I just put together a quick tomato soup using the rest of this week’s broth. I could cut it with a knife when I took it out of the refrigerator. That’s my goal-a very rich broth. It was in the crockpot for about 24 hrs. I add a generous splash of vinegar to the cold water and bones and let it sit for 15 before adding heat. It helps to pull all the minerals, collagen and gelatin from the bones.
I’ve had good luck roasting the beef soup bones, brushed with tomato sauce, before using them for broth. Remembering to skim the broth throughout the process.
I’m too cheap now, but when I first started making my own broth I would strain it through cheese cloth when it was done. It helped.
I have tried the roasting method, with mixed results. Part of the problem is that I use knuckle and hooves, more than leg bones. They will make a ridiculous amount of really thick base, but the taste is iffy. To give you an idea, one crock pot of knuckle and hooves would give me ~5 mason jars filled with what looks clear jello. With leg bones I would barely get 1/2 a jar.
I never found vinegar to be helpful, but, I think this was partly due to the fact that I wasn’t dealing with “soup” bones.