beef broth question

[wallacesmum]

I cooked a couple beef knuckles for a few days, and now I am refrigerating the broth. All the old school recipes say to take the congealed fat off the top - should I really do this?

[BettinaAuSucre]

Yes. it's also got impurities like blood from the bones and marrow which can ruin a good sauce.

i would also recommend straining it. I think you meant stock not broth. did you add onions, carrots and celery to it? or was it just meat?

[sunnysandiegan]

It depends on what you are doing with it. I leave it because we want all the nutrients from the bone marrow. We cook rice with it or make soups mostly and we don't care about clear broth.

[wallacesmum]

I guess it is a stock, I do add vegetables and then I strain it. But, when it is hot and the fat is still liquid, I do drink it. Once it congeals, I have been leaving it but not eating it; just spooning the gelatin out and heating it up. I simmer it and then turn it off and stir in an egg and some garlic, then drink it.

ETA-I do skim the scum in the first hour, I know that can have gross stuff in it. This is the fat that accumulates at the end.