This post, How to Make Bone Broth and Avoid Rancid Fat, teaches you everything you need to know about cooking and health safety that other bone broth recipes don’t. Bone broth has amino acids, gelatin, and collagen that are good for your gut. To keep it healthy, stop the production of rancid fat. You can use your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or the stove to make the best, purest bone broth. This recipe has a lot of different options and tips.
This recipe covers a lot of ground when it comes to making bone broth. It talks about meat stock, low histamine broth, vegetables in broth-making, how to make broth mineral-rich, the best bones for broth, where to get bones for broth, fish stock, and more.
For many health reasons, bone broth and meat stock (we’ll talk more about this) are the best and gentlest tonics. They heal the gut, improve overall health, lower inflammation, fight viruses, and more.
Beef bone broth has become a staple in many kitchens thanks to its nourishing ingredients and deep, savory flavor. But while a good bone broth should have a luscious, mouth-coating richness, no one wants a greasy bowl of liquid fat.
If your beef broth keeps turning out alarmingly oily, don’t dump it out just yet! With a few easy tweaks to your process, you can keep all the hearty flavor while losing the unappetizing sheen of fat.
Getting to the Marrow of the Problem
Before we dive into fixes let’s break down a few reasons why beef bone broth often turns out greasy
-
Fatty Bones – Marrow bones and knuckle bones are prized for broth but naturally contain a lot of fat. This fat melts out during the long simmer.
-
Overcooking – Simmering the broth too long can cause more fat to render out of the bones
-
Lack of Skimming – Not periodically skimming fat means all that melted bone fat stays in the broth.
-
Slow Cooling – Fat congeals when broth cools. Fast cooling helps separate and solidify the fat so it can be removed.
-
No Chilling – Chilling fully allows fat to solidify on top so it can be easily scooped off.
Now let’s explore some simple ways to cut back on the fat so your broth stays lusciously rich but not too rich.
Choose Leaner Bones
One of the easiest ways to avoid an oil slick is selecting less fatty bones. Here are some options:
-
Oxtails – All the rich collagen without as much fat as marrow bones
-
Short Ribs – Meatier so less fat renders out
-
Beef Shanks – More cartilage, connective tissue than fat
-
Beef Feet – Pack collagen; minimal fat
Mixing these with a few meatier soup bones helps provide depth of flavor without being overly fatty.
Skim Diligently
During the long simmering process, fat will rise to the top – don’t let it stay there!
-
Skim the surface with a spoon every 30-60 minutes to remove as much fat as possible.
-
Let broth sit 5 minutes after skimming so more fat rises. Skim again before returning to heat.
-
Skim one last time right before straining broth.
Skimming regularly means much less fat makes it into the finished broth.
Chill Thoroughly
After straining and skimming, it’s time to chill. This helps any remaining fat congeal so you can remove it.
-
Transfer broth to a container to increase cooling surface area.
-
Refrigerate broth uncovered until completely cold, about 2-3 hours.
-
Cover and chill overnight so fat fully solidifies.
-
Remove hardened fat layer before use.
Chilling might be the best trick for getting rid of excess surface fat after simmering.
Adjust Your Process
If fat persists even after skimming and chilling, try modifying your process:
-
Use a leaner cut – Swap a couple marrow bones for oxtails or shanks.
-
Reduce simmer time – Limit to 18-24 hours rather than 48+ hours to extract less fat.
-
Keep water low – Don’t submerge bones completely so less fat renders.
-
Try a combo – Mix beef with chicken and use fewer fatty beef bones.
Getting the bone-to-water ratio right and limiting cook time means less fat extraction.
Straining Out Fat
If the broth still seems too greasy, you can strain it through a fat-separating tool:
-
A gravy separator has a spout that lets you pour off liquid while fat stays behind.
-
Use a fat separator pitcher to pour off liquid broth under the fat layer.
-
Line a strainer with cheesecloth and strain – some fat will cling to the cheesecloth.
While straining takes more effort, it does ensure you get the clearest, leanest broth possible.
What Causes Beef Bone Broth to Gel?
If you’re used to a thin, liquidy broth, you may be alarmed when beef bone broth turns into a solid, jiggly gel in the fridge. Rest assured – this transformation is totally normal and actually indicates a rich, well-made broth.
There are two key factors that cause beef bone broth to gel:
Collagen – Beef bones contain lots of collagen, which transforms into gelatin when slowly simmered. This gives the broth a silky texture and enables it to gel.
Fat – The fat from beef marrow bones also contributes to gelling. As it cools, the fat solidifies and helps form the gel matrix.
Broths made with lots of bony parts like marrow, knuckles, oxtails, and feet are most likely to solidify. It’s a sign you extracted ample collagen and nutrients from the bones – so celebrate this broth jelly!
Creative Uses for Rich Beef Bone Broth
If your broth still seems a little too luscious, here are some tasty ways to put it to use so none goes to waste:
-
Reduce broth to make demi-glace or glace – condensing it makes the richness more intense for sauces.
-
Mix with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes for Bolognese sauce.
-
Use as braising liquid for pot roasts or short ribs.
-
Make gravy by whisking in flour.
-
Add to stews, soups, and chilis – it adds great body and flavor.
-
Drink as is, or use as a base for soothing bone broth soups.
-
Use to cook rice, quinoa or oats for extra nutrition.
With these clever uses, you can savor every last enriching drop of your beefy elixir.
Achieving the Perfect Balance
Part of the magic of bone broth comes from the harmonious melding of meaty savoriness and unctuous fats. But achieving the right balance can require some trial and error based on your ingredients and cooking methods.
Follow these tips for skimming, chilling, straining, and tweaking your process until you unlock the secret to a beef bone broth with luscious richness that’s satisfying not oily. Soon you’ll be sipping this nourishing, flavorful liquid gold by the steaming mugful.
How to make Instant Pot bone broth — the easiest method!
Instant Pots are the best thing to happen to bone broth.
That being said, I finally bought mine a few years ago, and I think it’s the best kitchen tool I have.
IPs make broth much neater and faster:
- This is the first step in making soup. It only takes 30 minutes in the IP to cook the Meat Stock, which takes two to three hours to make.
- For 24 to 72 hours, use a crock pot or stove top. In an Instant Pot, it takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to make the same amount of hearty broth.
Fatty broth: Is it healthy?
Remember what Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, creator of the GAPS diet, says about the marrow, fat and fatty broths:
From the Gut and Psychology Syndrome,
Cultivating a taste for, and truly appreciating, a good, rich, fatty broth is one of life’s ironies. You do it to heal your body, but you end up enjoying it. As long as the fat has a short cooking time and is well-sourced, it is nourishing.
Bone Broth | Avoid 2 Toxic Mistakes Making It
FAQ
Is homemade bone broth supposed to be oily?
Should I remove oil from bone broth?
Why is my bone broth so fatty?
How do you make bone broth?
This bone broth recipe is simple: Fill a large pot with 1 gallon of water. Add 2-4 pounds of animal bones and, optionally, connective tissue. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 12-24 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. The longer you simmer broth, the more flavor it will take on from the bones and tissue.
Why do people drink bone broth?
Bone broth is liquid made from boiling animal bones and connective tissue. Chefs use stock as a base for soups, sauces, and gravies. Some people drink it on its own. People have been making bone broth since the beginning of humankind. Anthropologists think people drank liquid infused with bones and other animal parts as early as prehistoric times.
How do you know if bone broth is good?
Like Jello. That lovely gel is a sure sign that your bone broth is the best it can be — full of nourishing, gut-healing gelatin, collagen, minerals, and amino acids. As bones cook in water, the collagen that naturally occurs in bones, tendons, and cartilage leaches from the bones and into the water.
Can you make bone broth with beef?
While beef is the meat most people associate with bone broth, it can also be made with lamb, pork, chicken, veal… you name it. A word on these collagen-heavy bones: They make for a stock that’s gelatinous at room temperature. Don’t let the texture of this meat Jell-O alarm you; that’s a sign you did it right.