Try getting low sodium stuff, altho most LS soups and broths are still too heavy in sodium. I think that regular broth tastes WAY too salty.

Look for demi-glace and dilute for stock.

Or make your own stock and freeze it. It really isn't that hard to do.

I haven't found a good tasting commercially available beef stock. (I'm open to suggestions.) The ones I've tried taste soy-ish or caramel-ish or chemical-ish, certainly not like good beef flavor. I agree that the regular stuff is WAY too salty, and bullion cubes are mostly salt.

I'll often use chicken stock even when cooking beef. Last night I had some braised flanken-style ribs. Used College Inn low sodium chicken stock. Came out great.

Make your own...... And even home made chicken broth in "beefy" things is preferable to canned or boxed or powdered.
Linda C

I've purchased some "NEW" Swanson Flavor Boost (beef and chicken flavored - 100% natural, no MSG added), but haven't given it a try yet. There is also Knorr Simply Broth. Has anyone else tried these products and do you have an opinion one way or another? Each packet yields 1-cup of broth. Nice feature when you don't need a whole can of broth.

I normally use frozen homemade broth, or Herb Ox because it's sodium free - usually as a quick add-in to stir-fry or a few other recipes it works well in.

-Grainlady

About a year ago I started using Kitchen Basics beef and chicken stock. The beef stock has a wonderful rich taste, no fat, no MSG, and 430 mg of salt per cup. I won't use anything else any more!

Here is the ingredient list for their beef stock: beef stock, beef flavor (principally from beef extract), sea salt, vegetable stocks (carrots, leek, tomato, onion, garlic), honey, bay, thyme, pepper. They also state that they do not autolyze, hydrolyze, add or produce MSG. Poured into a small glass, this stuff tastes good!

I second the suggestion to make your own. Although the price of beef bones doesn't make it much cheaper than buying the canned broth, the broth will taste much better and you know what's in it! Plus, as was mentioned, there is so much sodium in a lot of canned broths. Probably a store like Trader Joe's would have very good canned broth, if you weren't able to make it.

I have an excellent crock pot recipe for beef broth. Let me know if you would like it.

You can make great stock in about 1/2 an hour using a pressure cooker.

I then pulverize the bones in my garden shreder for fertilizer.

dcarch

I also make my own, I make large batches in my 18 quart Nesco roaster, let it cook all day, then I can it but you could freeze it just as simply.

I don't like any of the powdered stuff, and my choices for canned or boxed here are limited to Swanson and College Inn. Neither are very good.

Annie

Dcarch, why is that reminding me of the movie Fargo...

I also use Kitchen Basics, it's the best boxed beef or chicken broth I've found. They have salt-free versions as well.

I often make my own chicken stock which is even better. I don't often make beef stock, though.

Better Than Bouillon is what I use. It is delicious. Their concentrated paste food bases are made primarily from meat. The Chicken tastes like Chicken because it is Chicken; The beef tastes like beef because it is beef.

You can google "Better Than Bouillon"

I would also recommend making your own, but if that is not an option then Better Than Boullion is the best quick solution I have found.

Alexa

I use Kitchen Basics or Swansons and also used in the past Wolfgang Pucks ..I always mix both in any recipe. All the beef stocks I found are not very good so I add chicken to them, comes out great.
Years back I remember in Julia Childs cook book her method of making great homemade beef stock and I tried it.
She roasted the bones and veggies etc...it was wonderful , but expensive to do.

I make and freeze my own stock, but I have Kitchen Basics on hand for when I run out.

I've always liked Sally Fallon's information found in her article - "Broth Is Beautiful". -Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Broth Is Beautiful

Better than Boullion!

Well, I make great chicken stock, turkey stock and even ham based stock for soups, etc. But my beef broth attempts have been miserable failures and seemed to be a lot of work. What's the secret to good beef broth in large batches?
Annie'71

Better Than Boullion does have a nice flavor but also a LOT of salt. I do have a jar of their organic low sodium beef stuff which has less salt and ingredients that seem wholesome.

When I cook I am inclined to do so in abundance and I send the overflow to my ex who has congestive heart failure. So I watch the sodium very carefully and simply salt at the table if needed.

Cooks Illustrated tested beef broth in 2010. They recommended Rachel Ray Stock-In-A-Box All Natural Beef Flavored Stock and College Inn Bold Stock Tender Beef Flavor. Most of other the beef stocks were, they said, awful.

They did not test Kitchen Basics, but I've liked all their stocks in the past, it is a brand that I trust.

CI had some interesting comments on the labels. Apparently "concentrated beef stock", "beef extract", "beef powder", and "beef fat" are FDA-regulated terms that actually require some minimum concentration of beef (e.g. "concentrated beef stock" must be at least 1 part protein to 67 parts water, while mere "beef stock" can be 1 part protein to 135 parts water, and "beef extract" is made by boiling successive batches of meat in the same liquid until it reaches 75 percent solids to 25 percent liquid. So seeing these ingredients lead the label list is a good sign, seeing "water" as the #1 ingredient is not a good sign.

I make beef stock from roasted bones (buy at Asia grocery, reasonably cheap) and trimmings/scraps of beef or bargain bin ground beef or "stewing" beef. Throw in pork too. Like dcarch says, with a pressure cooker you can make stock in an hour or two. Otherwise, have a stock-making weekend using your very biggest pots, then freeze it in doubled gallon ziplocks.

In a pinch, beef boullion (like Knorr) works okay. I've never tried Better Than Boullion, but will do so someday.

I am another that favors Better than Bouillion if you don't have the time or space for homemade stock. If there are sodium concerns, even their low sodium will be too much for you.

Teresa

I haven't tried Penzey's beef stock, has anyone?

I use mostly chicken stock (my own) but I have been known to grab a packet or two of (Trader Joe's) liquid concentrate from Savory Choice. Although they say no MSG, there is yeast extract for those who are sensitive. Sodium is 770mg (32% RDA) per packet. The link has an ingredient/nutritional click.

Here is a link that might be useful: Savory Choice

I've used the TJ packets. Again, too much sodium for my current cooking needs. I liked them at first but after a box or two I didn't like the flavor any longer. Bummer.

Jessy - I have tried Penzey's bouillion jars . I think they are good but I find Better than Bouillion to be superior.

I'm another vote for the TJ packets. When I just need a small amount or I'm out of homemade stock, the TJ packets taste pretty good.

Like making my own but when I need a small amount for what ever I'm cooking and I have none in the freezer I use Minor's BEEF OR Chicken base.It's distributed by Nestle, it does have salt so I don't cook w/salt when I use it.It is in a paste form so you can use as much as you like. The flavor to any dish I use it with is alway's great. Nice product and it lasts a long time in the fridge.

Karen

I've got homemade turkey stock in the freezer, and I'm planning on making a shepherd's pie this week.

Those that use chicken broth in place of beef stock, would you recommend that I use my turkey in my shepherd's pie?

Campbell's and Knorr and store brand are the broths available here.

Try Bovril if you can find it.

I haven't bought any kind of stock or broth in years! I make all my own and freeze them, including chicken, beef, shellfish, ham and vegetable.

For beef broth I use Lindac's method/recipe. I have an electric pressure cooker that works well, but if I didn't have that I would simply let it simmer on the stove top for several hours.

Linda

For a beef stew, you don't really need any stock. Use red wine and water. The meat and veggies, garlic and the rest will provide all the lovely rich flavour you need :)

The best that I've used is the Pacific Natural Foods Beef Broth. Sometimes, Big Lots has it. I've never seen the Kitchen Basics line in my area and haven't tried the Rachel Ray ones yet. Right now, I have College Inn in the pantry. It's OK but not anything to write home about.

When I need to beef up a soup, I'll stir in a little Vegemite to amp it up. Haven't found any other use for the Vegemite (umami in a jar)--nasty stuff all on its own--but a bit really helps to round out the flavor when flavors are lacking.

Better than Boullion here!

Got hooked on Minor's from Costco but since they no longer carry it, had to try Better than Bouillion; doesn't compare. Minor's is mostly sold to the restaurant supply houses but you can still get it from the maker. I'm sure they could refer you to a local supplier if there is one around. Shipping can be expensive. They have a large variety of soup bases, including low sodium. Really adds real meal flavor to recipes. We always get favrable comments when it's used. Unless you have time and space to make and store your own, I would try Minor's, worth every penny to me.

Jasdip, between my Thanksgiving turkey and my Christmas turkey I make gallons of turkey stock and that's what I use instead of chicken and sometimes beef until it runs out sometime in the spring..or so. The turkey stock would work great. For a beef dish I even prefer it to chicken stock.

I feed my dog raw and just found a new source for his food who is a great butcher. I got an order this weekend and was sorely tempted to steal a bunch of Jessie's cut knuckle bones to make beef stock. Good price for beautiful bones so next time I'll order about ten pounds for me and can some beef broth.

I can't really afford the more expensive broths so I do buy some College Inn when it's on sale and our IGA has their brand also in the low fat low sodium's that are pretty good.

Thanks Coconut! That's exactly the type of answer I was looking for. I do have lots of turkey broth in the freezer, and more again after Christmas!

I live in Canada and we don't have the brands mentioned above.

I agree with Coconut: using good chicken or turkey broth can work very well when cooking beef. Because commercial chicken broth tends to be better than commercial beef broth, I'll often use that. (I make beef pot roast using chicken broth.) And Marcella Hazan, the Italian cooking guru, has a recipe in her cookbook made from chicken bones which she simply calls 'meat broth' and uses it freely for poultry or beef dishes. My last pot roast, though, I made using Better than Bullion low sodium beef soup base, and it turned out great.

I have Better than Bullion low sodium beef and chicken base, and it seems better than anything I've tried before, but it sounds like Minor's is worth a try. So I'll order some when I run out of this stuff. BTW, when you order from Minor's the shipping is high for the first item, but if you order more than one item the shipping doesn't increase that much.

Has anyone tried B-V 'Beefer Upper'? I ran across a reference to this product in Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise" and she speaks highly of it. I haven't seen it in any store, though.