Can anyone suggest a way to salvage frozen chicken stock in a cracked glass jar? I overfilled two of my jars on my last stock and they've...

Question

Can anyone suggest a way to salvage frozen chicken stock in a cracked glass jar? I overfilled two of my jars on my last stock and they've cracked. I even let them freeze without the lids so they don't crack right off the bat...but i guess i just overfilled them, so even putting the lids on once they were frozen, they still cracked. Large cracks. Can i try to peel the glass off, defrost the stock and run it through cheesecloth to get out any shards? Or should i just give up and throw them away? Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

cookbookchick · Answer

This happened to me, as well, before I realized glass jars do not work well for freezer storage.  The liquid expands upon freezing and creates pressure against the glass.  There are some good ideas here for other storage methods that won't have you wasting good stock.  After thinking about it, I threw mine out, too!  :-(  Hard to do!

spiffypaws · Answer

Not worth the risk.  PLEASE throw out. I freeze in plastic cups (8 oz) size and when frozen pop out into sandwich size ziplock bags.  Don't freeze in glass.

innoabrd · Answer

I'm tellin' ya--freeze in either loaf pans or muffing tins (depending on how much you use at a go) and then store in ziploc vacuum bags.  keeps it really well because there's no exposure to air.

Lyla · Answer

Thanks and yes...I do let it come to room temp - I actually store it in the fridge for 2 days before freezing it - then skim the fat to use later. I don't like to store in plastic, but have resorted to ziplock bags too, if I'm out of other containers.

pierino · Answer

The more that I think about it, I wouldn't store stock in glass anyway. I usually use something like Rubbermaid containers with snap on lids. Or pyrex type glass. But also allow your stock to come to room temperature before you freeze it or the lids might pop off. Sur la Table sells some very good Italian made glass containers which are unlikely to crack.

Lyla · Answer

Thanks! In the garbage now...hated to do it, but...as you all said, better safe than sorry. Next time, I won't fill them so much.

Mr_Vittles · Answer

Shame. But I agree with the others, throw them out. Better to be safe then sorry.

gigiaxline · Answer

ouch...can you imagine it going through your insides? Or someone else's? Throw it out to be safe!

pierino · Answer

I agree with innoabrd on this. Even tiny little crystals of glass that might pass through a sieve can be a painful surprise.

innoabrd · Answer

Throw it out.  Not worth the risk of feeding someoen a sliver of glass...

campagnes · Answer

If I were in your shoes, and if I were intent on saving the stock, I would put the whole thing - glass and all - into a large bowl or stockpot and let it thaw in the fridge. Carefully remove the large pieces of glass, then run it through coffee filters instead of cheesecloth. Intellectually, I think that would get all the glass out... but just the idea of using the stock after it'd been exposed to broken glass might be enough for me to throw it away, especially if I might be serving it to other people.

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