Great trick to lessen fat in soups

Raizle

Thu, Oct 27 2011, 9:29 pm

OOTBubby wrote:

TranquilityAndPeace wrote:

I know about skimming the fat, but I make a HUGE pot every 2 months, put it away in containers while warm, and heat up the frozen containers right before Shabbos, so I don't have the opportunity to skim it when it's cool.

I do the same, but I let it defrost on Friday which leaves the fat in a hard layer on the top and very easy to remove before heating.

you don't need to wait for it to defrost to remove the fat, you can just slip a knife underneath the layer and it comes right off easily.

IloveHashem613

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 12:44 am

de_goldy wrote:

Grandmama wrote:

I don't remember when was the last time I bought a head of lettuce, unless you count in the head of Romaine I bought for the Pesach seder. Who still sells/buys lettuce? If I want to eat lettuce I buy the kind that is prechecked and cut up in pieces. I have honestly not seen a head of lettuce in a long time.

I tried the papertowel and had a hard time making it work.
Best method is to freeze soup on Thursday night, and by Friday afternoon its quite easy to remove most of the fats on top. I usually skim the soup right when it starts to bubble up, and remove most of it like that.

You are definitely missing out! Heads of lettuce taste so much better than the cut up bag lettuce. We use 3 heads every night for salad and more on Shabbos. I can only think of two people I know who use bagged lettuce and both hold that you have to check it anyway!

I agree with de_goldy! The prechecked lettuce goes bad soo quickly and costs about 5x more then a head of lettuce (not even joking). I ALWAYS buy romaine hearts (Andy boy is my favorite) and they last in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and stay completely fresh, and when I wanna make a salad and check each piece of lettuce, rinse it off and give it a spin in my salad spinner. Yea its an extra step and of course not as easy as ripping open a bag of lettuce and dumping in a bowl but I'm used to it and it tastes soo much better. And seriously, whenver I buy prechecked lettuce, I feel like I'm dumping money down the toilet, it almost always goes bad before I even get to eat it... dunno that's just me

Blueberry Muffin

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 8:39 am

does this work for meatball too?!

Shalshelet

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 9:40 am

I just refrigerate mine overnight when making a huge batch of chicken broth, and then I skim it with my fleshig "pancake flipper" tool. it's flat and the holes in it allow the liquid to drain as well. Only after I skim it do I put it in batches in the freezer. Makes life a lot easier.

realeez

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 1:44 pm

I first cook the chicken with skin removed in water and as soon as it comes to a boil, I skim the "froth" from the top and then add the veggies. I am then left with a clear soup even after refrigeration. As for meatballs, I bake them first and then add to sauce.

ra_mom

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 4:19 pm

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

does this work for meatball too?!

Yes!

gp2.0

Fri, Oct 28 2011, 4:55 pm

Doesn't anyone just leave the fat in the soup? I love rich, fatty soup.

Seraph

Sat, Oct 29 2011, 3:14 pm

gp2.0 wrote:

Doesn't anyone just leave the fat in the soup? I love rich, fatty soup.

Was gonna say I davka leave fat in my soup! The fattier the better! (Soup is more filling that way.)

paprika

Sat, Oct 29 2011, 8:05 pm

Bring the soup to a high boil and all the fat will move to one corner of the pot, then it's easy to skim it with a spoon.

anon for this

Sat, Oct 29 2011, 8:09 pm

As other posters mentioned, I freeze chicken broth (after straining) and thaw it early Friday. After a couple of hours the fat is easy to remove. (Sometimes I save the fat to use when preparing chopped liver).

nylon

Sun, Oct 30 2011, 12:51 pm

gp2.0 wrote:

Doesn't anyone just leave the fat in the soup? I love rich, fatty soup.

I leave a little in, but I use a lot of bones in my soup and not so much meat (because I like to cook it for a long time and the meat isn't edible after that). There's a lot of skin and fat--when I chill and skim it, I get a thick layer. That's too much. (I actually find it easier to cook it with all the skin on and then skim, rather than try to get it all off the raw chicken--and it's easier to skim a thick layer than a thin one.)

If I'm making just stock for cooking, I want it greaseless.

OOTBubby

Sun, Oct 30 2011, 2:04 pm

nylon wrote:

gp2.0 wrote:

Doesn't anyone just leave the fat in the soup? I love rich, fatty soup.

Your soup procedure is exactly the same as mine and I also find it much easier to get rid of the fat after cooking rather than before (though I don't leave any in after).