My First Successful Broth

[mamaherrera]

I made my first gelatiny' broth and it's delicious. I just have a question: I took all the white "fat" off but even still when I drink it, it feels "greasy" to me and fatty. Is there still fat in it?? I just want to know so I don't go over in my "fat" macros and I had heard it should be pretty much fat free once you skim off the fat.

 

[Jayfish]

How'd you make it?

I have failed at broth making three times.

 

[tara]

If you cool the broth so the fat all set at the top I think you can lift pretty much all of it off. If I get impatient and want to eat it quickly I try to skim the liquid fat off the top, but I can't get it all - can still see a bit floating on top.

 

[mamaherrera]

lots of bones, water, 24 hours, added veggies at the end and cooled it with ice, then to the fridge. Perfectly gelled, and the fat was all set. But I still find it "greasy" to the lips. Is that just normal texture for gelatin broth?

 

[tara]

I figure if you've lifted off the layer of fat on top, what ever you are feeling is probably not much fat. I usually have pureed veges in mine, so the texture is different. On rare occasions I eat it straight, I think I remember it feeling smooth - hadn't thought of it as greasy, but maybe there is some similarity?

 

[mamaherrera]

Thanks, I will drink on then!

 

[Amazoniac]

How to Cook/Prepare Bone Broth?
mama, if by greasy you also mean silky, then there's probably nothing wrong (or fatty) with it; collagen is known to give this mouthfeel.

 

[mamaherrera]

I'll pay more attention today and see if it's silky!! Great!

 

[lindsay]

Did your bones have Marrow in them? And if so, did that float to the top? It might be the greasy feel. Or else, some of the fat might be soaked into the veggies from the broth. Either way, I wouldn't worry about it - skimming the top is more than I would do! LOL.

 

[mamaherrera]

ok my thing is I don't want too much weight gain, , you know me by now. . .. . and yes I used marrow bones. .... so marrow is not fat, but it still is greasy texture?? I took all my veggies out too. . . . .Thanks Lindsay. . .always good to hear from ya!

 

[lvysaur]

1) leave the bones in water overnight (this cleans them thoroughly, especially of blood/myoglobin)

2) rinse

3) boil for several hours (longer and slower the better in my experience, I don't think Peat's 3 hour advice holds water)

4) put in veggies, boil for an hour

If you want to be anal about it, you can clean them twice by boiling them for 5 minutes after the initial clean, and then dumping that water.

 

[mamaherrera]

wow and I didn't clean them at all! HOpe I don't die!

 

[Drareg]

You could use some egg white to clarify it, Chefs do this for consommé,it's the old school way. You could spend a fortune on a machine that does it for you or better still try a coffee filter.

Tara's techniques is very good idea.
Ice filteration is another way, essentially you just freeze the stock in a big block, put some muslin cloth on a tray with holes and let the liquid drip through as it defrosts preferably in the fridge at around 5c.
The idea is the liquid defrost before the fat so all is clear .

 

[tara]

so marrow is not fat,

I think marrow is made of quite a bit of fat.

wow and I didn't clean them at all! HOpe I don't die!

I generally don't either.

 

[mamaherrera]

so try to take the marrow pieces out of there or just don't do marrow bones from now on maybe

 

[Amazoniac]

Lordess, try beef tendons in it with some clean bones. The tendons should be removed earlier than the bones..
And marrow does have a lot of fat, like tara commented.

 

[narouz]

In my opinion
good broth with the fat properly removed
definitely tastes greasy.
I know: the expert term is "silky.'
Okay.
I can't tell the difference.

I've used the method of storing in fridge until the fat solidifies at the top.

The best thing I've ever used for broth is chicken feet.
Best tasting and most cost effective.
But I stopped using them because Peat says most chickens are made to walk through a chlorine foot bath
before slaughter and thus are likely contaminated with chlorine.
Bummer.

Also, there's a conflict between Peat's advice about broth cooking time
and the reality of broth making as I experienced over time.
I haven't thought about this topic in a while, so a bit foggy,
but I think Peat says bones should not be cooked over 1 hour.
Maybe he said 2 hours...?
He said it degrades the quality of the protein.
Well, I 've tried muliple times to make good broth cooking for 1 or 2 hours.
I mean the real thing--broth that gels very firm in frig.
Impossible to get in that amount of time in my experience.
Sure, a nice meat broth for taste and some nutrients--but not the gelatinous stuff.
That only starts happening 3 hours plus.

Another thing: Peat told me in an email that marrow bones have a lot of iron.
So, unless you need iron, I wouldn't personally use them.
That's why I loved the chicken feet.
Now...if I can just find some un-chlorinated chicken feet.

Oh: another great source for gelatinous broth is cow's feet.
Or, as I saw them labeled at the Asian market, "beef feet."
They are cheap and make a lot of gelatin.
The taste isn't as good to me as the chicken feet.

 

[mamaherrera]

thanks for the tips, yeah I cooked it for 26 hours and got pure gelatin, and hopefully all the fat at the top. I did use two calf's feet, so maybe just lots of knuckles next time and the calf's feet. Then I won't worry but like Tara said, if all the fat was sitting at the top hard, it's probably not that there is fat it's just that "greasy" feel, but without the fat. Thanks!

 

[tara]

so try to take the marrow pieces out of there or just don't do marrow bones from now on maybe

If the marrow fat comes out of the bones into the stock, you'll probably be able to remove it easily enough as it cools.
You get more valuable gelatine from the gristly joints than the long straight bones where most of the marrow is.

 

[mamaherrera]

so which are the gristly joints?