What is the secret to making broth gel????

[bright_eyes]

I am feeling so frustrated right now. I am on my 3rd attempt in a row at making chicken broth and I can't get it to gel. I heard that chicken feet make a huge difference, so I got a box full of them. I found this recipe online:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how..._chicken_feet/
And I made if in my slow cooker and it gelled wonderfully.

But the last 3 times I've made it, it won't gel. This last time I cooked it in my slow cooker all night and all day long and it's thickened, but isn't even close to gelling. How does 2 lbs of chicken feet cooked for approx. 20 hours not gel?

And the time before that, I cooked it in a pot for approx. 7 hours. It gelled more then the slow cooker one I did yesterday, but it was still pretty quite liquidly (is that even a word?). Not at all like jello, which is what the first attempt produced.

The time before that I only cooked it for about 4 hours and it didn't gel, or even thicken, at all.

I have no idea how this worked for me the first time and now I can't get it to work. What am I doing wrong???

And on top of it not gelling, it doesn't even taste that great! Why does making good broth have to be so complicated for me?

What is the secret to making good tasting broth that gels??????

[serenbat]

I'm really at a loss to understand why you want gel- that's not something I would wants or have a use for. My beef broth gels, because of the fat but I never have chicken gel. I would assume that you would need to add lots of skin to get more fat and I don't see that chicken feet would do that much and I personally would use more of the larger bones with some meat still on them.
What do you want it for??? Why have it hard as a gel?

....but I can tell you that I looked at the link you had, and when I make broth, I add far more to it and it always taste great, the link seem a bit weak to make a good tasting broth

celery can make a big difference - I use both a stalk and the fresh leaves (I make most chicken stock in the summer when I can get home-grown/wild celery) - 2 to 3 large clean stalks, cut in half

I stud my onion (large yellow) with whole cloves and wrap it in cheesecloth (makes it easy to squeeze out at the end) and in the cheesecloth I add fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley- a nice size bunch

I add 3 to 4 bay leaves (dry are OK, if using fresh, I add only 1 large or 2 small)

I add pepper corns (8 to 10) and also grind fresh pepper

2 crushed gloves of garlic cloves (you could add this to the cheesecloth too)

some tomato juice (usually about a cup for a large stock pot)

2 carrots, peeled and cut in half

I also add about 1 tsb of sea salt

I cook with what ever bones from the chicken I have on hand, I personally remove the skin, we don't like all the fat

I cook all for about 4 to 5 hours, (bring to a boil, turn down to simmer)- let cool, strain, refrigerate and the next day remove the fat on top

I use the finished product as broth. I freeze lots of it in the summer and I make when ever I do a bird, be it a chicken or a turkey, the same way.

[weliveintheforest]

I don't know what the deal is, sometimes my stock gels and sometimes it doesn't but I always do it about the same.
Something that might help is adding a splash of apple cider vinegar to it before you start cooking.

As for seasoning, I like to add a peice of cinnamon stick and cloves with the peppercorns.

What if you roasted the chicken feet in the oven first?

[bright_eyes]

Originally Posted by serenbat

I'm really at a loss to understand why you want gel- that's not something I would wants or have a use for. My beef broth gels, because of the fat but I never have chicken gel. I would assume that you would need to add lots of skin to get more fat and I don't see that chicken feet would do that much and I personally would use more of the larger bones with some meat still on them.
What do you want it for??? Why have it hard as a gel?

It's not the fat that makes it gel- it's the gelatin in the broth that does it. Gelatin is very healing, especially for digestive issues, which is something I am struggling with. So it not gelling, means that there isn't a lot of gel in the broth.

[bright_eyes]

Originally Posted by weliveintheforest

I don't know what the deal is, sometimes my stock gels and sometimes it doesn't but I always do it about the same.
Something that might help is adding a splash of apple cider vinegar to it before you start cooking.

As for seasoning, I like to add a peice of cinnamon stick and cloves with the peppercorns.

What if you roasted the chicken feet in the oven first?

So maybe I'm not doing anything wrong then? Maybe it just isn't going to gel sometimes? I did add apple cider vinegar this last time to it but forgot the other times.

I haven't thought to add cinnamon or cloves to it, I'll try that. I should try roasting the chicken feet first. I know roasting beef bones helps the flavor, maybe it's the same for chicken.

[serenbat]

I wanted to add-
I learned to make broth from the Italian community near me (almost 200 years old)

Feet were added because nothing was wasted and they really were more for flavor and given as a treat to children.

I don't have much skin to add when I make broth because we usually roast the bird and eat it.

If you want a fatty broth, the feet have very little, I would save the skin from the body of the bird and you could also add the drippings is you want from the pan when you roast the bird, that is fatty.

[bright_eyes]

Originally Posted by serenbat

I wanted to add-
I learned to make broth from the Italian community near me (almost 200 years old)

Feet were added because nothing was wasted and they really were more for flavor and given as a treat to children.

I don't have much skin to add when I make broth because we usually roast the bird and eat it.

If you want a fatty broth, the feet have very little, I would save the skin from the body of the bird and you could also add the drippings is you want from the pan when you roast the bird, that is fatty.

I am so confused! I was having a hard time making broth that gelled and when I asked here, several people said that chicken feet is really helpful and making broth gel. I've been using straight feet because we don't eat tons of chicken and it's so cheap to get chicken feet here and I thought they were good for making a gelatinous broth.

I don't want a fatty broth, I just want a broth that has flavor and lots of gelatin, since gelatin is supposed to be so good for you.

[greenmom4]

The chicken feet have a ton of gelatin, see http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html

"If you've ever shopped in Europe, you've noticed that calves feet are displayed at the local butchers and chickens come with their heads and feet attached. Hooves, feet and heads are the most gelatinous portions of the animal and fetch high prices in traditional economies. In fact, Tysons exports the feet from American chickens to China. Jewish folklore considers the addition of chicken feet the secret to successful broth. "

They also state in the article that store bought "conventional" chicken may not gel as well as farm-raised, free-range chicken. Maybe that's playing a part, too?

Sometimes mine gels, sometimes it doesn't. I always do a little happy dance when it does

[rockycrop]

This is a total mystery to me. Of the probably 30 or so times I've made broth in the last year or so, the only time it ever gelled was when I used bones from a chicken my FIL had cooked at my house. It was a chicken I'd bought, the same kind I always get (I'm lucky enough to have some local, free-range whole chickens at my nearby grocery store).

He spiced it a lot more than I do, but other than that I have no idea what made the difference.

[SwanValkyrie]

I second the local free-range organic chicken. They have better bone density from actually walking around. Have you tried cutting the pieces smaller? I had more success with breaking the bones to get at the marrow. I just used a flat bladed knife and a hammer on my cutting board. We also throw the skin from the breast in there and all of the fatty parts of the chicken.

I put in the leftover vegetable parts that we didn't eat from the week before. Carrot skins and ends, celery tips and the tough part on the bottom, onion skins and ends, and especially the cores of green, yellow, and red peppers and their seeds. I put in lots of crushed pepper, garlic, basil, thyme, rosemary, really whatever you have on hand that you think will taste good. I throw it all in a pot and boil it for a few hours, sometimes if I don't get to it by the time it's too late, I cover it and put it in the fridge to boil more the next day. I let it cool, then strain it really well, making sure to squeeze out every last bit of juice.

I refridgerate it then freeze it. It has always jelled for me, I don't know what I'm doing differently really. Hope this helped in some way :

[oiseau]

I sometimes get a really gelly broth and sometimes it's really liquidy. I almost always add a splash of ACV and I always add sea salt and that's it for seasoning. As for cooking time, I really vary it. Sometimes it only cooks 2-3hrs, sometimes more like 8. I've never let it go overnight because I don't have a crockpot. I have read that sometimes cooking it too long causes the gelatin to break down so that it doesn't actually gel, but the gelatin properties are still in the pot, including the calcium leached from the bones.
A lot of times I just use a leftover carcass or two from a roast chicken. I only get really excellent tasting broth if it's a farm fresh free range chicken. I've never tried adding feet just because I've not gotten completely over the eww factor. I don't know how much flavor feet on their own would give the broth. Maybe try adding some legs and wings as well?
The one thing that ALWAYS guarantees a rich gelled broth is using turkey parts instead of chicken parts. I have no idea why, but my turkey stocks are always so much better.

Good luck!!

[Magelet]

that is one weird recipe! I would never make stock just from the feet. I'm sure that is your taste problem. the rule I've always heard is two feet per chicken. That is, if the feet aren't attached to the carcass, add the proper amount of feet (two per chicken, like they have). I usually roast my chickens first (because I like roast chicken for dinner), and take all the meat off, and make stock with that and 2 feet a bird. I add some ACV, I throw in carrots, celery and onions, whatever I have, cover, and boil for 12-24 hours (I don't skim. it works fine. never could figure out how to skim it properly). It tastes great, and I know its nutritious. I've never had it gel though. I've always been under the impression that chicken stock gelling is rather hit or miss, and they often don't gel, but they still are completely nutritious. Beef stock almost always gels, but chicken just doesn't. Its still tasty and luxurious.


If you don't buy whole chickens, save the bones from the thighs, breasts, wings, legs, whatever parts you do eat, in the freezer, til you have enough (1-2 chickens worth of bones, cartelidge, and little bits of clingy fat and bits of meat. anything you don't eat.). truth is, its pretty cheap to make chicken broth even from more expensive whole chickens, because you get so much meat from one chicken (it really is a lot, particularly if you have a lot of sides the night you have roast chicken. For two very hungry people it stretches 3-4 meals, just the meat, on a little chicken. of course we really stretch it other than that first night).

[eastkygal]

Here is a link with pics of a thickly gelled stock. She also says it isn't necessary but it should gel.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/roast-chicken-stock/

I just made some chicken stock yesterday. I used 1 chicken carcass, some leg bones extra and 2 cornish hen carcasses in my stock pot. Typically I only use one carcass. I also cooked it for much much longer than I usually do. It was liquid when I poured it into jars, but after refrigeration it gelled. The fat rose to the top still, so the pp who said the gelatin is gel from the bones is correct. It is a more nutritious stock if it thickens. Anyway, I made a casserole using it,and it made it delicious! : I think the key was using more bone and cooking it longer.

[Junegoddess]

I can't remember where I read it... but apparently leeks have something in them that helps broth gel. Obviously it's not the same as really having all that lovely gelatin in there. Oh, and the meaty bits and skin have gelatin, too. I personally hate boiled chicken meat, so I just make my stock from bones and skin and necks. It almost never gels. : My beef "stock" always gels, even though it's generally just the juicey stuff from cooking a roast in the crockpot... not really beef stock at all. I'd LOVE to get more gelatin out of my chickens.

[serenbat]

I think of broth as thin, too be added to other items for soups.

Are you really looking to make consomme? I think of stock/broth and consomme as two different item.

As others have said, I really don't think feet alone is enough to make the gel/thickness that you seem to be looking for.

In consomme, the bones are cooked until they are super soft and skin/fat is used as well as the neck and body and only 2 feet. Breaking apart the back and it would be best if you could find a farmer and get an organic / older bird. Some people even grind the bird and cook it that way.

[mbravebird]

I have had gelling broth and non-gelling broth, always made the same way. I used to think that chicken feet and necks helped, but I've since had it not fully gel even when I did that, so I'm confused now too. Mine always gels at least a little bit, but sometimes better than others.

Serenbat, the clarified consomme is not what we're talking about -- although consomme gels too, it's true. Regular stock gels when refrigerated, with or without the fat, because of the gelatin content, which is released during an extra long simmer (like 12-24 hours). Gelatin is great for the body, and we generally need more of it. Minerals are also increased with that long of a simmer, too. And the taste is fabulous after a long simmer, too. I find the taste becomes really amazing after about 16 hours.

The nutritional benefits are summed up really well by this article:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...9306/#comments
"Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health and Disease", orginally published by the Townsend letter. Really inspiring article that talks about the benefits not only of gelatin, but collagen and glycine and proline, chondroitin and minerals... it's a great read!

[pampered_mom]

What I've been able to determine is that broths that don't gel tend to have too much water in them. A lot of times what I'll find is that once refrigerated the stock will be thicker than it was when warm (or when warmed up again). If you take that stock and reduce it down more often than not it will gel right up.

I kind of discovered this one on accident when I decided to follow some advice I'd seen here and in NT - reducing the stock and freezing it in ice cube trays. I wanted to let it cool down before putting it in my plastic ice cube trays so I put the reduced stock in a quart size canning jar and then in the fridge. When I took it out the next day it jelled up pretty firm. In all the times that I've made stock and reduced it to freeze, it's always jelled up firmer than I've ever experienced before.

So...I suspect it was always there before and the issue was too much water to too few bones (or just plain too much water for the gelatin to gel things sufficiently).

[SwanValkyrie]

That makes perfect sense! I always boil mine down quite bit to take up less space. Love the freezing it in ice cube trays idea. I've been freezing it in my cupcake tins because I don't have an extra ice cube tray I should probably just go to the Salvation Army and splurge, lol.

[70toes]

Wow, these are some great idea!
My broth isn't gelling, either, and I was just thinking this morning that maybe it has too much water. Can I ask, pampered_mom, approx. how many cups of water you use per carcus?? Thanks so much!

[snowbunny]

The key to a getting a solid gel is to use a whole fresh bird, preferably with feet. Allow it to sit in slightly acidified cold water for about a half hour, then bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Don't cook for too long or too high a temperature because doing so will prevent a solid gel. Allow it to set up in the fridge, then you can boil the chicken a second time to extract more minerals - this can be a long simmer and you'll simmer it until the bones, when cooled, crumble in your fingertips.