Beef Bone broth for pets

Ok I promised to share a beef bone broth recipe with you so here it is.

Note: this is not rocket science you can find plenty of bone broth recipes online and then just go through the ingredients and pull out anything that are toxic to pets in general and then also anything you know would affect your own pet.

Note I sip this myself so I know when it tastes good, I typically make it all the way through and then take half, add onions and Garlic and spicy ingredients I dont want the dogs to have and finish that off in a separate pot for myself.

INGREDIENTS

4-5 lbs beef bones	– Neck Bones – Marrow bones – Knuckles The easiest for me to get are neck bones and marrow bones so I tend to use those.
4 Chickens feet	Excellent source of glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health. Note thought this is not typical in beef bone broth I started adding it years ago since it packs so many nutrients. It does not change the flavor so why not.
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar	This is important to extract the nutrients from the bones
10 quarts of water	Some will evaporate so you’ll end up with about 8 quarts at the end.
2 -3 Carrots chopped but Coarse	Great for dogs. High in fiber and beta-carotene
1 teaspoon Tumeric	Has anti-inflammatory benefits – Note don’t exceed 1tsp
1 Bell pepper chopped (red / Yellow/ green doesn’t matter)	Note this is optional, my dogs love it but its only safe in small amounts.
2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Dried thyme	Has antimicrobial properties
Other vegetables you would typically add to a soup	Note check anything you add to make sure its ok for pets.

1. Boil – Place the beef bones you are going to use and cover with water in a stock pot, pressure cooker etc. Make sure the bones are fully covered. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
2. Roast – Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and transfer the bones to a roasting pan. Keep the bones separated so they roast evenly. Note discard the water you used to blanch the bones. Roast for 30 minutes.
   • Note if you have marrow bones, you can scoop out the marrow at this point, it makes for a good spread for you and your family but you can also give it to your pups.
3. Prep – Place the bones in your cleaned stock pot, pressure cooker etc, ,transfer everything from the roasting pan, any remaining bits and juices they add flavor, add water until the bones are completely submerged. Add the apple cider vinegar and allow to sit for 30 minutes without heat, this lets the vinegar to start doing its job on the bones and extracting the nutrients.
4. Simmer – Bring the pot to a boil and immediately drop to a simmer (Low flame). This is important, too many people leave it boiling, this is the opposite of what you want to do, you don’t want the nutrients to evaporate away. Leave it for 20 hours.
5. Add Vegetables – After about 20 hours, no need to be precise. Add the vegetables that you are going to use, remember there are vegetables that are not good for your pup, specifically don’t add onions and garlic, no bueno. Please check before you add.
   • Note if you are going to split off a batch for yourself. Do it at this step. I typically separate out my own pot, add my personal blend of ingredients (I add Onion, Garlic and Spicy peppers etc which are not good for dogs). and now I have some for me and some for the dogs as well.
6. Cool and Transfer – When complete, let the broth cool to room temperature and then transfer to containers and store in the refrigerator. Note if you see fat coming to the top go ahead and skim it off. Also if you like you can strain it before putting it in the refrigerator.
7. Allow to rest for at least 8 hours, I usually let it sit overnight, then skim off the fat that solidifies on the top.
8. Strain into the final container using a cheesecloth or similar filter.
   • Note for personal consumption I strain as much as possible though nothing is bad for you people dont like sipping broth and getting a chunk, lol. Whereas the pups don’t mind.
9. Store in the fridge for up to 7 days, you will want only keep a weeks worth in the fridge, freeze the rest, it will stay for several months, though I rarely keep it for more then a month.

At don’t forget, at the end we also have a great treat, scrape off any scraps of meat and feed them to the dogs, note I don’t suggest feeding them the actual bones as they become soft and they will chew them up and eat them and this is probably not good for them so just a warning.

Cost

Like I did with the Chicken broth recipe I want to share what I spend typically to make my broth. The typical cost in Chicago for a 32 oz. jar of bone broth is 8.99, yeah not cheap.

Here is the breakdown of my costs

Beef Bones – 4 lbs. $12

8 Chicken feet – $3.50

Vegetables – $2.00 , I usually make this with less vegetables then Chicken broth as its not needed for flavor. Remember we are making broth for sipping not a vegetable soup.

So we are spending about $17.50 and we end with about 8 quarts which if purchased retail would be about $72 so we are saving quite a bit of money and can decide what to put in but less is more unless your doing your own batch then you might want to add some herbs for flavor.

Well thats it, please share your thoughts and here’s to your pets health.