How to use a baster correctly?

[Cooking4Fun]

I use my baster sometimes to extract fat from cooked ground meat in stock pot, but if I keep it faced down too long I lose all I sucked up, but if I tilt it up fast it spews liquid into the air. How do I keep liquid in baster for required amount of time? Lol.

 

[pepperhead212]

I rarely use the baster in my kitchen (I have about a half dozen I use for my garden things! lol), but I know what you mean, about it not holding the liquid - the seal isn't always great, though sometimes they are pretty good. And when you turn it upside down, with hot liquid in it, the air inside can heat up and expand, shooting the liquid out, as you described.

The baster in my kitchen is a very old stainless steel one - the only one back then, and the rubber bulb has decayed several times. I just buy a dollar store baster, that looks the same size, and the bulb lasts another several years.

I have one large baster, I use for garden purposes, and the bulb didn't seal very well, so I just used duct tape! Doesn't leak a drop now!

 

[GotGarlic]

I try to plan what I'm making so I can put it in the fridge overnight and allow the fat to congeal on top. Then it's easy to scrape off.

 

[dragnlaw]

Two solutions that usually work for me...

wtih a deep pot, as you are describing, try to tilt it as much as possible, thereby lessening the tilt required on the baster itself. Also try to keep your receiving container (for the liquid in the baster) as close as possible. This creates an almost sliding motion going from one place to the other.

With a roasting goose, I try to slide the oven shelf out as far as can safely be done (without spilling or crashing the shelf). Again bring the receiving vessel as close as possible so the baster doesn't need to be tilted up as much.

For basting chicken/turkey, well of course, one doesn't need to tilt the baster at all, just slide it up the side of the meat.

Last suggestion, don't tilt it up so fast, nor try to fill the baster too full, because like you, I found a veritable loss and/or spout action.

 

[Andy M.]

If I'm browning ground beef in a pot and I want to remove some/all of the rendered fat, I use paper towels.

Push the cooked meat to one side and tilt the pot so the melted fat runs away fro the meat. Soak it up with some paper towels and discard.

 

[dragnlaw]

If I'm browning ground beef in a pot and I want to remove some/all of the rendered fat, I use paper towels.

Push the cooked meat to one side and tilt the pot so the melted fat runs away fro the meat. Soak it up with some paper towels and discard.

I've done this too, depending on how big the batch of meat is. Would rather sacrifice some paper towel than wash the baster!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

For ground beef, I brown it with a lid on the pot/pan allowing the meat juices, and fat to collect in the pan. When the meat is cooked through, I pour off the juices into a metal bowl and place in the fridge, The fat floats to the top and is easily removed to be discarded, or used as beef tallow for frying. The left over juice has jelled, and is rich un both collagen, and flavor. I use that for soups, gravies, and such. After the liquid is poured off, I continue to brown the meat to develop the maillrd reaction.

For roasts, roasted fowl, and braised meats, again, use a shallow serving spoon, or fat separator to remove the liquid to a bowl. Refrigerate to harden the fat. You will find the fat is widely used for frying foods. Duck, and goose fat for frying potatoes, chicken fat, known as schmaltz for the same thing. Duck fat can also be used to poach duck meat, as in duck confit. Pork fat can be strained to make lard.

I have no use for a baster. There are better tools. Here are a few a links for a fat separator:
https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Gravy-Separator-4-Cup/dp/B071F2ZM15/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=fat+separators&qid=1647197084&sr=8-6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WMOR6K?tag=aboutcom02thespruceeats-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4151750%7Cn535c4931649b4f5f96810f4b63d15bd318%7CB004WMOR6K

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0161FLOUW?tag=aboutcom02thespruceeats-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4151750%7Cn535c4931649b4f5f96810f4b63d15bd318%7CB0161FLOUW

Hope this helps.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North