I have been making bone broth for years, but it took me a long time to figure out how to make my Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth taste better. It always had a distinct “tallow” flavor. Plus, I used to freeze it in mason jars, which inevitably shattered or cracked and ruined their contents. Now that I have solved these problems, the broth stores well and tastes amazing.
There are a few kitchen staples that I always make ahead of time. I portion them out and store them in either the refrigerator or freezer for future meals. One of these, is Beef Bone Broth that I make in my Instant Pot. I use bones from our own 100% grass-fed Devon cattle. When we butcher an animal, I ask the butcher to include some Boney Bones (bones with no meat on them). He sends me a combination of large marrow bones, knuckles, shoulder blades, and ribs. I store them in a cardboard box in the freezer until I am ready to make another batch of broth.
How to Make Beef Bone Broth in the Instant Pot
- Fill your Instant Pot 3/4 of the way full with raw beef bones. Definitely use grass-fed bones if you have access to them. You can often get them from local farmers or small meat markets. I like to use about 2 large marrow bones, and fill the rest of the space with an assortment of knuckles and flat bones.
2. Fill the Instant Pot with water until the water level is about 1 inch below the Max-Fill line. I prefer to use filtered water so the broth is as clean and healthy as possible. But, if tap water is all you have access to, that is okay as well.
3. Add about 3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar. Any type will work, but I definitely love the unpasteurized organic type if I have it on hand.
4. Close the lid. Set your valve to “sealing”.
5. Cook it for 4 hours (240 minutes) on low pressure, and make sure the “keep warm” button is also on. Run it through the full 4 hour cycle 3 times.
Note: I also like to finish cooking it by leaving it on warm for another 6-24 hours, depending on what my schedule is looking like. For example, if the first cycle ends at 11pm after I’m in bed, then it can stay on warm until I turn it back on around 7am the next morning. Or, if I start making broth at 7am, then it will be done around 7pm. I will just leave it on warm until the next morning when I am ready to process it.
6. Use some kitchen tongs to pull out the large bones. You can offer these to your chickens, or add them to your compost pile. Then, put a large stainless steel bowl in the sink with a strainer inside (make sure it is a metal strainer too if the broth is still hot). Pour the rest of the Instant Pot’s contents into the strainer, and strain off any remnants of bone, cartilage, etc.
The Best Ways to Store Beef Bone Broth
Now that you have strained your beautiful bone broth, it is time to store it. If you use a lot of bone broth throughout the week, then you can simply pour it into a pitcher or mason jar and store it in the fridge. It keep good for a week or even more sometimes.
I tend to make several large batches of bone broth close together (usually after we have processed a cow). So, it works well for me to portion it out and freeze it for future use. I like to store 3-4 cup portions. As I discussed above, I used to store it in mason jars. But, I had way too many crack either during freezing or thawing. And, as anyone knows who has tried to buy mason jars recently, they can be hard to find and are not inexpensive.
The perfect alternative it to store them in grocery canning jars. For example, jars that held store-bought pickles, salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc. These jars have a thick glass wall that is not nearly as temperature sensitive. They come with a nice one-piece metal lid. And, they are usually free. If you are like me, and do not buy many pre-made things from the store. Then, just ask friends and family who do to save their jars for you.
When freezing bone broth, just remember to leave 1-2 inches of head space to allow space for the broth to expand while freezing.
How to Make Your Beef Bone Broth Taste Better
So, why is Chicken Bone Broth typically the preferred bone broth? It has a very mild and pleasant flavor. Beef Bone Broth, on the other hand, can taste very strong and greasy. The difference is that Beef Bones produce a lot of tallow when cooked for broth. And, the tallow has distinct flavor that most folks do not enjoy (myself included).
If the unpleasant part is the tallow, then removing the tallow should remove that flavor. Could it really be that simple? Actually, yes! After it has been cooked and poured into a contained, the cooling Beef Bone Broth quickly forms two separate layers. The bottom portion is the delicious and mild tasting broth, and the top layer is the thick and greasy tallow.
Once the broth is fully cooled (fresh out of either the refrigerator or freezer), simply use a spoon to “pop” the tallow layer out.
I typically put the fresh jars of bone broth in the refrigerator for a few hours so the temperature stress on the jars is even less. Then, transfer them to the freezer for longterm storage. At the beginning of the week, I often bring out a couple of jars and put them in the refrigerator so they are ready for meals throughout the week. I pop the tallow layer out right before using the broth. But, you can do it at any other stage that is more convenient for you.
Health Benefits of Bone Broth and How is Homemade Bone Broth Different?
Many people have heard about the health benefits of consuming bone broth. So, they go to the soup aisle at their local grocery store, and pick out a box of “bone broth”. While there is nothing wrong with this, especially if this is all you had access to at the moment, Bone Broth can be so much more than this. Most store-bought bone broths (even the organic ones), are essentially a watery soup stock. Or meat flavored water with some salt and spices added. Bone Broth that has been cooked for an extended period of time (long enough to draw out the nutrients and collagen, will be a thick gel-like substance when taken out of the refrigerator.
When prepared properly, homemade Bone Broth is a source of nutritious healthy fats, and also tons of collagen. Many people have used it successfully to help with IBS-type symptoms as well helping alleviate certain types of joint pain.
Using grass-fed bones is especially important for anyone with a lot of food sensitivities. Most grain-fed cows are consuming at least some GMO grain. And, even bone broth made from them can negatively affect a sensitive person.
The photos below are before and after depictions of a large marrow bone. You can see how much went into the bone broth in the second photo: not only is the marrow space empty, but the bone is very porous looking because of all the collagen it lost.
Check Out My Youtube Video on How to Make Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth Taste Better
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I am not typically a “kitchen gadgets” kind of person. I cook and bake with pretty basic and traditional equipment. However, I do make one exception. My Instant Pot is almost constantly in use. Between cooking potatoes for mashing, hard boiling eggs for egg salad and snacks, making yogurt, making bone broth, and cooking roasts and entire chickens – it is a wonderfully useful contraption.