Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow

MAKING YOUR OWN INSTANT POT BONE BROTH AND TALLOW IS NOT ONLY QUICK AND EASY, IT IS GREAT FOR YOUR GUT HEALTH, BONES, SKIN AND IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth and Tallow for better health and leaky gut healing — *This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you and it keeps great posts coming your way. See my full disclosure here.*

As most of my friends know, I am not a coffee or tea drinker (I know…crazy, but true!), but I LOVE a warm mug of bone broth. It is delicious on a cool morning and as an afternoon pick-me-up snack. And so good for you!

I’ve been cooking my turkey and chicken bones for years and years to use in soups, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that I began cooking up beef bones and made bone broths a more steady part of our diet.

It all started with my research about improving the health of my children’s teeth. That is when I discovered just how amazing bone broth can be. There is much research out there on bone broth and it’s amazing benefits for the entire body, but teeth health was what got me started.

So I began making bone broth in a crock pot, letting it cook for for a day or more, stirring it, adding water if it got too low, etc. My crock pot is OLD and the cord has been in bad shape and taped up with electrical tape. I was thinking I needed to replace it since I was using it so much.

Why I make instant pot bone broth

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow healthy soup nourishing for your gut

Last September I learned about making bone broth in the instant pot and it was such a game changer. It was so quick and easy and you could just set it and forget about it until the next day. And it slow cooks and is bigger than my 7qt crock pot that needed replacing, too!

I never thought I was an instant pot girl. I always like doing things the old fashioned way and I enjoy using my regular pressure cooker. But, when I learned how quick and easy it was to make bone broth (and yogurt) in the instant pot, I was sold. Those two items go quickly in our house and I make them every week.

Now, since I purchased my HUGE 8 qt. Instant Pot 7 in 1 cooker on sale in October, I have made bone broth about twice a week to keep our family in soup base and sipping broth. And it is so quick and easy even the kids can make it. Just dump in the browned bones, cover with water, add some apple cider vinegar, optional seasonings and veggies, turn it on and go. No babysitting. No checking that it didn’t go dry. Wow!

And, bonus, when I make beef bone broth with the big bones from the butcher there is always plenty of fat on them, that when cooked I get tallow. This thick layer of fat rises to the top of the broth, I skim it off and put it in the fridge to cool and then use as a healthy fat for cooking.

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow Video

Health benefits of bone broth

Bone broth is full of gelatin. Animal bones, tendons, ligaments and connective tissue contain collagen. When these are cooked this collagen becomes gelatin, which is a type of protein. This protein is loaded with amino acids (building blocks of protein) like glycine, arginine, glutamine, cysteine, and proline. These amino acids do a number of things.

Boost immunity
Promote good sleep
Help strengthen the intestinal wall
Strengthen bones and teeth
Contribute to joint health by regenerating cartilage and growth tissue
Heal leaky gut syndrome
Boost metabolism assisting with weight loss
Support healthy, smooth, supple skin
Aid in liver detoxification
Stimulate stomach acid production (helping prevent leaky gut and preventing acid reflux and heartburn). This is why bone broth is part of the GAPS Diet, which is a diet for people with chronic inflammatory conditions of the digestive tract (like IBS and others) as a result of a damaged gut lining.

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow home made gut health nourishing — You can see how gelatinous the broth is in the jars above. I was headed out the door in a hurry after I strained the broth so I quickly skimmed off the fat (tallow) into a jar and just put the bowl of broth in the fridge to cool. When I got back to the broth, it was like solid jello. I had to scoop it into the jars. You can see the creamy hardened fat that I was unable to get skimmed off the top marbled in with the broth.

Health benefits of Tallow

Beef tallow is a little known and under used ‘good-for-you’ fat that is 50% saturated fat, 42% monounsaturated fat and 4% polyunsaturated fat. It is the fat grandma and generations before her relied on.

I know, right now you are thinking ‘doesn’t saturated fat cause heart disease?’ No…there is no scientific evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease. The only studies were incomplete and done years ago by the people wanting to promote the new vegetable oils. And scores of newer studies refute those earlier findings.

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow healthy cooking oil

Tallow, on the other hand, has been around for thousands of years. It was the primary fat humanity used for cooking and frying until all these modern refined oils were created. Yet, with all our new fats America is still very unhealthy and still suffering from heart disease. Hmmm….

So here is a list of the great benefits of tallow.

Boosts immune system – saturated fat in tallow helps absorb fat soluble vitamins A, B12, D, E and K which are key to supporting our immune system.
Good for our Heart – Tallow has a high smoke point of 420 degrees, making it a great fat for frying (think French fries, chicken, and even doughnuts or eggs). Polyunsaturated fats quickly become too hot when cooking, oxidize and form free radicals. These free radicals cause inflammation in the body, which we now know to be the cause of heart disease.
Rich in minerals
Excellent for the skin. Our cells are 50% saturated fats, just like tallow, and these fatty acids are the building blocks of healthy, supple skin. So slather on some tallow body butter and repair and smooth your skin. (tallow used for skin products is generally the fat from around the kidneys and stomach….not skimmed from broth)
Anti-inflammatory and some studies say it helps to burn fat because it is rich in conjugated linoleic acid

Ingredients needed for Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow

Instant Pot Bone Broth for healthy gut and strong bones — Vegetables and seasonings add the flavor of broth but are optional.

Cooked or browned beef bones with fat (chicken/turkey/fish bones work too, but you won’t get tallow…that is from the fat of beef)
a few Tbsps of Apple Cider Vinegar – helps break down the bones and pull the nutrients out of them.
Water to cover the bones by an inch or more. Do not fill your Instant Pot further than the indicated full line (about 3/4 way full).
Sea salt or Himalayan pink salt and Black Pepper – a few grinds of each
Chopped onion, carrots, celery (optional)

Instructions for Instant Pot Bone Broth

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow gut health home made healthy — Add veggies & seasonings

Fill pot about half way with browned or roasted beef bones.
Pour in about 3 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
Optional: Add coarsely chopped onion, celery and carrots
Cover bones and vegetables with water by 1 to 3 inches. Do not fill your Instant Pot further than the indicated ‘full’ line (about 3/4 way full).
Optional: add a few grinds of salt and pepper and even herbs if you desire
Lock on the Instant Pot lid.
Turn the pressure tab to ‘Sealing’
Push the ‘Soup/Broth’ button, set to low pressure for 2 hrs 30 min.
The Instant Pot will start on its own, beep and display ‘ON’ on the screen.
The ‘Keep Warm’ button will be lit and when the cycle is done the Instant Pot will go to the Keep Warm setting for up to 24 hours. I leave my pot to sit on this setting for up to 24 hours to help the collagen become gelatin in the broth.
Strain broth and allow to settle and cool. (if saving tallow strain off at this point according to the directions below).
Use immediately or pour into glass mason jars and store in refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Use Instant Pot bone broth as a base for soup or drink by the warm mug full. It is recommended for optimum health to drink 8oz of bone broth a day.

Instant Pot Bone Broth and Tallow healthy immune support — Add enough water to cover bones by 1 to 3 inches

Turn steam vent to ‘Sealing’ position
Cook on Soup/Broth function

Instructions for Instant Pot Tallow

Ladle off the layer of beef fat at the top of the broth pan into an open or rounded glass measure. Be careful to not get any soup broth in the ladle. You won’t get all the fat but that is alright. Leave the rest to drink with the broth.
Put in the fridge to thicken over night. You will see any broth you got in the dish separate and settle to the bottom of the glass measure. The tallow will be yellow and hardened to a waxy state.
When hardened slip a stiff spatula down the edge and pop tallow out upside-down onto a plate.
Take the stiff spatula and scrape off the gelled bone broth that was in the bottom of the dish until you are down to the clean tallow.
Store this tallow in the fridge for frying. If you won’t use it up in a few weeks you may choose to put some in the freezer for use later.