Fish bone broth separating after long long boil
Right then.. just had my first go at making fish bone broth. Boiled/simmered bones, heads, skins for 8-9 hours, strained and then next day simmered the strained liquid for a couple of hours. When I returned to check on it, it seems to have separated into what looks like leather/pork crackling and 'oil'? What's happened? is the leathery bit solidified collagen and the rest fat?
Best Answer
I'm not sure what might have separated in your stock, but I do know that 8-9 hours is way too long for a fish stock.
While its common to simmer beef, chicken, and other meat stocks for that length of time, it's much too long for fish stock. Because fish bones are so thin, they cook and soften much quicker than harder bones from land animals. This means that a delicious and flavorful fish stock can be made in as little as half an hour and rarely takes much more than that. Overcooking fish bones can lead to a bitter and unpleasant flavor, so your stock was likely ruined to begin with even before it separated.
The leathery bits you describe are likely proteins released by the fish parts used and re-coagulated by extended cooking time. I would guess that the oily part is at least full of fat/fish oils, if not completely made up of it-- you don't say how much you have, so I suppose it is possible that if you've been simmering it all day you've managed to cook all the water out. If that's the case, then you may have accidentally made fish oil, which many people take in capsule form as a health supplement.
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Can you overcook fish broth?
I eventually learned where the ''don't overcook stock'' rule came from. French restaurant chefs use flat fish -- flounder and sole -- for their stocks, because they cook these fish in quantity and have the bones and heads readily available. However, these fish do make a bitter stock if cooked longer than 20 minutes.Can you boil broth for too long?
Simmer Your Bones Long Enough, But Not Too Long Yet, if you cook your broth too long, it will develop overcooked, off-flavors that can become particularly unpleasant if you've added vegetables to the broth pot which tend to break down, tasting at once bitter and overly sweet.How long can you boil bones for broth?
Cook for at least 10-12 hours, or until reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, leaving you with 6-8 cups of bone broth. The more it reduces, the more intense the flavor becomes and the more collagen is extracted. We find 12 hours to be the perfect cook time.Why is my bone broth gelatinous?
This collagen in the bones is what is causing your soup to gel. It's completely natural, and it only happens in rich, well-made chicken stock. It can be a little freaky, though, if you're not expecting it! The good news is that this thick, gelled stock is extra-rich.Bone Broth | Avoid 2 Toxic Mistakes Making It
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