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Wait - it was 3 big thingies...not five.

You got this! Are you going to can it? Use it up? or freeze it?

Now its been 12 hours and the bones are still firm. Maybe I used the wrong ones. They are round bones, like in a hip socket. But I did wake up and smell it cooking. Its simmering away in the crock pot. I'll leave it on all day.

Not sure what I'll do with it. Maybe freeze some.

Murph, I take it they are beef femurs? They may not break down so much. None of my beef bones ever have even after boiling & simmering for days. Chicken bones on the other hand will after a day or two get pretty soft & mushy like

You could make a wonderful soup or stew by adding in some browned or leftover beef, and whatever veggies you like. Maybe even some barley, rice or pasta & if a stew or heartier soup add a little flour/water mix to thicken it up a bit..........grrrr, now I want some beef barley soup

Yum! Barley. I like barley and have a bunch of it.

Thanks!

Dogs are getting bones - they are still very round and very hard. Now to cool and skim off the fat.

I'll try again some other time with other types of bones,now that I know my crock pot is safe overnight.

Did you put in a shot of vinegar? The vinegar will help leach the minerals out of the bones. They will still be hard for a long long time (as in days and days) if they are big beef bones, but it extracts more goodness at least.

I am sure the dogs are loving your bone broth project and if you are making that beef and barley soup so will you. YUM. That sounds SO good. I love barley, but unfortunately barley has gluten like the wheat and it has been years since I could have any.

The last time (a few months ago) I made a pot of broth and canned it up, I had just let it simmer thru the night, then canned it the next day without letting it cool to skim off the fats. So after being in the pantry closet for a while, the fat had glopped on the top of the broth. Not exactly liquid & not exactly solid. I don't remember what recipe I was using it for, but had needed some fat & there it was There was just enough to use for what I needed.
This little lazy accident turned out to be a blessing and now I'm not so sure that I will skim it off in the future.

great thread.
When I want chicken broth, I just boil the whole chicken, debone it when the meat is done, which makes great chicken salad, chicken tacos, etc. Then skin, bones fat and all get boiled down further until the bones are tender. The whole mess is strained then I add salt, onion, celery, and a small amount of garlic then let that simmer for a few hours. That's how my grandmother taught us to make it.

Great thread and tips. Don't forget about adding a splash of vinegar to your pot as you simmer it to pull the minerals from the bones.