Beef bone broth

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I've never used it before but I'm told it really adds a lot to beef stew.

 

What do I need to know to get the most out of it? (aka "What the heck am I doing and what do I need to know?")

 

I have a favorite beef stew recipe but I want to move it up to the next level.

 

Also, has anyone added mushrooms to beef stew?

[Rip Snorter]

Check out Alton Brown's Beef Barley Stew - good enough that I gave up Mom's recipe.

[Subdeacon Joe]

2 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I've never used it before but I'm told it really adds a lot to beef stew.

 

What do I need to know to get the most out of it? (aka "What the heck am I doing and what do I need to know?")

 

I have a favorite beef stew recipe but I want to move it up to the next level.

 

Also, has anyone added mushrooms to beef stew?

 

Use it like any other broth, stock, or soup base.  All it is is a broth/stock hybrid that's been simmered for 12 to 24 hours to extract everything from the ingredients.  Especially drawing out the collagen from the bones and connective tissues.  Basically,  going back to "the good old days" of soup making. See: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/276115/beef-bone-broth/ for a basic bone broth. 

 

I like mushrooms in beef stew. I  cut them in halves or quarters depending on the size.  Add them along with the potatoes.  Or, and I  think this is better, sauté them in some  butter to get a nice  color on them,  then add to the stew just before the spuds are done.

 

 

ADDED:

 

We got a bottle of Beef Bone Broth at the Food Bank one time.  While it was slightly better than the quart boxes of Broth, I don't think it was enough better to justify the premium you pay for it. Maybe if you were just heating it up and sipping it, or using it to make gravy, but as the base for soup or stew, no.

Edited April 13, 2025 by Subdeacon Joe

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Frequently mislabeled or just confused.  Stock is made from bones and cartilages and becomes gel-like when reduced and cooled. Broth is made from meat, cooked for hours. Either will help your soup. Bone broth should be a combination of the two like when I bought packets of bone-in shin meat and simmered them for hours. Lots of cartilage in there. Can add a few things to the simmer, the mirepoix trinity, e.g., carrots, onion, celery, and peppercorns. When done, strain it, your pup might like the meat scraps, maybe the bone, it might still have marrow. Now the result will be either too thin or too thick, reduce it or add water as needed.

 

too much work? Get a jar of Better Than Boullion or Kitchen Accomplice and follow directions.

 

As for those quart boxes of beef stock, some are really good, some totally suck.

in culinary school we sampled several. The bad ones were very salty. Trader Joe’s was one of the better ones.
 

 

Edited April 13, 2025 by Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I use the jars of better then boullion too. They have others besides the usual beef and chicken.

[Stump Water]

21 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Or, and I  think this is better, sauté them in some  butter to get a nice  color on them,  then add to the stew just before the spuds are done.

 

This.  Make them "give up their water" first.

 

S'not beef stew without 'shrooms.  

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I add pearl onions (when I can get them) in my beef stew.  Adds a different and very pleasing touch.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

You got me going. I plan to make a beef stew this week, starting with making my own broth.  I went to America’s Test Kitchen for a recipe. BUT if you will save yourself the hours, ATK recommends Better than Boullion Roasted Beef Base. ATK lists many other options with reservations.

[Texas Maverick]

On 4/13/2025 at 1:22 PM, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I've never used it before but I'm told it really adds a lot to beef stew.

 

What do I need to know to get the most out of it? (aka "What the heck am I doing and what do I need to know?")

 

I have a favorite beef stew recipe but I want to move it up to the next level.

 

Also, has anyone added mushrooms to beef stew?

I add beef broth to my stew recipe. A small container is 3 cups and it works out great.

 

TM

Edited April 15, 2025 by Texas Maverick

[Subdeacon Joe]

4 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

ATK recommends Better than Boullion Roasted Beef Base

 

Or just their regular beef base.   Both are excellent.   

 

Mix it with sour cream and dehydrated onion flakes for onion dip, or with cream cheese thinned with mayonnaise or sour cream and minced kosher dills for a spread for crackers or appetizers.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I used the better then boullionn to make cups of broth when I'm sick and it sounds good. Or prepping for a colonoscopy. You can make it the exact strength you prefer.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

2 minutes ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

I used the better then boullionn to make cups of broth when I'm sick and it sounds good. Or prepping for a colonoscopy. You can make it the exact strength you prefer.

My colonoscopies always wanted clear 

liquids.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

1 minute ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

My colonoscopies always wanted clear 

liquids.

My doctor says broth coffee tea, nothing with red dye in it. Actually I've had 3 different doctors over the years. All the same. They have bounced around with the full 1 gallon jug of prep, half gallon or the soda sized bottle. But nearly always the 1gallon.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I just looked it up. Clear in this case means you can see light through it. No little bits or pieces of anything.  No red or purple dyes. Nothing creamy looking. Beef chicken or vegetable broth. Apple juice, some sodas. Water of course. Black coffee or tea, no milk.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

32 minutes ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

I just looked it up. Clear in this case means you can see light through it. No little bits or pieces of anything.  No red or purple dyes. Nothing creamy looking. Beef chicken or vegetable broth. Apple juice, some sodas. Water of course. Black coffee or tea, no milk.

But no alcohol either.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

So, Forty, you got me into a quest to make a beef stew from bones and beef and….

 

A question that I have had for years was “If I have X lbs of scraps of beef, how much broth do I get: Y quarts, solve for Y.”  Reduce a broth to save space or thicken it, and one can add water to stretch it a bit and save money. America’s Test Kitchen and a few other sites gave me an answer. Six pounds of beef and bone yield two quarts broth. A very expensive broth I might add. This ignores any question of ratio or quality of beef and bone.

 

So being a mathy type, I start with 3.72 lbs of bone-in hind shank and should expect to have five cups of broth. QED***

 

can always add water to your stew if needed.

 

most packaged beef broth use a minimum of actual beef because of the cost.

 

———

*** = Quite Easily Done, if you want to know.