Egg Raft for Clarifying Cloudy Stock

Submitted by Bonnie G #2

"Need a clear stock from your homemade stock but it's cloudy or murky it not really a problem because the stock was meant to be used for a brown sauce. But if I needing a clear stock fear not! It can be cleaned up with this method. Saw this on FB and what a great method that I'd never heard of before. As you can imagine, the serving size is certainly a guess depending on how you use the stock"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Yields: 1 quart
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 quart stock, cloudy
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemons or 1/2 teaspoon vinegar

directions

1. Filter your stock as much as possible. There should be no solid residues in it. Like small pieces of meat, spices, skin, etc. Warm the stock slowly in a thick bottomed saucepan.
2. Beat the egg whites with water and the acid.
3. Crush the eggshells and whisk them into the egg mixture.
4. Mix the egg whites into the stock, turn up the heat and bring it all to a boil.
5. Turn down the heat when it boils and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Take the stock of the heat and let it cool for about fifteen minutes.
7. There should now be a raft of stiffened egg whites on top of the stock and the stock should be more clear.
8. Sieve the stock gently through a sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. If possible, use a sauce ladle to scoop it carefully into the sieve instead of pouring it. Avoid getting egg white with over the edge of the sieve.

9. Author's Notes:

10. The easiest way to get a clear stock is to avoid it being unclear to begin with.
11. Use raw pieces of meat. Unfortunately that is impossible when you make a dark stock so --
12. Don't crack the bones.
13. Never let the stock boil. Only weak bubbles and simmering. Boiling emulsifies the fat from the meat and binds it to the water.
14. Only boil the vegetables along for the last hour. When the vegetables are soft, they begin to fall apart. This also makes the stock unclear.
15. [This is the real difference when you clarify stock. no film tricks here -- ].

Reviews

[fabricartist14]

Wish I had read this before I had started the stock. I will continue to strain through cheesecloth and see what happens. Love this method though for clarification. Its working.

 

[M H.3455]

I made chicken stock for the first time and, unfortunately, did all the things Bonnie said NOT to do while making it...the result was a lot of delicious, but cloudy stock despite my best efforts to strain multiple times, skim, use cheesecloth, etc. I was skeptical this method would work, but I am writing my first ever recipe review to say it WORKS, and WORKS WELL! I wish I had taken a before pic to illustrate the difference! My stock is now golden and clear. Thank you, Bonnie!