I noticed Marcella Hazan’s beef broth showing up frequently as a key ingredient in several other recipes, so I decided it was worth learning how to make a batch rather than continuing to reach for store-bought.

The ingredient list is straightforward: beef, bones, a few vegetables, and water. What interested me was how Marcella builds flavor without browning the meat or roasting the bones first. Everything starts in the pot with cold water and slowly cooks together, which is quite different from some of the darker, more concentrated beef stocks I was familiar with.

It does require several hours on the stove, but most of that time is hands-off. As it simmered, I could see the broth gradually change as the meat and vegetables slowly broke down, flavoring the cooking liquid.

The finished broth was lighter and cleaner tasting than I expected from a beef broth. It still had plenty of flavor, but it wasn’t overly heavy. Once I started using it in Marcella’s risottos, soups, and sauces, I understood why this lighter style of broth works so well in her recipes.

About This Recipe

Marcella starts the beef, bones, and water together in a cold pot rather than browning or roasting anything first. As the water slowly comes to a simmer, impurities rise to the surface and are skimmed away. The vegetables are added after that initial skimming.

Keeping the broth at a gentle simmer is important. A hard boil can agitate the ingredients and make the broth cloudy, while slower cooking gives the meat and bones time to flavor the water without reducing it too aggressively.

Marcella also gives some flexibility with the ingredients. Onion, carrot, and celery provide the vegetable base, while tomato and pepper can be added depending on how you plan to use the broth. The goal isn’t an intensely seasoned stock, but a broth that can become part of another dish without taking it over.

Once strained and cooled, the broth can be refrigerated or divided into portions and frozen. I found freezing it in smaller amounts especially useful since many of Marcella’s recipes only call for a cup or two at a time.

Ingredient Notes

1. Beef Chuck or Stew Meat
There’s no need to use an expensive cut of beef here. Chuck or stew meat works well for the long simmer, and a tougher cut makes more sense than something particularly tender. The beef is here to flavor the broth rather than to be the centerpiece of the finished dish.

2. Veal or Chicken Pieces
Marcella gives you some flexibility here, which I appreciated since veal isn’t always easy to find. Adding veal or chicken along with the beef gives the broth another layer of flavor, but I wouldn’t let the lack of either keep me from making it. Beef alone will still give you a useful broth for her other recipes.

3. Tomato
The tomato plays a surprisingly small role here. It doesn’t make the finished broth taste tomatoey, but adds a little flavor and color as everything simmers together. Marcella calls for fresh tomato, but a small amount of canned whole tomato is an easy substitute when fresh tomatoes aren’t available.

The Recipe

Cooking Tip: Keep the Broth at a Gentle Simmer

Once the broth comes to a boil, lower the heat so it cooks at a very gentle simmer. You should see some movement in the liquid and an occasional bubble, but it shouldn’t be actively boiling.

This matters, since a hard boil agitates the meat and bones and can make the broth cloudy, while the slower simmer allows the flavor to develop gradually and helps keep the finished broth clear.

If the surface starts bubbling steadily, turn the heat down. You’re looking for just enough heat to keep everything quietly simmering for the next several hours.

Serve With

• Risotto with porcini mushrooms
• Minestrone
• Pasta e fagioli
• Braised meats
• Beans or lentils
• Any recipe that calls for broth

You can also simply serve it as a very simple soup with small pasta, rice, or grated Parmesan.