I actually bought these Soup Socks two years ago. I cannot believe I've had these time savers tucked away in my kitchen, just sitting there!!
Since leading the first 30-Day Broth Challenge in January, I've continued to make broth every weekend. When I miss having my daily broth, it is extremely apparent. After just two or three days the joints in my hands begin to ache. Pain relief is quite an incentive to drink broth regularly! I recall experiencing discomfort in my hands for much of 2016, but I had grown accustomed to it, taking it in stride and dealing with it.
A couple of weeks ago I was looking for something in my kitchen and came across the Soup Socks. I thought… OH! I should try these! So the very next weekend when I made broth I used two socks. I had roasted two chickens and having removed the meat was putting the carcasses into the Instant Pot. I had one carcass in there when I remembered I wanted to try the Soup Socks. So I bagged up the second carcass which was already in pieces and used a second sock for the vegetables. Since the manufacturer claims they are reusable, I tied a loose knot in the top of each sock.
When I make broth I use a big slotted spoon (it's huge and at least 50 years old, it was from my Grandpa's Fish and Chips restaurant he owned when I was a little girl) to scoop all the meat and bones and vegetables out of the pot and place on a cookie sheet to cool.
After a few minutes, I'll grab my tongs and start picking through everything and putting the vegetables aside to use for blending into the broth during the week (this creates an amazingly delicious creamy tasting broth).
But with the Soup Socks, I can simply grab hold of the top of the bag (I use the tongs to grasp the knot, then twist up a couple of times like I'm twirling spaghetti onto a fork) and place in the strainer.
Before, the vegetables would be covered with bits and pieces of skin and other unappetizing bits.
But now, with the protection of the Soup Sock, not only is it simple and easy to sort out the vegetables, but the bits and pieces are on the outside of the sock. Now, if you are doing strict GAPS, you should be taking all those bits and pieces and blending right into the broth to get all the goodness. I usually freeze the bones and extra bits to make bone broth at a later time.
I have used one sock twice in the Instant Pot (under high pressure) and have washed it with plans to use it a third time. So far it is holding up just fine. Since I'll be making broth every weekend for probably the entire year, I'll be able to see just how many times I can reuse one soup sock.
They are fairly inexpensive (about one dollar each when you buy 9 at a time) and I understand that some people toss them after one use. However, they do proclaim to be reusable and I'd like to recycle them.
To wash the Soup Sock, I just rinse it in warm soapy dishwater and pick off any little bits and pieces that are stuck to it. Pour a little dish soap and scrub it gently in your hands. Be sure to rinse several times with clean water to remove all the soap. Then lay the Soup Sock on a clean dish towel and roll it up and press so that it's almost dry. Then I hang it in my kitchen to allow it to air dry. You could also put it on a clothesline outside to get some sunshine.
Have you ever tried soup socks? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!