Home Canned Beef Stock
- Brianne Thomas
- 20 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Elevate the flavor, nutrition, and overall depth of your homemade meals with a rich beef broth crafted from scratch. This comforting beef broth recipe is simple to prepare in a slow cooker, allowing you to enjoy a warm and nourishing addition to your culinary creations with minimal effort.
Beef stock is a nutrient-rich powerhouse for your health, aiding digestion, reducing inflammation, fighting infections, and supporting strong bones and joints. Unlike those found in the grocery store, homemade beef stock uses quality ingredients and has a much richer flavor. Making your own beef stock is easy and affordable. Let’s get started!
Why Can Your Own Homemade Beef Stock
Easy to Prepare. Even if you’re new to preserving food, canning homemade stock is super easy to do! Just a few steps are all it takes to get delicious, nutrient-rich beef stock on your pantry shelves in no time.
No Junk. Unlike the questionable stuff sold in the cans at the supermarket, home-canned beef stock actually tastes pretty darn good. Probably because you are selecting high-quality ingredients.
It Saves Freezer Space. Home canning is a great way to preserve food and make room in your freezer.
It’s Emergency Ready. If there's a weather emergency like a big snowstorm or hurricane, you'll likely lose power or have to evacuate your home. Having shelf-stable, home-canned food items may quite literally become a lifesaver!
How to Use Home-Canned Beef Stock
Homemade stocks can help to provide layers of flavor and nutrition in simple ingredients such as rice and pasta. It can also be the base of cozy Soups and Casseroles.
What’s The Difference Between Broth and Stock
Beef stock is created by gently simmering beef bones, along with vegetables and meat, in water for an extended period. This process allows for the extraction of nutrients from the bones and flavors from the meat and vegetables, resulting in a rich, hearty broth. In contrast, beef broth is made by cooking beef meat for a shorter duration, yielding a lighter liquid. Broth often includes more seasonings, which contribute to its higher sodium content.
Helpful Tips for Making Home-Canned Beef Stock
Know Your Canner. Read over your manufacturer’s booklet prior to canning to ensure you operate it properly.
Stick to the Plan. This recipe is primarily based on the recommendations from the NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOME FOOD PRESERVATION. Adding or omitting certain ingredients could affect the safety of the finished product.
Use the Correct Canning Method. This recipe uses low-acid foods and is therefore not considered safe for water-bath canning. You must use a pressure canner to ensure a safely canned product.
Advertisement
Equipment Needed to Pressure Can Homemade Beef Stock
Tools. You’ll need a basic canning utensil kit that has a jar lifter, a debubbler wand, and a funnel.
Pressure Canner. Because beef stock is a low-acid food, you cannot water bath can it. You’ll need to use a pressure canner, not to be confused with a pressure cooker. These are not interchangeable! You cannot pressure can using an InstantPot. I have a 23-quart Presto Pressure Canner. I ordered an additional canning rack so that I could run a max load of 18 pints at a time.
Jars, Lids, and Rings. Of course, you’ll need jars to can the beef stock. I have used brand-name jars and no-name jars, and they both work just the same.
Lids, however, are a very different story. Don’t go cheap when it comes to lids! Save those cheap lids for vacuum sealing or craft projects. The last thing you want is to open your canner and see your lids have failed. I’ve been there and trust me, it's not a good time. My absolute favorites are the For Jars lids, and a close runner-up is Ball brand lids. I’m not affiliated with either brand.
When it comes to rings, you can use the cheap ones that come with the no-name jars as long as they are not dented, rusted, or in some other way compromised.
How to Prepare for Pressure Canning
To prepare jars for canning, I like to place my clean, room-temperature jars into my canning pot with room-temperature water. I allow my jars and water to come to the same temperature at the same time. You don’t want boiling water; you’re just heating everything up at this point.
Place a clean kitchen towel on the counter space where you intend to place your hot jars once removed from the canner. If the kitchen towel is on the thin side, like a flour sack, double up your towels.
Once your beef stock is ready for canning, carefully remove the jars from the pot using your canning jar lifter and empty the hot water back into the pot. Place the hot jars on the prepared kitchen towel and begin adding the stock to the jars.
What to Do After the Pressure Canning Process
Once your beef stock has completed the processing time at the proper pressure, turn off the burner and allow the pressure to drop back down to zero. Do not remove the pressure regulator until the pressure is back to zero.
Carefully remove the pressure regulator and the canning lid. Remove the lid from the canner completely. Allow the jars to rest in the pot for about 5-10 minutes. This will allow them to adjust to having the lid taken off the canner.
Carefully remove the jars from the canner using your canning jar lifter and place them on the prepared kitchen towel. Allow the jars to rest on the counter for 24 hours and listen for pops of the lids (my favorite part!).
Once the jars have completely cooled and rested for 24 hours, remove the rings from the jars and gently tap the center of the canning lid on each jar. If the lid pops back up, your lid did not seal properly, unfortunately. It happens! If it's just one jar, place that one in the refrigerator and use it within a couple of weeks. If it's several jars, remove all of the lids, wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar, add new lids, and reprocess them in the canner.
If your jars are all sealed properly (YAY!), use soap and warm water to wipe the outside of the jars before storing.
Advertisement
Yield: Makes about 8 (16 oz) pints or 4 (32 oz) quarts
Ingredients
3-4 pounds beef bones, such as marrow bones, short ribs, oxtail, or knuckles
3 Tablespoons Cayenne and Garlic Infused Oil
5 quarts of water, plus more as needed
1 pound of vegetable scraps, such as onion peels, carrots, and celery
4 cloves garlic, whole
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Begin by roasting the beef bones in the oven for approximately 30-45 minutes. This step enhances the flavor of the broth.
Place the roasted bones in a large slow cooker. Add 1 pound of chopped vegetables, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 Bay leaves, 10 black peppercorns, and ¼ cup apple cider vinegar. Cover everything with cold water. Simmer on LOW for at least 8-12 hours. For a richer flavor, you can simmer it longer. I typically let mine go for up to 24 hours.
Once the stock has finished simmering, strain it through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove solids. Let the strained stock cool and skim off any fat that rises to the surface.
Using a ladle, fill the sterilized jars with the beef broth, leaving approximately 1 inch headspace at the top. This space is essential for creating a vacuum seal.
Gently tap the jars or use a non-metallic spatula to remove any air bubbles trapped in the liquid.
With a clean cloth and vinegar, wipe the rims of the jars to ensure a good seal. Any residue on the rim can affect the seal of the lid.
Place the warmed lids on the jars and screw on the bands until they are fingertip tight.
Place the filled jars into the pressure canner. Follow your pressure canner's instructions for adding the correct amount of water. Secure the lid accordingly.
The NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOME FOOD PRESERVATION recommends that beef stock be processed at 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes if using pint jars, and 25 minutes for quart jars. Be sure to check your elevation levels to determine if your pressure and canning times are different.
Once the processing time is complete, turn off the heat. Allow the canner to cool and depressurize naturally before removing the lid. Carefully lift out the jars using a jar lifter and place them on a towel to cool.
After the jars have cooled completely, check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If it doesn’t pop up, the jar is sealed properly.
Wash the jars with warm, soapy water and dry completely. Label the jars with the date and contents, then store them in a cool, dark place.
More Home Food Preservation
How to Store Home-Canned Beef Stock
Label and store cleaned jars in a dark, cool cabinet, basement, or cellar.
How Long Does Home-Canned Beef Stock Last?
Properly prepared and stored, canned stocks can last about 18 months. The integrity of the seal may begin to deteriorate after that.
How to Store Beef Stock Without Canning
Skim the fat as previously directed. Store stock in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to Freeze Beef Stock Without Canning
To freeze the beef stock, use freezer-safe, airtight containers, leaving a 1” headspace to allow for expansion. Use within 3 months
Reheat to 165°F before consuming. You can transfer to a saucepan and reheat from frozen.
Want to help a small family business in a big way? Share this recipe with someone who loves delicious homemade food as much as you do!
Did you know that we have a newsletter? It features some of our favorite recipes and free printables that are only available to our subscribers! And don’t worry, we hate spam mail and value your time. You’ll receive an initial thank-you email, and our newsletter is delivered monthly. You can help our small family business by sharing us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Click here to sign up for our newsletter today!
Advertisement
