Homemade beef stock

I make many of my own stocks and from experience, beef stock just doesn't seem to be worth the effort. It is almost impossible to get beef bones from supermarkets now since they don't break down sides of beef anymore. They process pre-packed cuts of beef now.

The last time I got beef bones I went to a butcher shop and paid just over $1 a lb. for the bones and got 10 lbs. worth. By the time I got them home, lightly seasoned them, tossed them in the oven to brown a bit and then in the pot to actually make the stock, it was pretty time consuming from what I wound up with.

When I make stocks from chicken, turkeys, etc. I will add onions, carrots, garlic, parsley, celery, bay leaves and a few other seasonings to the water and let that simmer for no less than 12 hours and more along the lines of 20+. When done, it is strained, allowed to come down in temperature and put in a fridge to cool. It is then that it will have any oil rise to the top and congeal and the stock will gel. I remove the fat layer and put the gelled stock in bags for the freezer.

That 10 lbs. of beef bones only produced three quarts of stock for me and the time and effort is not worth it.


Edited to add this:

If the stock is frozen, all it takes is running some hot water over the freezer bag to loosen it, then dump it in a saucepan on the stove over a low flame to finish thawing. That can be done while you are prepping your meal ingredients and not have to be concerned if it is still good to use.

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When I make stocks from chicken, turkeys, etc. I will add onions, carrots, garlic, parsley, celery, bay leaves and a few other seasonings to the water and let that simmer for no less than 12 hours and more along the lines of 20+. When done, it is strained, allowed to come down in temperature and put in a fridge to cool. It is then that it will have any oil rise to the top and congeal and the stock will gel. I remove the fat layer and put the gelled stock in bags for the freezer.

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I know this is getting off topic a little, but I read that after 8 or so hours, you've gotten all you're going to get out of chicken bones.

For beef broth, I just stick to beef base from Sam's. It's a paste like Better than Boullion and it's got good flavor.

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Tip, go to an asian supermarket for the bones. They generally have them cut and ready to go.

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They also tend to have other cuts great for making stock, like chicken feet, pig trotters, etc.

Not to mention the only place I can find pork belly with the skin on.

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The last time I got beef bones I went to a butcher shop and paid just over $1 a lb. for the bones

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Thanks to all the keto bs, beef stock bones are insanely high. I got the urge to make some a few weeks ago and I’m not even going to share what I spent to get beef neck bones, oxtails, and marrow bones. While the stock turned out well, it’s prohibitively expensive and I won’t be doing it again.

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oxtails,

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I was in Rouses a few days ago and saw oxtails and just out of curiosity I checked the price. You'd think they were damn near prime steak coming in at over $8 a lb. and I can remember them being pretty much "trash meat" that my mom would use to make vegetable/beef soup with.