The 4 a.m. soup stock that turned into a smoke alarm symphony

Last Sunday I left 12 quarts of chicken stock on a low simmer while I ran to the hardware store for a replacement thermometer, came back 45 minutes later to the whole walk-in smelling like burnt feathers and the fire marshal's number on my phone. How do you all recover a ripped stockpot without losing the whole batch, or do you just dump it and start over?

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2 Comments

rodriguez.mia1mo ago

Honestly? Sounds like you overreacted. Burnt stock is annoying, but it's not a crime scene. You left 12 quarts on low heat and went to the hardware store, that's a normal move. The smoke alarm going off doesn't mean the whole batch is ruined. Just scrape off the dark stuff from the bottom, strain the rest through a fine mesh, and see how it tastes. If it's bitter, dump it. But don't trash it just because the bottom scorched. People act like one burnt pot is the end of the world when you can usually save most of it. Next time, set a timer on your phone and stop making this into a bigger deal than it is.

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abby_cooper1mo ago

Wait, 12 quarts? You left TWELVE QUARTS of stock going and just... went to the hardware store? That's like three gallons of liquid simmering away with zero supervision. I mean, I get it, we've all walked away for a bit, but that's a whole afternoon project just left to fend for itself. Honestly the smoke alarm probably saved your house, not just the stock. I'm all for saving what you can but you gotta admit that's a bold move leaving that much liquid heat unattended for that long, that's not a little oopsie, that's a trust exercise with your stove.

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