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–+ servings
Ebonie Garnica

Full GAPS Beef Meat Stock from Short Ribs

Full GAPS beef meat stock from 3½ pounds of raw meaty short ribs, whole black peppercorns, two bay leaves, and covering filtered water. Simmer gently until the meat is fully cooked and tender, usually three to four hours. Save the soft meat, connective tissue, and fat. One batch; finished volume varies.
Print Recipe
Simmer: Start Tenderness Checks 3 hours
Servings: 1 batch
Course: Full GAPS, Soup
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 1/2 pounds raw beef short ribs meaty, separated into individual ribs
  • 1 small handful whole black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves For this Full GAPS batch; remove before serving.
  • filtered water enough to cover the ribs
Optional seasoning
  • natural salt optional, to taste

Equipment

  • Stockpot and lid Fit the ribs and covering water with space above them.
  • Skimmer and tongs Skim foam and lift cooked ribs.
  • Coarse strainer and fine sieve Gradually ladle; remove hard bones, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
  • Clean dry heat-safe receiving container For strained hot stock and external ice-bath cooling.
  • Food thermometer and external ice-water bath Check actual cooling temperature and keep bath water out.
  • Refrigerator and freezer-safe containers Cool before glass; leave headspace and initially freeze without lids.

Method
 

  1. Remove all packaging and separate the raw meaty short ribs into individual ribs. Rinse them with cool water, keeping splashes away from other food. Clean your hands, tools, sink, and surfaces after handling the raw meat. Put the ribs in a stockpot that has room for the ribs and covering water without filling it to the brim. Add filtered water just to cover.
  2. Add the measured whole black peppercorns and bay leaves. Keep dried bay leaves in a removable herb infuser or muslin pouch if helpful for straining. Add optional natural salt to taste. This complete bay-seasoned batch is for Full GAPS.
  3. Bring to a boil and skim the foam that rises. Reduce the heat until occasional small bubbles break the surface while the liquid otherwise stays fairly still. Leave the lid slightly askew to limit evaporation. Lower the heat if the liquid churns or the ribs jostle.
  4. Maintain the gentle simmer, beginning tenderness checks around three hours. The usual GAPS guide is about three to four hours. The meat should be fully cooked, soft, and pull from the bones with little resistance; a fork should enter easily. Continue as needed for the actual ribs. Add a little filtered water if necessary to keep them covered.
  5. Lift out the meat and bones, then gradually ladle the stock through a coarse strainer followed by a fine sieve into a clean, dry, heat-safe receiving container. Remove the peppercorns, bay leaves, and hard fragments without pressing hard solids through the sieve. When cool enough to handle, save the soft meat, connective tissue, and fat for meals; discard hard bones and fragments.
  6. Serve the portions needed now. Start the cooling record for the saved stock when it comes off its final heat, including straining time if it is not reduced afterward. Stand the heat-safe receiving container in an external ice-water bath, keep bath water out, and stir often. Use a food thermometer: aim for 70°F/21°C in less than an hour, then refrigerate to finish cooling. Keep the original cooling clock: the first two hours are the rapid-cooling period and the full cooling total is six hours to 41°F/5°C. Cool and refrigerate saved cooked meat separately; do not leave it waiting beside the pot.
  7. Refrigerate covered stock and saved meat for today and tomorrow, up to two days, or freeze smaller portions for later. For freezer-safe glass, use cooled stock with room for expansion, freeze initially without lids, then seal once frozen. Never pour hot stock into cold ordinary glass.

Notes

Full GAPS: This complete bay-seasoned formula is for Full GAPS. For early Intro, follow the separate plain chicken-stock preparation linked above. Follow the separate beef-introduction order if you are using the No-Plant GAPS variation.
Starting batch: 3½ pounds of raw meaty bone-in short ribs, one small handful of whole black peppercorns, two bay leaves, and filtered water to cover. Optional natural salt is to taste. One batch is not a fixed cup yield or number of people; measure the finished stock and cooked food.
Simmer: Bring to a boil, skim, then maintain occasional small bubbles with still ribs and a slightly askew lid. Start tenderness checks around 3 hours; usual guide 3-4 hours. Finish by fully cooked soft meat and connective tissue, not color alone. Three hours marks the first tenderness check; heating, straining, and cooling take extra time.
Keep the food: Save edible soft meat, connective tissue, and fat for meals. Remove hard bones, peppercorns, and all bay-leaf pieces. The chilled stock may form a gel; its firmness varies with the cut and covering water.
Cooling: From final heat, including straining when there is no later reduction, use an external ice bath and thermometer: 70°F/21°C in less than 1 hour, then refrigerate to complete cooling; first 2 hours rapid cooling, six hours total to 41°F/5°C. Use the thermometer rather than judging by steam. Cool cooked meat separately while any liquid reduction finishes.
Storage: Refrigerate today/tomorrow portions up to 2 days; freeze later ones. Freezer-safe glass takes cooled stock, headspace, and initial freezing without lids; seal once frozen. Never pour hot stock into cold ordinary glass.
Scaling: 2× starts 7 pounds ribs, 2 small handfuls peppercorns, and 4 bay leaves; 3× starts 10½ pounds, 3 small handfuls, and 6 leaves. Water still covers the actual ribs. Plan pot/cold-storage capacity; do not halve or multiply the cooking time or promise the same finished volume.

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