Skip to main content

Beef Jell-o

 Michael and I bought a bunch of meat last month (and by a bunch I mean like 200 lbs, or so much it won't come even close to fitting in our freezer so we have to go get it from his mom's house every week) and the butcher gave us some bones for our dog.  We boiled one and gave it to her, but the rest have been sitting in our freezer.

The first time I boiled them I did make a stock, but it ended up sitting on my counter and getting rotten, so we never used it, but I knew it was a good stock.  How did I know?  Because it was gelatinous.  Yup.  It had the consistency of Jell-o.

Yesterday I was cleaning out the freezer, because I needed room for the 4 loaves of Dave's Killer Bread that I had bought on sale at WinCo (half off!  How could I resist stocking up?).  Well, the problem with freezer food is that it doesn't go bad (or maybe that is the best thing about freezer food?) so the only way I could make myself any space was by boiling up those bones.  So I took out the stock pot (Michael's mom's because those things are expensive, and until this year I have had no need for one), put the bones in, filled it up about 2/3 with water, added some spices and veggies, and let it simmer for about 8 hours.  I didn't follow a recipe, and I honestly have no idea how it tastes, but it sure smelled amazing.  At least it did until I added a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar to draw out the marrow, after that it smelled good, but not amazing.  But the marrow got drawn out pretty good, there were holes in it, but there was still some left for the dog to try and get.  Also I guess I more boiled than simmered, because my stove needs to be replaced and half the burners don't work on low heat, only medium or above.  When the liquid was half gone I removed it from the stove-top.

Doesn't it look repulsive?
After I took it off the stove, I pulled the bones out, put it through a pasta strainer, and then I ran it through a sink strainer, because I don't have a mesh strainer, and I don't have cheesecloth.  It didn't get at clear as I would have liked, but I always just use it for cooking, so no one will notice.  I was going to put it in mason jars, but then I remembered that after the fat solidified I would need to take it off the top, and that would be hard to do in a jar, so I put it in some cheap IKEA plastic containers, and stuck it in the fridge overnight.

When I woke up this morning I went and got it out of the fridge, anxious to see if it had gelatinized.  As soon as I took the first scoop of fat off the top I knew it had turned out great!  Very much like Jell-o, which seems disgusting, but when it warms back up it will be liquid again.

Next time I would use fresh herbs, because the dried ones are to small and don't come out of the stock, leaving it kinda icky looking. 

I will add some pictures of after I warm it up and put it in mason jars, so it looks less terrifying.


This post may be linked up at one of these wonderful blog hops:

Comments

  1. Wow, great job! I have only ever made chicken broth never beef stock. Where did you buy your beef?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I made chicken stock once, but once again I forgot to do anything with it and threw it all away. We bought the meat at Gene's Meat Market up in Lyons/Mehama. I don't very often buy meat of any kind with bones in it, making it pretty hard to make stock, which is why I've only tried recently.

      Delete

Post a Comment

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Keep this in mind while posting. If you are mean, I will delete your comment. You may have an opinion but you may not be insulting to other people who comment, my religion, or myself.

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Choose Christian Light Education Homeschool Curriculum

Last summer I decided that I was going to homeschool our foster daughters while they were on summer vacation.  There were two reasons for this: 1) Two of the three girls were behind academically.  I really hoped that by working through the summer we could help them get on track for the next school year.  They left our house soon after school started, so I don't know how well it worked. 2) I don't allow my children much in the way of screen time, and these girls were accustomed to having TV and tablets in their rooms all the time.  So they never really knew what to do with themselves.  I figured school work for the morning would help with that dilemma. Choosing a curriculum was difficult for me.  I know that some people bounce around and change curriculum a lot, but whatever I got, I hoped I would like enough to use the non-consumables with Little Guy.  I don't like wasting money, and I hate the idea of some topics falling through the cracks because different curricu

Things That Annoy Infertile Girls (or Maybe Just Me?) - Flashback Friday

This was actually one of my more popular posts when it was first published, but I still thought I would share it again.  Any additions to the post are in pink, as usual :) Accidental Pregnancies - So I have been trying for years to get pregnant, you go slut around and accidentally get pregnant? Immediate Pregnancies - You quit taking your birth control last month and now you are pregnant? People Who Give You Retarded Advice -            - Just stop trying and you will get pregnant            - My friend adopted a baby and got pregnant right away, you should do that            - Get drunk, people always get pregnant when they are drunk (Yes, they do. Because they are              intoxicated and forget to take precautions.) Whiny Girls That Pretend They Are Infertile - Trying for 5 months is not suffering from infertility. It takes a year on average to get pregnant.  I get that it might FEEL like infertility but it just isn't.  After YEARS of trying, I can't even rememb

Is Mother Goose Time Worth The Money?

Last night my husband asked me if I thought that Mother Goose Time was worth the money if I didn't get it for free.  I think this is an excellent question, and one that people probably want to know. How Much Does It Cost?: Mother Goose Time costs $75 a month for one child, including shipping if you buy it month to month.  If you can order and pre-pay ahead of time, you can save up to 15%, depending on how far ahead you pre-pay.  If you have more than one child using the curriculum it is only about $5 a month to add a child.  Many of the products provided cover the entire class, including manipulatives and story books.  The things that each child needs come packaged in their own bag for each child. What I Think of the Curriculum: The curriculum is great.  It is thorough and engaging.  It provides me with ideas and supplies to teach my son things I never would have thought to teach him, but will make him a very well rounded person.  He now talks about things he never would ha