White Bone Broth (사골육수)

This creamy savory white broth can be used as the base for various dishes. It took me a lot of trial and error when making pure white bone broth but I finally got it and so let me know if you try this recipe.

Important Tips:

• You can only use beef leg bone to get white broth. When trying to achieve this broth, I tried using various bones like only oxtail or marrow bones. I realized these do not achieve that white color, based on my experience, only beef leg bones work.
• After simmering the first batch of broth, you can re-simmer the bones again to extract more broth. You can do this 2-3 times. As the batches are simmered they will be less concentrated. It is optional to mix all the batches together then store the broth.

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White Bone Broth (사골육수) + White Bone Broth Beef Soup (설렁탕)

Each batch of broth you make will make about 3-4 quarts (depending on how long you simmer it)

Batch means adding the water to bones, I did two batches.

Materials

• 10.28 lb Beef Leg Bones (사골)
• 2 gal Water

Instructions

• Wash bones in cold water to remove bone fragments and debris.
  
• Soak bones 5 hours to overnight in the fridge.
  
• After strain the bones and wash in cold water.
  
• Now add the bones to a pot with enough water to cover (not the measured water amount). Bring the bones to a boil, then start your timer for 20 minutes.
  
• Let is simmer 20 minutes then dump out the water and wash the bones.
  
• Remove any marrow or connective tissue etc. from the bones and wash again.
  
• Now add the cleaned bones to a pot and add the measured water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 4-6 hours. The broth should start looking milky after 2 hours, it will get whiter as time goes by. Make sure the bones are submerged as they simmer. Make sure to skim the surface as it simmers.
  
• After the broth is pure white, strain the broth using a fine mesh strainer.
  
• Cool completely using an ice bath.
  
• Then place it into a container and in the fridge. After an hour, check the fridge and see if the fat solidified. If it did, scoop off the fat on the top using a spoon.
  
• Now you can store it in the fridge or freezer, following the storage tips and freshness time frame recommendation I list on my blog 🙂
  

Where to use White Bone Broth (사골육수):

I wanted to share some ways that you can use this broth. I will share three soup “recipes”.

#1 White Bone Broth Beef Soup (설렁탕)

This soup contains thin sliced beef in a rich white bone broth. There is usually the addition of thin white noodles (소면) or rice added using the process of “토렴“, which you can learn more about HERE.

When serving this soup, you place the thinly sliced cooked tender beef into a bowl and pour the hot white bone broth on top. You can add the noodles or rice at this point. Then, garnish the soup with sliced green onion and place a bowl of coarse sea salt and radish kimchi on the table. Each person will season their soup to their liking, usually.

There are two ways you can add beef for this soup:

1. If you saved some beef from the bones when cleaning, remove the fat from the beef pieces and boil the beef with green onion and other vegetables until tender. Do not boil it in the white bone broth or it will turn gray. Then use that beef in the soup.
2. If using a fresh piece of meat: choose a more lean piece of meat. Soak the meat in water for 30 minutes and then blanch it for 10 minutes. Next, simmer it in fresh water with chunks of radish, salt, green onion, garlic, onion, and cooking wine until tender. Once the beef is tender, take it out of the liquid and let it rest before slicing it into thin strips or tearing it with the meat grain into strips.

#2 Tteokguk/Rice Cake Soup (떡국)

This soup can be used with other types of broth, but when you use this broth, the result is a very savory and satisfying dish. This dish uses sliced rice cakes. You can keep it simple with just rice cakes, or you can add dumplings or beef.

If you want to make this dish more elevated, you can add garnishes.

• Egg Yolk Garnish: whisk egg yolks in a bowl and then cook into a flat sheet in a pan. Once cooked, slice the egg into thin strips.
• Seaweed: You can add pre-seasoned seaweed or add toasted and crushed pieces of seaweed to your soup when serving.
• Green Onion: Slice the green part of the green onion and garnish at the end.

Similar to the last quick recipe, you can cook beef in a separate pot and then tear or cut it into strips. First heat up the broth, add the soaked rice cakes, then season with salt. Soy sauce will change the color, so avoid that.

#3 Blood Sausage Soup (순대국)

This soup contains blood sausage (순대), which has a chewy texture because it is stuffed with glass noodles. In America, unless you are near a heavily populated Korean area, it may be hard to find fresh blood sausage (순대). I have used both fresh and frozen versions when I have made this soup and an important tip is to NOT re-simmer the sausage in the broth or it will fall apart.

If you are using frozen blood sausage (순대), then steam the sausage based on the package. Once it cools down, carefully slice it into bite sized pieces and place it into your serving bowl. Then pour your hot white bone broth on top of the pre-cooked blood sausage (순대).

You can garnish this soup or place these items in bowls so others can self-serve: garlic chives (cut into 1in pieces), fresh thinly sliced peppers (can be spicy or plain), sliced green onions (파 or 대파), perilla seed powder, a spicy seasoned paste (다대기), or salted shrimp.