Does anyone know if straining with cheesecloth prevents bone broth from gelling? I made a beef bone broth that was practically ALL gel! Then I made a chicken bone broth (pastuer raised, organic) and decided to strain with cheesecloth. It didn't gel at all!
I've got a carcass in the crock pot right now and I'm wondering how I should strain when it's finished this evening. Any advice?
I thought the gel was the good stuff-- and don't think it can be filtered out-- But it DOES melt right back down into liquid again when warmed. I always think my broth is better the more solidly gelled it is! What am I missing?
Oh yes, the gel IS the good stuff! However, I'd prefer to scoop it off and save it for cooking and reserve a more clear broth for drinking. But I wasn't sure if my straining with cheesecloth was catching the fatty part (along with the bones and extras) and that's why I didn/t have gel. Does that make sense?
the gel is not fat, its part of the bones/cartiligage. My chicken stock never ever ever gells...not matter what I do, not even slightly. My beef broth always gells....I think because I use big hunks of bone there is just more of the cartilage etc that causes the gelling. If you don't want it to gell you can always try watering it down before cooling it...that could help..Of just mix with water before drinking.
the gel is gelatin and not fat. you can't separate it and shouldn't! you can water it down.
the gel is gelatin and not fat. you can't separate it and shouldn't! you can water it down.
Oh, really?!! I'd always read that you should let it cool and "scoop off the top layer of gelatin". (Read that from several different sources). However, when my beef bone broth gelled, it was gel throughout and like you say, it wasn't separated. I just thought I did a great job at getting all the gel out from the bones! :) Ha! I'm still learning about this bone broth stuff. So cheesecloth won't effect that quality of my borth then?
I did use cheesecloth to strain my batch this week (chicken) and it didn't gel. But, it's very tasty and doesn't need to be watered down. *shrugs* I hope I'm getting all the benefits. I've tried chicken from two different farms now and no gel.
I put my broth through a strainer and then chill overnight. I take off just the fat the next day. The gel under the fat layer is the good stuff.
Oh, really?!! I'd always read that you should let it cool and "scoop off the top layer of gelatin". (Read that from several different sources). However, when my beef bone broth gelled, it was gel throughout and like you say, it wasn't separated. I just thought I did a great job at getting all the gel out from the bones! :) Ha! I'm still learning about this bone broth stuff. So cheesecloth won't effect that quality of my borth then?
I did use cheesecloth to strain my batch this week (chicken) and it didn't gel. But, it's very tasty and doesn't need to be watered down. *shrugs* I hope I'm getting all the benefits. I've tried chicken from two different farms now and no gel.
You probably miss read, or they mis typed, its the top layer of fat that floats to the top that you can take off and once the broth has been cooled in the fridge it will rise to the top forming a hard layer (the fat) that you can just lift off. Or leave it on....it just depends on if you want more fat in your broth or not....I have little kids so I like the fat to remain.
When broth is cooled, it congeals due to the presence of gelatin. The use of gelatin as a therapeutic agent goes back to the ancient Chinese. Gelatin was probably the first functional food, dating from the invention of the "digestor" by the Frenchman Papin in 1682. Papin's digestor consisted of an apparatus for cooking bones or meat with steam to extract the gelatin. Just as vitamins occupy the center of the stage in nutritional investigations today, so two hundred years ago gelatin held a position in the forefront of food research. Gelatin was universally acclaimed as a most nutritious foodstuff particularly by the French, who were seeking ways to feed their armies and vast numbers of homeless in Paris and other cities. Although gelatin is not a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, helping the poor stretch a few morsels of meat into a complete meal. During the siege of Paris, when vegetables and meat were scarce, a doctor named Guerard put his patients on gelatin bouillon with some added fat and they survived in good health.
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/515-broth-is-beautiful.html
I always use cheese cloth, sometimes it gels some times no. It just depends how much water is in it I think.
We leave the fat on for cooking, not for drinking though.
I don't think the cheesecloth should make a difference. Sometimes it gels, sometimes it doesn't. It's affected by ingredients, cooking temperature, time, quality of the ingredients and (it feels like!) alignment of the stars.
That said, I never bother straining. I put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I scoop off the rendered fat for cooking with, then scoop off the clear broth. Most of the schmutz stays near the bottom and I feed that to the cats or throw it out. The work involved is way more prohibitive IMO than losing the bottom quarter inch of broth.
Sandra
Does anyone know if straining with cheesecloth prevents bone broth from gelling? I made a beef bone broth that was practically ALL gel! Then I made a chicken bone broth (pastuer raised, organic) and decided to strain with cheesecloth. It didn't gel at all!
I've got a carcass in the crock pot right now and I'm wondering how I should strain when it's finished this evening. Any advice?
OH, and for the record, I usually make my chicken soup the same way and it USUALLY gels. I take a whole bird and roast it with the heart and gizzard, but not the liver, which usually goes to the cats. (I eat liver but one at a time is too small to bother cooking, IMO). I'll toss in veggie scraps, too.
Once cooked, I strip off as much meat as I can, eating some the same day and freezing the rest for other meals (since my dh and kids don't eat meat). I eat the crisp skin and throw the soggy skin into the soup pot. I toss the wing tips, heart and gizzards into the soup pot, I put all of the pan juices into the soup pot and I put the frame into the pot. Any scraps of fat go in, too.
After it's all done cooking, I pull out the giblets to eat, pull out vegetables, bones & skin. The vegetables & bones go into the trash, though I'm considering bsf for disposing of them, since they're soft, and the cats are offered the skin. I taste the broth and if it's watery (often it is) then I simmer it for a while longer to reduce it. I prefer a more concentrated broth.
After it's done cooking, I let it settle, pour off the broth into another container and try to keep as much of the crap at the bottom at the bottom without losing TOO much broth. Then after it's chilled overnight, I remove the rendered fat for cooking, clear broth for myself and throw out the bottom little bit because I'm too busy to strain it. I'd rather make extra broth to compensate for the loss.
If I'm making chicken soup, I do all of this and *then* make the chicken soup with the broth. I'll put the cooked chicken, herbs and vegetables back into the finished chicken broth and cook it JUST long enough to cook the vegetables and permeate the chicken with the herb vegetable flavor. That way the chicken and veggies don't get overcooked and the chicken broth isn't watery or greasy.
My chicken stock always gels. I simmer it for at least 7 hours, plus I try and reduce it a bit too. I also use a lot of bones to make it strong.
Chicken stock gelatin is usually affected by how long you simmer. When you simmer for a very very long time, the gelatin starts to break down -- although the minerals come out more, so long simmers are good too.
7-10 hours with chicken stock should get you a good gel and some good minerals. I love the taste of really long-simmered broth, though, so I always do at least 24 hours, and then just add a bunch of feet and necks for the last few hours of the simmer, or add some Jensen's gelatin.
I never skim the fat!! Yum. And in chicken stock, the famed immune-boosting properties are contained in the fat parts of the broth.
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