Kitchen Tip: Remove Fat From Roasts, Stews and Other Crockpot Meals

We frugal chefs love a good pot roast, and for more reasons than just the low price.  It’s true that roast meat is cheap and easy on the grocery budget, but crockpot cooking is also hassle-free, time saving, and almost no work!  The first time around, anyway.  Allow me to explain.

You have a delicious pork roast, simmering in a slow cooker, surrounded by sliced vegetables peeking out ever-so-subtly through the surface of the golden broth.  It’s steamy, it’s delicious, and it’s piping hot when you set it on the table for dinner.  However, this gourmet frugal meal will look quite different after you pack it away as leftovers!  No matter what kind of container you store your crockpot meal in, once the food temperature has cooled in the refrigerator, you will be left with a hideous layer of thick hard fat!  Now doesn’t that sound appetizing?!

There are few options for removing the fat from roasts, stews, and other crock pot meals.  The manual labor way (which we’ve all done before, including me) is to take a fork, spoon, or knife, and scrape the fat off – one scoop at a time.  While that method does work, it has its flaws.  First, it’s very time consuming. Second, it’s almost impossible to remove all the fat this way, since as soon as you start scooping, small bits of fat will break away and disappear into the liquid. 

If that method is not for you, we’ve got good news!  This kitchen tip will have you working smarter instead of harder in no time:

Kitchen tip: Before putting your crockpot leftovers into the refrigerator, cut a piece of wax paper that is large enough to cover the entire surface of the food in the storage container you’re using.  Lay the wax paper over the top of the food, face down, and then put the lid on as you normally would.  As the food cools in the refrigerator, the fat will begin to solidify.  With the wax paper in place, the top side of the hardened fat will adhere to the wax paper. 

After the food has completely cooled, you can remove the lid, peel off the wax paper, and stuck to the paper will be the layer of fat you’re wishing to discard.  Magic! 

Then you can pat yourself on the back, knowing that this little tip not only save you time in the kitchen, but it also helped you give a healthier batch of leftovers to your family.

Like crockpot cooking? Check out: Why you should leave your crockpot lid on and how to make crockpot meals the night before.

Homemaker Barbi Says:  Time-saving kitchen tips have you working smarter, not harder!

For more great kitchen tips, check out Tammy’s Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Photo courtesy of Flickr’s Avoir Chaud under CC license.

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1. Kitchen Tip: Make a Crockpot Dinner the Night Before
2. Kitchen Tip: Crockpot Lids Stay Put!