with bay leaf, peppercorns and one cardamon pod. I don’t add salt until I use the broth in whatever I’m cooking or the cup of broth we’re drinking. It makes the best beef stew! And chili! And pho!

Bone broth?
(matt ) #10

I see no reason you can’t cook it longer. Go for round 2.

As far as spices or veggies I didn’t use any as I wanted to see what the flavors were without the additions. Nothing against the additions I just wanted a baseline.

I don’t defat at all. When I make the broth into ice cubes I love how each one has its own nice little fat cap.

(Jenn W) #11

The beef bone broth I made last weekend for my Fast last week was a failure!
Smells wonderful! Tastes like crap!
A watery gang on bone taste. Absolutely no flavor! Disappointed for sure. I cooked it on low for two days in a croc pot after the bones were roasted AND given a vinegar bath for an hour before starting the cooking process.
I ended up getting beef fat out of all that work but that’s it.
Grrrrr

#12

when you say you cooked it on low, was it stove top or slow cooker? if it was stove top, did you see a slight boiling bubble action on top surface, or was it completely still?

(Denise Heys) #13

I don’t roast before. I just boil for days. I add more water if I boil too much off and i just add salt for taste. It’s a good idea to take the scum off on the first boil. I take a cup to work and reheat in a microwave. I read some where that the more you boil the better the broth.

(migorstmarseille) #14

You might also add Apple Cider Vinegar (1tbsp when I make it) to the mix. Supposedly it helps draw more out of the bones, but I have no science to back it up, other than I’ve seen a few recipes for bone broth which have ACV in the recipe. However, it does add a nice sharpness to the flavor.

(mwall) #15

I do the 120 and then let the pressure release naturally then hit cancel and set it for slow cook for at least another 14-18 hours. I don’t make beef broth (don’t like the smell), just chicken with some pork bones if I have those saved up in the freezer too. Definitely do it longer, prior roasting makes the flavor richer/stronger for beef but not necessary for poultry and you can cook the bones until they are very soft/crumbly. Some even reuse the beef and larger pork bones for another batch. You didn’t say how many bones. I fill my pot with bones nearly 3/4 or more full and the water up to the line. If you release the pressure naturally there is no leakage. I end up with about 4 quarts of broth from the 6 qt pot. So lot’s of bones. I add garlic and lemon, salt and pepper. I have also used Scott’s BBQ sauce which is cider vinegar based and YUMMY!!!

(Jenn W) #16

Mine was in the crockpot. It did come up to a slow boil.

I always add ACV to my broths when I make them. Chicken bone broth I have down pat. This one that’s in question was my first attempt at beef. I think I’m going to just stick to chicken from now on…

(G. Andrew Duthie) #17

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and tips.

Finally got to reworking the broth this evening, and I’m happy to report great success.

I dropped the broth (probably around 4-4.5 quarts worth) back in the instant pot and added:

  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 5 cloves of garlic, halved
  • Around 1 tsp more kosher salt
  • Around 1/2 tsp of sage
  • Cracked black pepper
  • A few shakes of cayenne pepper
  • A few shakes of garlic powder
  • A few shakes of onion powder
  • A few shakes of thyme
  • 3 bay leaves

Set the IP for low-pressure and 60 minutes, then let it cool a bit, and released the pressure. Strained the broth, and put it back in the pot, then set the IP to saute to reduce the broth a bit.

Once it was hot, I took some out, put it in a mason jar (about half full) and added an egg, then used the stick mixer to emulsify it. That made a creamy broth in which the fat didn’t separate. Really good.

I haven’t tasted the broth since reducing, but prior to reducing the flavor was already quite good, so I think I have a winner. Looking forward to having more tomorrow.

(mwall) #18

w0w reading this made my mouth water.
talk about fasting powerade! :wink:

(cj higgins) #19

I just finished making my first bone broth. Made with beef bones, roasted an hour yesterday morning, simmered low low low on the stove for 6 hours, then into the crock pot for 24 hours using the same pot I used on the stove.
Strained it and felt silly throwing the meat out. I threw them in a container. The question is, do you consume the meat? I would think you could, although it probably has no nutritional value.
Thoughts?

(migorstmarseille) #20

I don’t. I use a pressure cooker and give the meat to my dogs. Had I no dogs, I wouldn’t eat the meat.