Karl
Moderator Emeritus
Being a chili fanatic, those 5 lb. 'chubs' of ground beef are ideal and the fat adds extra flavor to the browning meat, but isn't good to have in the finished product. I've found that those blue rolls of 'shop towels', available almost anywhere, provide an excellent solution. After browning your meat, pour all the liquid into a suitable container. Cut one of the towels into about 1" strips and, after the fat has risen to the top, simply lower one of the strips slowly into the container. It will become saturated with the fat and thus will not absorb the good liquid below it. Use additional strips as necessary. Pure magic! Ordinary paper towels will not work nearly as well.
For things like soups and stews where it isn't practical to separate the liquid from the rest of the ingredients, just remove from the heat and let cool to near room temperature; then use tongs to hold an ice cube and swirl it around the surface. The fat will congeal on the ice cube for easy removal. Repeat as necessary.
For things like soups and stews where it isn't practical to separate the liquid from the rest of the ingredients, just remove from the heat and let cool to near room temperature; then use tongs to hold an ice cube and swirl it around the surface. The fat will congeal on the ice cube for easy removal. Repeat as necessary.