I like to stretch my groceries as far as I can. One way I do that is to make homemade broth. When I make a roast I save the bones to make beef broth. I freeze the bones until I have 3 – 4 pounds of meaty bones. Then I pull them out, thaw them in the refrigerator, and add them to the slow cooker to make beef broth.
If you don't have leftover roast bones, you can buy soup bones at the store. Roast them in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees or until they are deep brown. Then add them to the slow cooker and follow the directions for making beef broth.
In the recipe below I listed vegetables to add to the broth. You can save even more money by using the equivalent in vegetable scraps instead. Save the celery tops and carrot peelings to use in broth rather than a stalk of celery or a whole carrot. The broth will taste the same!
- 3 - 4 lbs. beef bones
- 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- Place the bones in the crock pot. Add the vegetables.
- Fill the Crockpot with water. Cook on high for 2 hours. Then reduce heat and cook on low for 10 – 12 hours.
- Strain the liquid. Save any bits of meat to use later in soup, but discard the bones and veggies.
- Cool the broth in the refrigerator. Line a colander with cheese cloth or a flour sack towel and strain the broth one more time.
- Ladle the broth into jars and use a pressure canner to can the broth.
- If you do not want to can your broth or do not have a pressure canner, you can freeze it in 1 and 2 cups portions. Just be sure to leave 1 inch of room in the container because the broth will expand when frozen.
Recipes Using Beef Broth:
- Swiss Steak
- Hoppin' John
- Beef Stew Casserole
- Kitchen Garden Skillet
- Beef Stew with Cabbage
- Corned Beef Cooked in a Pressure Cooker
Aurelia says
I’m really new to the world of slow cooking but am slowly (no pun intended lol!) seeing that you really can do everything in there!
Sean says
Simple!
Roxanne says
I like your recipe for canning broth. Question is when you pressure can the broth in the jars how long do you pressure cook the jars and at what weight (pounds of pressure)???
Please reply to me as I’m researching on making my own broth and canning it. Thank you.