Cedar Hill Homestead's Bone Broth Recipe

by Francesco

Ingredients

I save all of my veggie scraps in a bag in the freezer. Garlic and onion skins, carrot and beet tops, celery tops, ect. So I rarely use fresh vegetables in my broth. But in the event you don’t have scraps….

  • 1½ gallons (6 quarts) water, or enough to just cover the bones
  • 3 lb beef bones (ideally a mix of marrow and collagen-rich knuckle, joint, neck, or oxtail bones)
  • 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
  • 1 large onion, quartered 
  • 1 whole head garlic, halved crosswise
  • Any dried mushrooms you may have (or our sipping broth)
  • 1 Tbsp Cedar Hill Homestead Fire Walker Fire Cider or apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp Cedar Hill Homestead Herbal Sipping Broth, optional
  • A few sprigs of any fresh garden herbs OR nutritive herbs such as Nettle, Alfalfa, Oatstraw

Instructions

  1. Roast the bones. Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange bones on a sheet pan and roast for 35–45 minutes, turning once, until deeply browned. Carefully drain off any excess rendered fat before moving on to the next step.
  2. Roast the vegetables. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and roast for another 20–25 minutes, until the vegetables begin to caramelize.
  3. Start the broth. Transfer everything to a large stockpot. Add mushroom or vegetable scraps and enough water to just cover the bones—up to about 1½ gallons. Bring just to a boil, then immediately reduce to a very gentle simmer.
  4. Skim. During the first hour, skim away any foam or impurities that rise to the surface.
  5. Slow simmer. Add Fire Walker or apple cider vinegar and the Toss In Broth or Herbal Sipping Broth, if using. Partially cover and simmer very gently for 12–24 hours. Avoid a hard boil, which can make the broth cloudy and emulsify the fat.
  6. Add the garden herbs. During the final 1–2 hours, tuck in a few sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Adding delicate aromatics toward the end keeps their flavor brighter and prevents them from becoming bitter after an all-day simmer.
  7. Strain and concentrate. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Return the strained broth to the pot and simmer uncovered until reduced to 2 quarts (8 cups). This concentrates both the flavor and gelatin for a rich broth that sets beautifully when chilled.
  8. Cool and store. Cool promptly, then refrigerate. Once completely chilled, a collagen-rich batch should become thick and jiggly. Remove any fat that hardens on top, or save it for cooking. Refrigerate the broth for up to several days or freeze for longer storage.

Cooking Notes

Not every batch will gel equally, the bones matter more than the cooking time. Knuckles, joints, neck bones, oxtail, and other connective-tissue-rich cuts provide the collagen that creates that beautiful gelatinous texture. If your broth is still thin after straining, simply keep reducing it gently. Less water = more concentrated broth.

And don’t worry too much about measuring the starting water perfectly. Pot shape and bone size vary, so the best rule is simple: add just enough water to cover the bones, then reduce the finished broth to 2 quarts.

Add in Herbal Sipping Broth for additional nutrients and umami flavor!

Our sipping broth is a convenient powdered mushroom broth that can be added to anything. Formulated by Francesco, our family LOVES it and it's one of our best-selling fall products.

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