Beef Bone Broth
Slow-simmered beef marrow-bone broth with onion, cardamom and mastic.
Preparation: 20 min · Cooking: 5 hr 5 min · Total: 5 hr 25 min · 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1000 g butcher-prepared raw beef marrow and joint bones — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- large onion, quartered — 1 — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- bay leaves — 2 — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 2500 ml fresh boiling cooking water — Retained cooking water after blanching; not a promise of 2 L finished broth.
- water to cover bones for blanching — Separate unmeasured blanching water; discard completely, then use fresh measured cooking water.
- mastic tears — 3 — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- cardamom pods, lightly cracked — 5 — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 1.5 tsp salt — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 1 tsp ground black pepper — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
Instructions
Measure bones and separate waters
For the base batch, measure 1 kg beef bones and 2500 ml fresh cooking water. Keep separate water to cover the bones for blanching; that water is discarded. Fourfold uses 4 kg bones and 10 L fresh cooking water, in suitably sized pots.
Discarded blanching water is separate from cooking water.
Prepare the bones and aromatics
Use butcher-prepared bones without loose fragments. Do not wash raw bones under the tap. Rinse the onion, quarter it and lightly crack the cardamom pods. Have a clean stockpot and a fine sieve ready.
Bones are prepared without loose fragments; aromatics are ready.
Blanch and discard the first water
Cover bones with the separate blanching water. Bring to a full boil for about 5 minutes, then drain carefully and discard all this water. Blanching is a preparation step, not a substitute for cooking or hygienic handling.
First water is completely discarded.
Blanching check: 300 seconds
Start the fresh broth
Return the blanched bones to a clean pot and add 2500 ml fresh boiling water, onion, mastic, cracked cardamom, bay leaves and black pepper. Bring back to a simmer; keep salt for the final stage.
Fresh broth is gently simmering.
Simmer for extraction
Cover with an ordinary non-pressure lid and maintain a gentle simmer for about 4–5 hours. Check regularly that it is still simmering without scorching. Stir in the salt during the final 10 minutes.
Broth is rich and gently simmered; salt is incorporated.
Four-hour simmer check: 14400 seconds
Strain carefully
Strain through a fine sieve into clean heatproof containers. Discard bones, fragments and whole aromatics. Protect against hot-liquid splashes; do not pour a heavy pot unsupported.
Broth is strained without bone fragments or whole spices.
Measure the actual output
The base batch yields approximately 2 L, divided as 8 small portions, but evaporation and straining vary. Do not promise exactly 2 L or top up silently to force that yield. Fourfold gives approximately four times the output across 32 small portions.
Actual output is acknowledged as variable.
Cool in shallow containers
Divide into shallow containers or use an ice-water bath and refrigerate within 1 hour at 4°C or colder. Do not chill one large hot stockpot. Once cold, skim set fat if desired; use within 2 days or freeze after rapid cooling. Reheat a portion at most once to 74°C throughout.
Broth is rapidly cooled in small containers.
Tips
- Ingredient amounts scale with the selected yield; cooking and cooling times are checks, not multiplied guarantees.
Common mistakes
- Relying only on the timer instead of the stated doneness checks.
Substitutions
- Use the specified master ingredients; optional substitutions need separate quantity and preparation review.
Storage
Portion into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly within 1 hour at 4°C or colder; do not wait for complete cooling on the counter. Use within 2 days.
Reheating
Reheat only the portion needed, at most once, to 74°C throughout. Do not repeatedly warm and cool the batch.
About this recipe
This Egyptian owner-approved broth master uses blanched marrow and joint bones with a fresh cooking-water allowance. No therapeutic or guaranteed nutrition claim is made.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.