thicken stew with excess floating fat
I skim fat from my stews and then thicken it with a roux or cornstarch. Is there a way to directly thicken with the floating fat?
Best Answer
If you want to use the fat to keep the flavor, or because you are keeping a diet where fat is considered more beneficial than carbohydrates, there are several ways.
First, you can skim the fat, make a roux with the skimmed fat, then add it back.
Second, you can skim the fat, add a little bit of broth and an emulsifier, whisk until you have a nice thick emulsion, then add it back.
If you use a straciatella style thickening, the fat eyes will frequently disappear between the rags, especially if you can get them to break up very small.
But if you are asking because you want to save some work, I don't think there is a good way. Generally, if you use enough flour or other starches at the frying at the start of the stew (including tomato pastes and such), the fat will bind with the starch instead of floating. But it seems that your recipe is for a thin stew, and the fat continues to float there.
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How do you fix greasy beef stew?
If serving the stew right away Lay a clean paper towel over the surface of the stew, gently pushing it into all the bumps and dips and then quickly peel it off. The fat is absorbed by the paper. Repeat with more paper towels as necessary.How do you get rid of fat on top of stew?
To remove the layer of fat that floats at the top just chuck in a few ice cubes. The fat goes cold and immediately sticks to the ice cubes. Scoop out with a slottted spoon and throw away, then just bring your casserole/gravy or whatever back up to heat.What can I do if my soup is too greasy?
Try a Grease Grabber. They are a special pad that only absorbs oil and repels all else. If you float it on top of your soup it will absorb all the grease. Seems like overkill given that you could just use bread or paper towels.Does fat dissolve in stew?
The fat in those pricey cuts of beef will melt away, and you will be left with a tough, stringy mess. For the tastiest beef stew you need a lean, tough piece of meat from the shoulder of the cow.Stew Recipes : How to Thicken Beef Stew Gravy
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Answer 2
What you are actually doing is thickening with the starch from the flour or cornstarch; the fat is only helping it not clump.
While there do exist methods of thickening with fat (emulsions such as beurre monte sauces, or even mayonnaise), they don't generally apply in a practical manner to the fat on top of a cooked down soup or stew.
Answer 3
I think what you are getting that is you'd rather not have to thicken the stew in such a complex way. It's actually very easy to thicken with cornstarch, all you do is mix cornstarch with cold liquid and then pour it into the hot stew. If you put cornstarch directly in it will clump because of the heat. It doesn't take much water or milk, but if you don't want to dilute your stock then get a couple of cups of stock out and cool it in the fridge, then add the cornstarch to that.
Note you can use flour and not cornstarch, however raw flour may add some off flavors. If you are going to use flour then still fry it off.
Note that you will lose some flavor by not making a roux, and you may want to skim some fat off anyway to keep the stew from being greasy.
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