Learn how to skim off the scum and fat from your soups and stocks in this tutorial. In Japanese cooking, we use this technique to yield a clean liquid to give soups, hot pots, and stews a refined taste and clear appearance.
In Japanese cooking, skimming off the scum and fat that accumulates on the surface of broths and stock is very important to create a nice and clean soup or stew. It’s an important technique used in the culinary arts by professional chefs and home cooks alike.
Yes, I know it is extra work! However, it’s the key to a refined flavor and clear liquid. Soup skimming is worth the effort when making hot pots, stews, and all types of soup like chicken noodle soup, pho, and beef bourguignon.
What is the Foamy Scum on Stock?
When liquids like chicken stock or bone broth are just about to boil, the proteins in the animal products start to congeal. This creates foam that rises to the surface. It can appear when boiling meat-based liquids like pork bones, beef knuckles or marrow bones, and chicken carcasses.
It’s usually white, gray, or brown in color. It’s crucial to remove the foam as quickly as possible before it boils and mixes into the soup or stock.
How To Skim Off the Debris and Scum
Here’s a summary of how I do it; see below for step-by-step photos and instructions!
- Prepare a liquid measuring cup filled with water. You’ll also need a fine-mesh skimmer. You could use a ladle or slotted spoon, but I prefer a mesh strainer of some kind.
- Just before the liquid in your stockpot begins to simmer and boil, look for the scum to form. When you see it floating at the top of the soup, quickly scoop it off.
- Rinse the fine-mesh sieve in the water. Repeat until you’ve removed all the debris from your soup.
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How To Skim Off the Scum and Fat from Soups and Stocks
Materials
- water
Instructions
- You will need a fine-mesh skimmer and a liquid measuring cup (or bowl) filled with water.
- When the soup/stock is about to boil, stay around the kitchen. You‘ll start to see the scum and fat floating and creating forms. With the mesh sieve in one hand and the bowl of water in the other, start scooping it off.
- After you pick up the scum, rinse the sieve in the measuring cup (or bowl) and continue to scoop the scum.
- Keep the liquid at a simmer rather than a hard boil because it will mix up the scum and cloud the soup. Make sure to thoroughly skim.
