Yesterday I made stock from our leftover chicken carcass. All the fat sat in a lumpy layer on the top. I've tried using my strainer spoon to remove the fat, but it just doesn't work so great. Last time I made stock, I decided to skip the fat-removing process. Bad idea. When we used it later, your throat burned from all the fat. It was just too much.
I know I have cheesecloth somewhere in the house, but I can't find it anywhere. Desperate for some kind of straining device, I remembered my ancient punk rock mesh T from good old Noir Leather (punk rock S&M store in Royal Oak). The shirt is about 15 years old, and honestly, I only wore it a handful of times in my early 20s, with a black bra of course (floozy), but I've kept it around for some reason or other.
That reason became clear yesterday. I had just recently gone through my clothes, purging many items, but still keeping hold of my black mesh T.
Scratching my head over chicken fat-laden liquid, I had my light bulb moment.
I grabbed the shirt, fit it over a pot and poured the stock over it. It collected much of the fat, although didn't work as well as proper cheesecloth. (BTW, the bowl of dirty food scraps in the background is just our compost pot.)
I proudly ladled the stock into 5 freezer bags and put them away. The shirt has been washed and put with the canning supplies for future food preservation use.
My shady past has proved valuable yet again! This Modern Homesteader kicks chicken fat!
3 comments:
That is about the most funny thing I have seen in a while! I love it! What a great way to use an old mesh shirt.
How thrifty you are.
anytime you want to, you can join the editing staff of our (mine & carly's)book of hard core household hints by "tina" stewart - martha's black sheep sister.
Hi, Anne just told me about your blog, i really like it! FYI, after straining off the solid goop with your mesh shirt, if you want to get rid of the fat on top of your stock, place it in a narrow container (or in the stock pot) in the fridge overnight, and then you can literally scoop off the now solid fat from the top and voila! fat free broth.
Amy
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