Greasy food (soup/stew/casserole etc)

charlies_mum

Well, I'm having one last go at saving it - I have drained off as much of the liquid as I can and I am going to add some chicken stock to see if that helps.

Failing that, it's for the bin

Thanks for the help everyone

powershopper

Two chicken soup probs at once!!! When the soup is hot, let it stand to allow as much fat come to the surface as poss, then GENTLY draw a sheet of kitchen roll over the top, might take more than one piece, This will absorb the fat, works for me!

teedy23

dont you know that the fat is the stuff that tastes the best! dont want to be swimming in it mind but when it,s stirred into the soup it enhances the flavour. No way would I exchange this for a stock cube! Perish the though, Have you tasted it? When people are ill chicken soup is the thing to give them and my mum always swore that the fat was the thing that carried the goodness. Thats why you use a cascass

LandyAndy

scuzz wrote: »

I could be making this up, but I think I've heard something about holding a slice of bread on the top of the soup so it can soak up grease.

Sorry if that doesn't work

This would work but its easier to use sheets of kitchen roll. This works really well. I use it all the time to remove fat from the top of stocks etc.

charlies_mum

Well, I drained off as much liquid as I could and skimmed the fat off, and sorry, but I added a stock cube : and it does now taste edible - quite nice in fact

I will remember next time to stand the stock in the fridge overnight.

Inspired by success, I'm off to have a go at Queenie's strawberry icecream - hope you will all be around later if I have any more disasters

sweetmoneysaver

Another tip, is when you make the stock make sure that any skin that is still attached to the bones, or on bits you haven't carved, has been removed. This makes a real difference to the amount of fat that remains in the stock. Most of the fat is in or just under the skin. Then use Queenie's suggestion for chilling in the fridge overnight.

debtworrier

scuzz wrote: »

I could be making this up, but I think I've heard something about holding a slice of bread on the top of the soup so it can soak up grease.

Sorry if that doesn't work

I've found that laying a single bit of kitchen roll on the top of the fat works; the paper doesn't disintegrate, though you have to be careful and fish it out with a slotted spoon. It's easy to see when you reach the point that you're soaking up gravy rather than grease: the paper will be opaque rather than translucent. I once used three bits of kitchen roll on a chicken casserole when I'd been too lazy to take the skin off.

pinksleepybear

Another tip is to use the gentlest heat when making the stock. Having it at a rolling boil sort of mixes up the fat into the stock, making it murky and dirty-tasting. If you have it on a very, very gentle heat you can stop this happening.

nodwah

I agree with pinksleepybear, since I started putting the carcass in the slow cooker to make stock I've never had greasy yellow/white looking stock - you get the nice clear stock that goes into a lovely jelly

the_skint_minx

Hello oldstylers

Does anyone have a failsafe chicken stock method? Mine always comes out mingin - Bland and cloudy and not really tasting of much.

This is how I've been approaching it so far:

1) Save chicken bones from weekly roast chicken in freezer.
2) When the time comes, put bones in pan with water, a carrot, celery, onion and maybe a leek.
3) Boil for ages, skimming nasty stuff from the top.
4) Strain into jug and allow to cool.
5) Put in fridge
6) Forget about stock.
7) Look in fridge 3 days later and feel guilty about non-use of stock.
8) Make 8 pints of horrible vegetable soup.
9) Attempt to eat horrible soup.
10Admit defeat.
11) Throw soup in bin.

Which is hardly an OS way of going about it now, is it?

I wonder how much of it is down to being raised on stock cubes - I wonder if this is actually how chicken stock is meant to taste and I'm just not used to it...

Thanks