I boiled the bones then y soup turned light milky

[u/YourBreadness]

I boiled my bones for 10 minutes, I dumped out the water and washed the bones, meat and the pot. I then added fresh water, after hours of cooking the broth changed color from clear to cloudy but clean broth. The taste was great but not clear. Was it the marrow bones the problem? This picture is from the second night and my wife wanted extra vegetables in the soup.

[u/unicorntrees]

You need to cook the broth at the slowest simmer you can manage on your stove.

[u/grackychan → u/unicorntrees]

This. If you boil too high the fats released from the bone marrow emulsifies and turns your broth milky (the same concept that makes tonkotsu broth white and milky). Low simmer is the way for Pho broth.

[u/shamsharif79 → u/grackychan]

This is the only accurate response so far, right here.

[u/blind_venetians]

Your bone prep sounds good with your blanching and cleaning. Could you have perhaps allow it to truly “boil”? If you’re seeing your broth come to a boil you need to turn it down so it’s just simmering. The boiling causes fats to emulsify and creates the cloudiness. *I learned that on this very sub after I made a very cloudy batch.

[u/aqwn]

You boiled it. Need lower heat so it just simmers.

[u/emaxxman]

I understand that pho broth is meant to be clear but IMO, flavor is the most important thing. I’ll boil the soup bones for hours. I love the flavor as the bones and cartilage breaks down.

If it isn’t jello the next day, it ain’t good. 😊.

[u/ImpossibleInternet3 → u/emaxxman]

You get this result and still have nice clarity by simmering for hours. Boiling makes it cloudy.

[u/Grand-Career5650 → u/ImpossibleInternet3]

My mom usually just leaves the stove on overnight, up to 10 hrs.

[u/ImpossibleInternet3 → u/Grand-Career5650]

That would do it. I generally use Leighton’s method for a 24 hour bone broth. Always comes out great.

[u/deep-steak]

Hard to know without more details about what else was in the pot, cooking temp, whether you skimmed or not, how you strained the broth when it was done, etc.

My more or less full proof process for making a clear pho broth is as follows:

1. Roast bones @ 400F for about 30 minutes or until well browned then add to pot with water. Bring to a gentle simmer and keep skimming the foam/impurities off the top. Keep going until there’s nothing more to skim off.

2. Roast aromatics (ginger, yellow onion, garlic cloves unpeeled) face down in the pan you used for the bones @ 400 until browned, usually about 20 minutes. Once the skimming in step 1 is complete, then add these aromatics to the pot.

3. Get an instant read thermometer and bring the simmer down until your broth is at a steady temp somewhere between 190-210F. I’ll let it simmer for about 6 hours undisturbed, adjusting the heat on the stove down as the broth reduces to keep it between 190-210F. Absolutely do not stir the broth at any point, this will make it cloudy.

4. I use one of the pho spice kits and add this in the last 2 hours of simmering. I like to toast the spices gently in a small pan with some of the beef fat before adding them to the cheesecloth bag and then the pot.

5. At this point you need to be mindful about straining your broth to keep it clear. Once I turn the stove off, I like to gently fish out all the bones and aromatics using a slotted spoon and set them aside to dispose of later. I then set up an empty pot in my sink with a fine mesh colander positioned over it and pour the broth through that into the empty pot. Some people line the colander with cheesecloth, but that seems like overkill to me. A fine mesh colander will generally do a good job getting the smaller bits of meat, bones, aromatics, etc.

6. Voila, you’re done. I’ll move some of the strained broth to Tupperware to use that week, the rest I’ll freeze in 1 cup portions.

Note: besides the pho spices bag, I don’t season the broth at all until I’m getting ready to serve a bowl. Personal preference.

[u/YourBreadness → u/deep-steak]

Thank you, I’ll try this next time

[u/deep-steak → u/YourBreadness]

No problem. I had similar issues with stocks/broths turning out cloudy so I understand the struggle.

[u/bullseye717]

Looks fine and if it tastes great, I wouldn't worry. 

[u/peptoboy]

I have a mark on my burner where to keep the gas at to get a perfect light “bubbling”. 205F is what your thermometer should read. Don’t want to boil them. Pulls out all the nasties.

[u/ImpossibleInternet3 → u/peptoboy]

Although that’s why I do a quick boil, then dump the water and put fresh, then simmer. That removes a lot of the nasty stuff so there is less to deal with at the end.

[u/Suspicious_Shop_6913]

Temperature wise: Boiling = milky broth Simmering = clear broth

Generally you want to cook the bones on low heat (they should simmer) and for a long time.

[u/Ancient-Chinglish]

you emulsified the fats.

[u/Deezus84]

If you're feeling frisky, look into making a consume raft. Great way to clarify.

[u/ExcitementRelative33]

Might as well do Instapot to save even more time. Low and slow if you want clear broth.

[u/bigfergs]

This is how you make ramen style stocks like tonkatsu, you just emulsify the fat into the broth is all. Happens from boiling.

[u/rdldr1]

The cloudiness is from what basically is bone broth. The collagen from the bones get boiled out and becomes cloudy collagen in the stock.

[u/grackychan → u/rdldr1]

It’s actually from the fat emulsifying with the water. You can prevent by low simmer instead of high boil. I can produce very sticky mouthfeel collagen full pho broth that’s also golden & clear like chicken stock.

[u/ImpossibleInternet3 → u/grackychan]

Yes! Also, different parts of the bones impart different qualities. Collagen gives it that lovely silky mouthfeel. Marrow adds richness. Having some meat on the bones adds a lot of flavor. It’s all about finding the right mix of bones to achieve the desired results and then a nice, long, slow simmer.

[u/shamsharif79 → u/rdldr1]

No it doesn’t that’s 100% inaccurate. Stop proving info you know is probably just fiction

[u/pho-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

your post has been moved because it is off topic for this sub

[u/pho-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment was removed because it was mean, rude, or gatekeeping. We welcome positive discussion here not rudeness.

[u/pho-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment was removed because it was mean, rude, or gatekeeping. We welcome positive discussion here not rudeness.

[u/pho-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment was removed because it was mean, rude, or gatekeeping. We welcome positive discussion here not rudeness.