Here’s The Easiest Way To Separate Fat From Stock, Soup, Or Meat Drippings

What's a good soup without a delicious base like meat stock, booze of some kind, and butter? While this indeed sounds like a dream combination, it isn't the healthiest choice. But, don't worry, you can just easily skim off the excess fat after cooking.

Here's a step-by-step guide posted by a Reddit user, on the most efficient way to skim fat without wasting all the delicious essence of the dish:

1. Let the sauce cool down completely then separate it from the meat.

2. Transfer the liquid to a jar and place it in your refrigerator upside down.

3. The fat solidifies but when you open the jar, the gelled meat drippings will be on top. So, scoop out the stock with a spoon.

TIP: To reduce food waste, you can reuse the skimmed fat as a substitute for bacon grease in other recipes.

There you have three simple steps to perfectly skimming off fat from meat drippings. Alternatively, if you notice there's a small amount of fat floating on top of any cooking liquid, you can use a paper napkin or a piece of white bread to soak it up.

You can also remove the stock from heat, wait until it cools a little, then throw in an ice cube. The fat will coagulate around the cold ice cube and make it easier to lift out.

The only caveat to these methods is that they only work best with small batches of stock or soup that have a large amount of fat in them. If you're making large quantities of stock with relatively lean cuts of meat, you can employ alternative methods like using a fat separator or, chilling soup overnight and skimming the fat that rises to the top

How do you skim off excess fat from your stocks and stews?