I'm considering buying a fat separator that looks like a pitcher with a plug in the bottom that's connected to a button in the handle to pour out broth and then plug it when it's just the fat left but I'd like to know if there is an easier way before I buy extra dishes.
That's the way I separate the fat.
I'll go through a detailed explanation of how I make broth. There are lots of different ways, this is just my method.
First I hatch chicken eggs and raise those chicks to butcher age. When I butcher them I part the chicken. One container gets the parts I'll cook, the other gets the parts that are strictly for broth. The broth parts are neck, back, wings, gizzard, heart, and feet. I skin the feet after blanching them, this gets them clean enough for me to use.
I cook the parts that we eat and save the bones, putting them in the freezer. When I get enough bones, say a gallon bag, I put them in the crock pot covered with water and cook them overnight on low. Overnight is around 18 to 24 hours. I usually make three batches back to back to back and reuse the old bones each time, adding a bag of new bones each time. So I wind up with three different batches of liquid. I strain that liquid through a metal strainer to remove the bones and such and freeze the liquid. I discard all the bones after the third batch.
When I make broth I take one bag of parts for broth our of the freezer. and put that in the crock pot without thawing it. I add some herbs like basil and oregano, maybe some thyme or parsley. I add a rough cut onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a chopped carrot and a chopped celery stalk. I don't measure any of this and often just use what I have on hand. I grow my own herbs, carrots, onions, and garlic but have to buy the celery. Each batch is different since I don't measure or always use the same herbs. I cover this with the liquid I froze when I cooked down the bones from the parts we ate if I have any and top it off with water. Otherwise I just use water. The I cook this in the crock pot on low overnight (18 to 24 hours). Each batch gives me 6 to 7 pints of broth.
I strain this through that metal strainer to remove the big chunks and reserve that. Then I defat the liquid, then strain it through cheesecloth to remove the small bits. I then pressure can the broth.
I take the reserved bits that I strained out and separate the meat out. You have to be careful as there are some small bones. This separated meat can be used for tacos, chicken salad, or soup. I often make a sandwich for my lunches as it is hard to use up all that meat. I vacuum seal that meat and freeze it until I use it.
