Beef broth

An electric pressure cooker, e.g. an Instant Pot, revolutionized our cooking of beef broth. No more slow simmer, removing the foam, and dried-out beef because the soup boiled at too high a heat! Now it is literally a 5 minute prep, and then another 5 minutes to take the meat, the bones, and the aromatics out!

The broth after opening the pressure cooker

We prefer using beef shank or oxtail, and we tend to eat the meat right away, with freshly grated and aired horseradish, mixed with just a bit of sour cream, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. We buy grass-fed beef online and have it delivered frozen. The beauty is that for this recipe one can start with frozen meat.

Note the use of ginger root. This adds a bit of Asian touch and we believe it improves the broth dramatically. 

Ingredients

• 2-3 carrots, medium size
• 1 onion, with skin, cut in half
• 3-4 celery stalks, cut in half
• 5 (approximately) garlic cloves with skin
• 1 inch knob of fresh ginger
• 2-3 bay leaves
• a handful of parsley leaves and stalks, and/or other herbs such as marjoram and thyme,
• 5-7 whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 lb beef shank, frozen or fresh (if you use more, adjust the salt)
• water, filtered is much better

Procedure

1. Add all the ingredients to your pressure-cooker pot. The quantities here call for at least a 6-quart pressure cooker.
2. Add filtered water, and make sure the water stays under the max line on your pot
3. Cook at high pressure for 42 minutes if using frozen beef, and for 35 minutes if the beef is thawed.
4. Let the pressure fall naturally.
5. Use a spider to fish the aromatics and the beef from the broth. We discard the aromatics and the bones, but we reserve the meat.
6. Pour the broth into a large enough container that you can close. If you are inclined to do so, this is a good opportunity to strain the broth. We never bother with a strainer or cheesecloth.
7. Cool the broth in a fridge overnight. Then remove the fat layer before using the broth. Some people like to eat that fat, but we are not in that group.
8. Use the broth as you wish: We love to warm it up and drink from a cup.