Thanks for contacting Ask an Expert.
After all the work to make your broth, I'm sorry it was left out overnight. I have made that same mistake with other projects.
Potentially hazardous foods (cooked vegetables and raw or cooked meat, poultry, fish or wild game) are not safe to consume if they have been left out at room temperature for more than 4 hours. We recommend they be cooled and refrigerated within 2 to 3 hours. Heating foods that have been left out cannot be made safe by boiling or reheating in an oven.
I found I couldn't always rely on myself to remember to come back to the kitchen in a few hours to refrigerate these types of food items. I didn't intend to forget, but just had too many distractions, or just tired from a day's work.
To avoid serious mishaps, I now plan ahead to take cooling steps when heating steps are completed. With chicken broth, I want it to chill overnight so the fat can solidify and float to the top. It is much easier to remove before I can my stock. So, when I turn off the heat, I remove the bones and vegetable solids with tongs to cool off in a baking pan before disposal. As I'm removing solids, I fill the sink or a large tub with 2 to 3-inches of cold water. Then, I put the cooking pot in the sink/tub and begin gently stirring, constantly. If you have ice, add it to the sink/tub water. Stirring breaks the surface tension that can trap heat. When the sink/tub water gets warm, drain it and refill with cold water. Repeat these steps until the liquid is close to 40 degrees F.
Home models of refrigerators (and freezers) are not "blast-chillers" so the closer you can get to the refrigerator temperature, the better for your stock overnight storage and the rest of the food in your refrigerator, too. Adding a hot food will heat up the inside of your refrigerator, putting your other foods outside of safe food storage temperatures for hours while your refrigerator (or freezer) labors overnight to restore the safe temperature. Putting hot foods in your freezer for cooling greatly increases the risk of freezer burn in other frozen foods and reduces the length of time a frozen food can maintain good quality.
Another accepted method for cooling thick foods is to pour them in baking pans, no more than two inches deep. Stir to release heat. With roasts, let them set for at least 10 minutes to let the proteins coagulate and retain juices. Then, slice, cool and package for storage. Elevating casseroles not meant to be served soon on cooling racks in a cooler, well-ventilated area can help speed cooling.
See more tips in Storing Food for Safety and Quality, PNW 612 or Freezing Convenience Foods, PNW 296 at https://beav.es/OSUFoodPreservation. Scroll to the Other Food Preservation/Food Safety Publications or Freezing sections for these publications. All of these up-to-date, safe, reliable resources are available free for viewing or download online.
Have a safe preserving season!
