How to Clarify Homemade Stock
Follow these simple instructions on How To Clarify Homemade Stock so that it looks just like store bought stock!
You guys haven’t just been throwing away those chicken skins and carcasses, right? You’ve started making your own from scratch Chicken Stock ’cause it’s the easiest way to stretch your food dollar and make a from scratch condiment that can be used a gazillion different, ways, right? Oh good. 😉
Now that you’re doing that, have you noticed that your stock comes out all cloudy and not at all like the nice clean looking stock that comes out of the carton from the store? I sure have. But I just thought it came with the whole from scratch territory. But oh… ooh not until one of you lovely readers let me know that Better Homes and Garden had a recipe to clarify stock! I had no idea and now my from scratch Chicken Stock world has been forever changed for the better! Thanks, Lee H.!!
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, we eat a lot of chicken in this house. One of our recent favorites is the Maple Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs recipe which requires de-boning and de-skinning the thighs, which is what we usually have because I’m too cheap the pay the added cost of buying it skinless and boneless already. Which actually works out because it’s the perfect excuse to make some homemade stock. Also, we happened to have some wilted celery and carrots in the fridge that normally would have just gone into the compost that I also threw in the stock pot.
My favorite thing about making stock? You can let it simmer for as long as you want while you go about the rest of your life. In this case, I re-painted the built in shelves in our kitchen bar because what else would you do on a Sunday night when you’re 29 weeks preggo and in extreme nesting mode?
Anyway, once the stock reached a richness that we liked, I lined our large sieve with a cheese cloth and slowly drained the stock. Now this is where I would normally stop, but now that I know How to Clarify Chicken Stock, and how easy it is, I just took the few extra steps!
How to Clarify Chicken Stock
Step 1: Separate egg yolk and white and then whisk the egg white with some water.
Tip: Then make a small bath of Mayonnaise From Scratch with that one little lone egg yolk!
Step 2: Add it to the hot stock and then put it back on the burner.
Step 3: Bring it all to a boil and then remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
While the egg white cooks it’s coagulating and collecting all of the little particles from that stock that make it cloudy. Yay science!
Step 4: Give one last strain one last time through your trusty cheese cloth.
And done! Just like it just came out of a carton of organic chicken broth- but for waaayy cheaper. You can do this with your veggie stock and beef stock too then you have a lovely clear base for your soups, stews!
Our Favorite Ways to Use Chicken Stock
- Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
- Garlic Chicken Piccata
- Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken
- Crock Pot Chicken Pho
- Creamy Asparagus Bacon Soup
- 15 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken
Enjoy, friends! Go forth with your Stock Clarifying!
Equipment
Ingredients
- Chicken or Vegetable stock
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Strain your homemade stock (if freshly made).
- Whisk egg white and 1/4 cup of cold water.
- Heat stock (or return to stovetop if freshly made) and bring it (back) to a boil.
- Add whisked egg white and water to the stock.
- Once stock has been brought back to a boil, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Strain stock through a cheese cloth lined sieve to strain out the egg.
- Done!
I’ve done rafts before, but I could swear the directions were so much more complicated! This was quite simple and worked really well. My broth turned out really dark, probably because I browned the bones (from a chicken we had for dinner, so I left lots of meat on the back, etc.) in oil; come to think of it, that’s probably why they call it “browning” — it browns the bones but also the stock made from those bones. Also, I put in an onion cut in half with all the peel on it except the really papery parts that come off easily. But although it was brown, it also looked muddy until I did your technique; now it’s like a nice, clear beef stock in color. Tastes like chicken, though! 😉
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for sharing, Sandra! 😀
Thank you for the egg white trick. Never thought about that way.. but so right you are. Ive been making stocks since i was young…42years later you taught me something new and that works. Cool beans to ya
That’s so great to hear, Kate! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’ve been meaning to make a batch of homemade stock for a while now, so this post is very timely! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I am saving this to use later. You just can’t beat homemade stock.
Thanks for taking your time in showing this amazing step by step method in making this healthy and yummy stock. This stock will surely help in making my various other recipes tasty. Combination of ingredients are all so perfect.
Definitely saving this for later – homemade stock is something I always wanted to make!
Homemade stock is the best, and I love to have it on hand. The egg white tip is so interesting. Definitely going to try!
The flavor you get from homemade is just so amazing! You’ll never buy store bought again.
A couple of years ago I started doing rotisserie chicken and this winter, I’ve started doing two at a time and just pulling the chicken from the carcass for use in soups and stews. Then we use the carcasses to make our own stock! That’s even cheaper! 🙂
That’s a GREAT idea, John!! Thank you for sharing!
This method does indeed work, though what I do is save my eggshells that would normally go out to the compost pile. When making the stock, along with your celery, carrot and onion scraps throw in the eggshells. Try not to let the stock boil. Simmer, strain and enjoy a clear stock.
Great points, Stephen! Thank you!