HOW TO MAKE GELATINOUS BEEF BONE BROTH

In the previous Bone Broth post, we’ve looked into why is it important for bone broth to actually develop a gelatinous consistency – just to sum it up: because we want that gelatine! The gelatine is one of the best parts of bone broth. If you’ve missed the post, click here and read it!

While you can make this recipe even easier, just by adding only the bones, I do prefer to add a little bit of vegetables (always with peels – because that’s where most nutrients and minerals are hidden) to make it even richer! We will use a slow cooker (such as Crockpot), mine is about 8 L capacity.

Ingredients

• 1,8 kg oxtail, bones and meat around
• 50 ml apple cider vinegar
• 3 onions with skins on
• 3 celery stalks cut in half only
• 3 carrots cut in half and then horizontally, with skin on
• 2 bay leaves, broken in half
• 8 peppercorns
• filtered water (preferably chlorine free)
• sea salt flakes for the end

Directions

1. In your slow cooker, add the bones as the first layer, place them nicely.
2. Add the cut vegetables with peels on top of the oxtails.
3. Add the apple cider vinegar and water just enough to cover slightly the contents. So don’t overdo the water. Just cover the contents slightly.
4. Add bay leave and peppercorns.
5. The slow cooker should be set up for LOW heat, and timer should be for 12 hours.
6. After 12 hours, remove gently all the contents, veggies and bones. Discard or save them for another broth if you wish.
7. Take a bowl, a strainer and a cheesecloth and strain the broth from the slow cooker through both strainer and cheesecloth into the bowl. Gently wait until everything is strained and you will see small little pieces of bone (dark brown) remaining in the cheesecloth. The colour of your broth will now be much clearer.
8. You can now enjoy your broth directly, and you can save it in big glass jars to be consumed in 1 week if kept in the fridge and 3-6 months if frozen!

I personally prefer to not add garlic nor salt when I first cook the bone broth – I like to add those freshly whenever I heat up my own portion of broth, so I have enough control on taste and what I want that day (whether I want/need more or less salt or no garlic).

This recipe will grant gelatinous bone broth if you use enough meat on oxtail and not exaggerated amounts of water, just enough to slightly cover, remember. If you use a smaller slow cooker, just use less bones, as many as you can use to just cover the bottom of your own slow cooker.

Filtered water is important as chlorine in tap water can disturb the nutrients and their absorption in the body.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What filter do you use?
   We use a Big Berkey water filter, that also filters fluoride. You can find it here if you’re ordering from Europe (UK) – check their other sites, Ireland, Germany.
2. What other bones can I use to make a gelatinous bone broth?
   What is important to remember is to use always a mix of bones, cartilage and even skins. I find oxtail and pig bones and cartilage works the best for a gelatinous consistency. Also remember to not use excessive amounts of water.
3. Where can I get these meats/bones from?
   That will depend where you live. Try the nearest farm, ideally. If not, try your local market and butchers’. If you live in Sweden, you can check your local ICA for pig feet and oxtails. If you want farm products, then you can check Gröna Gårdar online shop.
4. Can I do this on the stove?
   Yes, you can. However is quite costly since the stove will need to be on for 12 hours.
5. How do I best save my bone broth?
   Best is to save it in big glass jars, in the freezer (for longer life, to use it in stews or foods) or fridge (for one week, quick consumption if you drink it daily). You can remove or leave the fat in if you want, once the broth is hardened.
6. How do I drink bone broth?
   You can drink it as you wish. I prefer to have it in the morning as part of my breakfast but you can also have it at night as the minerals in it will help you with your night sleep. I just add the spices I want in each portion I make. Sea salt, freshly chopped garlic or just sea salt alone.