What's best way to filter meat broth?

(Bruce Pick) #1

What’s best way to filter meat broth?
I often cook (5-6 hours in a crock pot) beef or pork bones that come with a good amount of meat on them. Beef/pork ribs, beef neck bones, and “seven bone steak”. I like to harvest the broth for later use. But there are lots of meat bits in it and maybe tsoe bone chips from when it was cut. I haven’t yet found an ideal way to filter the broth.

What I’ve been doing is, after cooking and then eating our first meal from it:
Pull out the me meat and bones from the crock pot, discard the bones.
Strain the remaining broth/fat mixture through a metal sieve (strainer).
Whatever bits the strainer catches, I will eat or save for later.

Now I have the strained liquid - broth and fat together.
But it’s cloudy.

I’ve filtered it using coffee filters in a pour-over filter holder.
Tonight I went through about 8 filters while straining about 2 cups (0.5 liter) of broth+fat.
Those were #2 coffee filters. I guess #4 filters will handle a bit more before they become clogged and useless.

Is anyone else here filtering their broth/fat mixture? How?

Anyway, once it’s filtered, I pour it into a jar and it goes in the fridge. The fat separates to the top and I pull it out, then I have broth and fat in their own containers.

(Windmill Tilter) #3

I’ve never even bothered to put it through a sieve much less a coffee filter. I’m not sure I understand what the goal is. Certainly no bones of a meaningful size that are making it through the sieve? At any rate, here are some options:

  • Buy a stainless steel coffee filter; it’s reusable

  • Stainless steel mesh is available in hundreds of pore sizes well down into fractions of a mm. You can get way finer than a stainless coffee filter. You can buy small pieces on amazon along with a funnel, and do a bit of DIY.

  • A clean t-shirt in a colander should filter more effectively than the coffee filter if you fold it over itself to create several layers.

  • Charcoal media placed in a canister is inexpensive and more effective than a t-shirt in a colander.

  • Reverse osmosis will remove 99.9999% of all solids and leave you with clear water again. :yum:

My advice would be to not worry about filtering beyond what the sieve does. You’re not after the water in the first place; you’re after the stuff that’s suspended in the water. Spend whatever money you would have spent on filtering on a stovetop pressure cooker ($30) or instapot ($70). An hour in a pressure cooker is equivalent to a couple days in a crock-pot. Pressure cook those bones for 3 hours and the broth will blow your mind. That’s my 2 cents.

(Bruce Pick) #5

[quote=“Don_Q, post:3, topic:96856”]
I’ve never even bothered to put it through a sieve much less a coffee filter. I’m not sure I understand what the goal is. Certainly no bones of a meaningful size that are making it through the sieve? At any rate, here are some options…[/quote]

Nick / Don_Q,

Thanks. I appreciate your detailing several possible filtration methods - in spite of the fact that you recommend only very basic filtering. I might try a stainless coffee filter.

Bruce

(Windmill Tilter) #6

If you’re going to go that route, take a look at this filter. It’s designed for cold brew coffee. The mesh size is 100 micron. You’ll also get a much larger surface area so it won’t get clogged when filtering a large batch. Hard to beat for $15.00.

(Bunny) #7

Interesting you posted something about meat broth a rare topic.

Meat broth/stock before bone broth if you have leaky gut? Glutamic acid sensitivity when you have a leaky gut?

”…Functional application of Bone Broth

Bone broth is best recommended for individuals who do not have leaky gut or are further along the gut healing journey. Each individual is different, and some may find that when they introduce bone broth, their symptoms return. This just means that there is more need for meat stocks to be used and gut healing is not completed. Once the digestive system is repaired and the liver is working efficiently, then bone broth can easily replace meat stock interchangeably. …” …More

Oxalates and possible reason some people get sick on carnivore
Oxalates and possible reason some people get sick on carnivore
(Bruce Pick) #8

I probably should have called the topic “meat or bone broth”. I think the question would be the same, unless one is making a broth using bones with no meat at all on them - in which case there would be no meat bits in the liquid. My question is on how best to filter it.

(Bunny) #9

Maybe a large 300 micron hops filter? They go for around $35.00 including tax. Don’s post is showing 100 micron, 300 micron will filter out any bone bits and meat particles for pure stock.

I use them to grow broccoli sprouts using mineral rocks.

Nothing beats a hops filter.

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Even use two, a small one that fits inside the bigger one.

One to catch most of the particulates to take the stress and overflow off the bigger one so most of liquid comes through the bigger one?

#10

Your method seems pretty solid, though it sounds like you’re going through a ton of coffee filters! I’ve dabbled a bit with chicken bone broth myself, and while it’s not exactly the same, it can get cloudy too. Something that might help is letting it chill in the fridge overnight before filtering. The fat tends to solidify on top, making it easier to scoop off. Also, have you tried cheesecloth? It’s reusable and can catch those pesky bone chips without the hassle of going through a bunch of filters. If you’re into checking out some cool recipes or more tips on broth, I stumbled upon this site called Healo Foods https://healofoods.com. They’ve got some neat stuff on there. Might be worth a peek!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #11

Never encountered this thread before, thanks for reviving it.

It never occurred to me to worry about bits of meat or cloudiness in the broth. For me, those are plusses, not minuses. Bone fragments, on the other hand, would be a real issue for me.

However, I like to simmer the bones long enough for the marrow to start coming out, and at that point, they are crunchy and chewable, rather than sharp. But in any case, you are right; cheesecloth should do the trick.