Ok, so I'm whipping up a a batch of my grandma's Italian Wedding Soup today...my stock is cloudy.... WTF! Why does this happen? How does this happen? Why can't I have clear stock? Oh....
GOOGLE...HELP ME!
Ask and you shall receive...
Today's little Kitchen Secret comes from EHow ~
Making
homemade chicken stock is a satisfying task, creating tasty and
nutritious broth from what would normally be tossed into the trash. Yet,
often enough
we end up with a cloudy mess. So how do you make the crystal clear
chicken stock of restaurants and Grandma?
The first tip is simply not to make cloudy stock in the first place: never boil stock.
Always simmer. Many, many recipes out there tell you to
"bring stock to boil, then reduce heat to
simmer." Many also tell you to boil for the first 20-30 minutes,
actively skimming foam & fat off the top of the stock prior to
simmering. Don't listen! Boiling chicken or any animal bones in water will cause the fat to emulsify, to dissolve into the
water. While a small amount of this fat will rise to the top of the
stock upon cooling, the vast majority of emulsified fat will stay
dissolved in your stock, leaving it with a cloudy appearance and a
higher fat content. If you never allow the stock to boil, but cook it at
a gentle simmer, the fat will not emulsify, and your stock will remain
clear. Easy, right? A heavy, cast-iron or enamel stockpot will heat
evenly and allow you to maintain a simmer over low heat.
Remember:
simmer winner, boil foiled. (LOL)
But say the phone rings, or the kids
are fighting over the remote, or you suddenly remember to water the
plants on the deck ... and you accidentally let the stock come to a
boil. Never fear - there is a simple rescue.
So, just let me clarify that for you....
- Start with homemade, strained stock; the stock should be free
of any particulates (meat, skin, etc). Add to a clean, cast-iron or
enamel stock pot and start warming over low heat.
- For every quart of chicken stock, lightly beat 2 large egg
whites with 2 tablespoons water and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or
vinegar. Crush the eggshells from each egg and add to the egg
white/water mix.
- Add the egg white mix to the stockpot. Raise heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove stockpot from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
You should see coagulated egg white and noticeably clearer stock. The
egg white may form a "raft" on top of the stock pot; this is fine.
- Line the colander with several layers of dampened
cheesecloth. Pour the stock very carefully through the cheesecloth. If
an egg white raft has formed, try not to pour this into the colander,
let it remain in the pot. If the raft has formed a solid mass over the
top of the pot, make a small hole with a spoon and pour stock through
the hole. Alternatively, for a crystal clear stock or consomme, you can
create a tube with a double layer of tinfoil and ladle stock out, from
the center of the tube, while leaving the egg white in the stockpot.
- Refrigerate the stock for 4 hours to overnight; skim any remaining fat off the top of the stock once completely cooled.
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Once again, thank you for sharing your wisdom with us!
- beckie66
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