# Beef stock (broth?) is the wrong color



## JustJoel

Beef soup bones were on sale today at the supermarket, so I decided I’d make some beef broth. I roasted the bones (about 2 lbs) for a couple of hours in a low oven, then added them to the stockpot with a quartered onion, two celery stalks, and a bunch of mushroom stems (I didn’t have any carrots, for some reason).

The broth never turns that beautiful golden color that characterizes the base of a French onion soup. It’s whitish and milky. There was virtually no scum to skim as I brought it to a boil, and I skimmed some fat about an hour in.

Can anyone tell me why this is, and how to make a beef broth with good color?


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## CraigC

Did you leave the skin on the onion and did it have dark skin? I usually use bones that have a little meat left on. After roasting the meat will also add color and flavor.


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## Whiskadoodle

How does it taste?   When you say "whitish", is it like the color of chicken broth.  "Milky" doesn't sound  particularly appetizing.     Maybe you used too much water making the stock?,  otherwise I don't know.

One way to rescue the stock/  make it browner is to use a little browning sauce.  Kitchen Bouquet and HP are two common brands.   They're both made from vegetables.   I would be careful using too  much so your stock doesn't come out looking like artificial  gravy that some restaurants use to spiiff up and then it looks fake.  

I think one way to use it as is, is to make sopa de cebolla,  Mexican onion soup.  This is usually cooked either as a vegetarian soup or with chicken broth.  I think it would great with your current stock situation.


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## Roll_Bones

This is why I buy it already made.  Too much work, for too little return.


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## blissful

I make chicken broth almost every time I make chicken, then I freeze it. I have a gallon or so frozen in pint and quart jars. When the freezer gets too full, I boil the broth down until it is super concentrated to save on space.

Anyways, here is a possible answer to the whitish broth versus the more golden colored broth.
https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/02/seolleongtang-beef-bone-soup.html


> In making a Western-style beef stock or Vietnamese _pho _broth, the cooks aim for a clear, brown broth by simmering beef bones for many hours. In contrast, the goal of making _seolleongtang _is  to achieve a milky white broth. What’s done differently? It’s the heat  level! For a clear broth, the bones are gently simmered over low heat.  Simmering, by definition, is cooking at the temperature below the  boiling point with bubbles gently rising to the top. For a milky broth,  you need to boil moderately, not simmer, throughout the cooking time.


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## JustJoel

blissful said:


> I make chicken broth almost every time I make chicken, then I freeze it. I have a gallon or so frozen in pint and quart jars. When the freezer gets too full, I boil the broth down until it is super concentrated to save on space.
> 
> Anyways, here is a possible answer to the whitish broth versus the more golden colored broth.
> https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/02/seolleongtang-beef-bone-soup.html


Hah! That article nailed it! I cooked the broth with too much heat! Thank you!


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## blissful

You're welcome. 
Though I've never made pho, I always thought it would be such a nice dish to make. And to nail pho, it needs a clear broth and just the right spices and herbs, and well, I haven't made it.


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## tenspeed

JustJoel said:


> Hah! That article nailed it! I cooked the broth with too much heat! Thank you!


  Interesting.  I've never made beef stock, only chicken stock, and I make it in a pressure cooker.  At sea level it cooks at 250 F.  The cookbooks have no mention of beef stock turning white if you make it in a pressure cooker.


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## blissful

tenspeed, the pressure cooker drives the boiling point up, so it never boils, it remains still.



> Another cool feature: By raising the boiling point, you can be sure that  the liquid in your pressure cooker won't boil, even though its contents  will be well over 212°F (unless you allow it to over-pressurize, in  which case the cooker will vent itself and boiling will occur). This  stillness inside the cooker means you'll end up with a clear stock, free  of the proteins and other gunk that can turn it cloudy once dispersed.



from: https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/04/how-to-make-pressure-cooker-chicken-stock.html


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## tenspeed

blissful said:


> tenspeed, the pressure cooker drives the boiling point up, so it never boils, it remains still.
> 
> 
> 
> from: https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/04/how-to-make-pressure-cooker-chicken-stock.html


  That's good to know.  I would have thought it would be a function of temperature, but it's the agitation of boiling.  I learned something today, so it was worth getting out of bed. 


Note to self: Never quick release when making stock.


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## jennyema

Yes, the agitation of boiling mechanically emulsifies the fat into the water and you will be left with greyish, greasy stock.

You should never boil the water when you make stock.  A very gentle simmer is needed.


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## JustJoel

jennyema said:


> Yes, the agitation of boiling mechanically emulsifies the fat into the water and you will be left with greyish, greasy stock.
> 
> You should never boil the water when you make stock.  A very gentle simmer is needed.


This seems to be the majority consensus. Gentle simmer only. 

In the meantime, my stock might be cloudy, but it’s definitely delicious. I’ll make some ramen with it instead of French onion soup - it looks like a tonkotsu broth, except of course it’s made with beef!


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## CharlieD

soup boiled/over boiled actually.


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## salt and pepper

Low & slow is not the way to go! Broil them on high till a little burnt, into a nice carmel color. If it's still too light add Maggie or Kitchen Bouquet for color and added flavor.


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## JustJoel

salt and pepper said:


> Low & slow is not the way to go! Broil them on high till a little burnt, into a nice carmel color. If it's still too light add Maggie or Kitchen Bouquet for color and added flavor.


I think you missed what I’m making. And my problem is not in prepping the bones, it’s making a clearer stock. The action of a rolling boil emulsifies the fat and the liquid. So, if you want a clearer broth, you never bring it to a full boil.


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## Rocklobster

Ever try the egg trick? When you have strained your broth, put it back in the pot and get it hot again..take  two beaten egg whites(until frothy) some add the shells also,  and add it into the stock..shell and all..stir it around gently until it cooks and rises to the top..strain your broth again. The idea is that as the egg coagulates it will absorb, or trap, a lot of the solids that are in the broth, and will also continue to further trap more of the solids as you strain it..I have tried it a few times and it has worked to some degree..
http://www.culinaryone.com/how-to-clarify-broth/


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## jennyema

Rocklobster said:


> Ever try the egg trick? When you have strained your broth, put it back in the pot and get it hot again..take two beaten egg whites(until frothy) some add the shells also, and add it into the stock..shell and all..stir it around gently until it cooks and rises to the top..strain your broth again. The idea is that as the egg coagulates it will absorb, or trap, a lot of the solids that are in the broth, and will also continue to further trap more of the solids as you strain it..I have tried it a few times and it has worked to some degree..
> How To Clarify Broth - Bringing New Clarity to Stock-Making


 
This works for proteins and solids but wont work for emulsified fat.

Also, one usually uses ground meat as well as egg whites to clarify... tomatoes, too

A greasy stock will always be greasy ...


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## Cooking Goddess

If you would strain it through multiple layers of cheesecloth, might it trap some of the grease? Wouldn't cost much in time or money. Well, not my time or money.


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## jennyema

Cooking Goddess said:


> If you would strain it through multiple layers of cheesecloth, might it trap some of the grease? Wouldn't cost much in time or money. Well, not my time or money.



It would be like straining a bottle of Italian salad dressing ....  

That's the beauty/frustration of emulsification.  Its permanent


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## JustJoel

*Did I say greasy?*

My broth didn’t come out greasy, just milky. The flavor and texture are wonderful. I concentrated it down and will use it to make ramen (tonkotsu ramen broth is made from pork bones, but it’s milky like my beef broth.)


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## Rocklobster

jennyema said:


> This works for proteins and solids but wont work for emulsified fat.
> 
> Also, one usually uses ground meat as well as egg whites to clarify... tomatoes, too
> 
> A greasy stock will always be greasy ...


Just cool it over night and take the solidified grease off of the top..


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## GotGarlic

JustJoel said:


> My broth didn’t come out greasy, just milky.



The milky appearance comes from fat (grease) emulsified into the liquid, as jennyema has been saying. Once it's tightly emulsified, there's no fixing it - chilling will not bring it to the surface, like with a stock that was simmered.

If you like it, then great - that's the important thing.


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## jennyema

Rocklobster said:


> Just cool it over night and take the solidified grease off of the top..



 It’s emulsified, so, no, this won’t work


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## Rocklobster

We’ll, not sure what he did, but I’ve made gallons of the stuff every week for years now and have never had a problem.


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## GotGarlic

Rocklobster said:


> We’ll, not sure what he did, but I’ve made gallons of the stuff every week for years now and have never had a problem. [emoji2]


Do you boil it hard for several hours?

Blissful posted a recipe for Korean beef stock that said that particular recipe is intended to come out milky, not clear, and it's boiled, not simmered. And Joel acknowledged in the next post that that was what he had done.


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## JustJoel

GotGarlic said:


> Do you boil it hard for several hours?
> 
> Blissful posted a recipe for Korean beef stock that said that particular recipe is intended to come out milky, not clear, and it's boiled, not simmered. And Joel acknowledged in the next post that that was what he had done.


Japanese _tonkotsu_ broth is also boiled vigorously for several hours. It’s made from pork bones, and the boiling makes the broth milky and very silky.


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## GotGarlic

JustJoel said:


> Japanese _tonkotsu_ broth is also boiled vigorously for several hours. It’s made from pork bones, and the boiling makes the broth milky and very silky.


I'm confused. Did you know that before you posted the question asking why your beef stock ended up milky-looking?


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## JustJoel

GotGarlic said:


> I'm confused. Did you know that before you posted the question asking why your beef stock ended up milky-looking?


No, I didn’t.


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## JustJoel

I appreciate all of your excellent answers and suggestions so much! And I never knew that a rapid boiling action would emulsify the fat into the broth - I never made that very simple connection!

When I posted this question, I hadn’t finished the broth. My goal was broth for French onion soup, so the color of the broth dismayed me. I was very pleased with the end result though. The broth isn’t really suitable for traditional French onion soup, but it’s creamy and rich, a perfect base for some Asian soups. And since I’m not serving any paying guests, I could make French onion soup with it. In fact, I’m gonna try it later today! It just won’t be that beautifully clear, delicately flavored broth that’s associated with it. Maybe I should give it a new moniker - Asian onion soup (the traditional cheese might pose a problem, though!)


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