The rule in our household for broth/stock is 10 days in the fridge (maaaaaaaaybe two weeks) or else it should have been frozen.
I have a batch that’s getting close to that self-imposed expiration date ** and I noticed that this batch was made from fattier ingredients and the remaining jars have about a 3/4 inch layer of undisturbed fat at the top. I’m familiar with the concept of using fat to preserve (as in duck confit) so I was wondering: will this broth last longer in the fridge than a batch that was skimmed and has no surface disk o’ fat?
Honestly? Wow, I thought I was pretty much “throw caution into the wind” when it comes to food safety, but I would never keep homemade stock for more than 4 or 5 days in the fridge. I’ve had homemade stock go “off” in a week or so, but that is stock that hasn’t been reheated and boiled.
As for the fat layer stuff. I can’t say anything definitively. But I skim the fat off chicken broth to keep as schmaltz, and I’ve had a little bit of broth mixed in there, and had it turn funky in about two weeks. So, no, I wouldn’t trust it.
Any reason not to freeze it from the onset? Or why don’t you simmer it down and concentrate it, freeze it, then reconstitute as needed when you need broth/stock? I tend to cook my stock down to a syrup, freeze it in an ice cube tray, then pop it out and reconstitute it about 8:1 to 12:1 water-to-concentrated stock volume. It looks a bit disheartening when you cook down a gallon of stock to somewhere a bit over cup and a half, but it saves a lot of space, and still tastes great.
Lack of space in freezer and/or laziness and/or totally planning to use it for dinner toni-- let’s call out for pizza!
(I usually do freeze about half the batch. Still kicking myself for not getting around to it and/or not eating something out of the freezer to make space, in this case.)
There’s a good chance it’s perfectly good still, but not good enough for me. Five days maybe tops for me, probably after day three I wouldn’t consider it anyway.
Put it in the fridge, skim the fat the next morning (and save it, if you’re like me), and cook the stock (or broth that is made with meat & bones–you need a decent amount of gelatin for this) down until it’s about 1/10 the volume or even less. You’re looking for a syrupy consistency. You’ve basically made your own bouillon. (Technically, you’ve made a white stock version of glace de viande). Put it in ice cube trays, freeze them, pop 'em out and put 'em in a Ziplock bag. This concentrated stock is incredibly useful. You can use it to punch up stews, sauces, or just reconstitute it back to stock/broth.
