crisy nut cooking and whole chicken stock making

[eastkygal]

We have more pecans than we can count from a friend's tree, and I'd like to make crispy pecans from NT. I have a gas oven though and am worried about keeping it on for 12 hours straight. Also, what if I need to use it to cook something else in those 12 hours. Can I just put them back in after cooking other things?

Now, I have a whole chicken. Last time I tried to make a whole chicken and use the scraps and bones for stock it was an awful process. I do not have a good knife for cutting through bone, and can't get one right now. Also, when I made stock out of just the bone and scrap it didn't taste good at all. So, I'm wondering if I can put the whole chicken skin on and all in the crockpot and cook it. Then, would the water be stock? I could then use the meat for salads or whatever. What temp. would I set the crock on? I would do it on the stove but 6-24 hours with a gas stove is scary to me. Asking for trouble really.

Any suggestions?

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

My oven is always pretty warm, so I don't turn it on when I dry nuts. I just leave them in there for a day or so. You should be fine to take them out for awhile if you need the oven for something else. Just make sure you let the oven cool back down to 120 degrees or so, so you don't cook the nuts.

I make chicken stock with the whole chicken. Skin and all. I made like 2.5 gallons last week from one chicken (I put lots of veg in it too). It's not a rich jelled stock, but a really nice broth for making soups and all kinds of things. Tastes great. I used the leftover chicken and it was surprisingly good. I thought it would be pretty dry after being cooked so long, but it wasn't. I used it to make chicken tacos and lots of chicken fritter-type things.

[cristeen]

What type of gas? Natural gas or propane? If it's natural gas, what's your concern about leaving it on? I have a natural gas stove and make stock all the time on it. If I'm going to leave the house, I just turn the burner off while I'm gone and turn it back on when I get back. When I go to bed I turn the burners off and turn them on when I get up in the morning. But if I'm home all day, I just turn them down so it's just simmering and walk away.

As for the whole chicken, yes you can put the whole chicken in the crockpot, if it'll fit. I'm not sure what your concern is with a knife though... You shouldn't ever have to cut *through* bone, and if you were doing that, you certainly wouldn't want to do that with a good knife. When I roast a whole chicken, I cut off the legs and breasts for us to eat, and I can do that with just a crappy steak knife. By the time I've picked over the chicken and the carcass is ready for the stock pot, it's just an assemblage of bones, and it doesn't really need any cutting. I dump it whole into the pot, and cover it with water. After it's been simmering for about an hour I can open the pot back up, poke it a couple times with a spoon and the carcass will just collapse into the pot (if it didn't quite fit to begin with).

You say the last time it wasn't very tasty... what did you add to your soup pot other than the chicken? Did you remember to skim it?

[eastkygal]

Thanks for the advice. Last time I got a step-by-step guide to cutting up a chicken off the internet. It was a bad experience. I ended up breaking bone and having to cut through them. How do you get legs and such off without doing that. Oh, and butting through the breastbone. I felt like I was fighting with the chicken instead of preparing it to cook.
We have a natural gas oven and I was worried about carbon monoxide. It has set off our detector before when I used it for extra heat for the house. I went by the Nourishing Traditions recipe last time I made bone stock. I added carrots, celery, onions, and salt. Maybe some other things.

[velcromom]

Definitely roast the chicken whole first, eat or freeze the meat then stuff the carcass into the crock pot or a stock pot on the stove. It comes out very flavorful that way. Don't bother cutting up the raw chicken, it will come apart very easily after roasting as cristeen says.

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

legs and wings pop off pretty easily. Just cut around the joint and then snap off. I know what you mean about the breast bone though. Can you maybe get a knife sharpener? I got a cheap ($10?) one from Target and it has made my cheap-o dull knives soooo much more usable. Otherwise I'd follow the roast-the-chicken-first advice. Good luck!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by eastkygal

Thanks for the advice. Last time I got a step-by-step guide to cutting up a chicken off the internet. It was a bad experience. I ended up breaking bone and having to cut through them. How do you get legs and such off without doing that. Oh, and butting through the breastbone. I felt like I was fighting with the chicken instead of preparing it to cook.
We have a natural gas oven and I was worried about carbon monoxide. It has set off our detector before when I used it for extra heat for the house. I went by the Nourishing Traditions recipe last time I made bone stock. I added carrots, celery, onions, and salt. Maybe some other things.

I agree with the pp. DOn't bother cutting it up before roasting it if you don't have to. It's a pain. It's slippery and heavy and cold and ultimately there's not a whole lot of point. If you really have to though, read up on how to do it properly and allow yourself plenty of time to do it. You still shouldn't have to go through bone, as the knife can go between joints. If you really want to be cutting up a chicken regularly though, may I recommend kitchen shears? They're really the easiest way to go. Just make sure they disassemble completely so you can clean between the blades. Mine have a bonecutting slot, which holds the bone in place as you cut down. It wouldn't work for beef, but it works just fine for poultry.

As for cutting through the breast bone, I don't. I carve the meat off like I would for a turkey, then use my fingers for any that's left. Dump the whole carcass into the pot, and after simmering for a while, the cartilege will soften and a poke will collapse the whole thing. When I go to cut the legs off, I slice around the thigh meat pretty much to the bone, and then grab the thigh bone in my hand and bend it backwards. The joint should separate easily if the bird is cooked through. If it's still undercooked it won't separate so easily. And then you can take leg in one hand, thigh in the other, bend it backwards and that one'll pop too. Once it's cooked (and warm) pretty much any of the joints will pop easily. By "bend it backwards", I mean opposite the natural angle.

As for the CO, I'd get your oven checked out. It should not be setting off your CO detector if it's working properly. Also, do you have any ventilation in your kitchen? That can also help to alleviate CO concerns. Even an open window with a fan in it can help.

[vioburn]

I never thought about roasting the chicken before making the stock. I always just take a 3 lb chicken whole and put it in the pot with the veggies and water and let the whole thing simmer for 12-24 hours. The meat just falls of the bones and it get used for anything I would use shredded chicken for. For me, it makes the best gelled stock. In fact, I made some last night and have it in the fridge to defat in a couple hours. Can't wait to have some good chicken noodle soup! My body is craving it.