[staceychev]

OK, so I've been making chicken broth pretty regularly. Through searching back threads, I've discovered that cooking stock for a long time will keep it from gelling, which may explain why mine doesn't gel. (I cook my stock for 2-3 days in my crock pot--it makes a really dark, rich stock.) Anyway, I'm kind of wondering two things:

* Are the important components of the gelatin still there, just broken down?
* Should I test to find out? How could I do this?

By the way, the chickens are, at worst, Whole Foods or Wegmans organic chickens and at best, organic, pasture-raised chickens from Barb at the farm market. Most of the time, I'm using a carcass from a roast chicken dinner, which means I'm including all of the bones (no feet or anything, though), and about half of the skin.

 

[Sweetflyfishfeel]

I don't have an answer, but have a similar question.

When I roast a chicken, I notice that the juices that run off the chicken do gel up. Then later I throw all the bones into a pot and cook for 24 hrs, and my stock doesn't gel. I'm wondering if I hadn't first roasted the chicken, if I would have had stock that gelled. If I just cooked the whole chicken in the stock, then pulled the meat off to make tacos, for example. I guess I may just have to try it.

 

[HerbanGirl]

Sorry, I don't have any answers either but similar questions.

I just made my first stock that gelled - from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass. It was a regular old turkey from Safeway (my mom's purchase). I cooked it for 24 hours, but this was the first time I got the simmer right. The others boiled too hard. It was perfect!

I don't know if my stock gelled because it was the right amount of time, or the right temperature, or if everything just turned out right for some inexplicable reason.

 

[hipsands]

I've been making stock for a few years now, and the best way to make a very thickly gelled stock is to add chicken feet to it. (Just ask the farmer you are getting the chicken from to throw in feet, as many as possible!) I usually get bags of feet extra and use 4 feet to each pot of stock. I also use chicken heads too. I've never cooked in a crock pot, does the liquid actually get to a boil?--if not I'd suggest doing it on the stove instead.

 

[guestmama9910]

Chicken feet and heads? Hmm. I've also heard of using hoofs for pork, lamb, and beef broths. I would love to use them, myself, since I wish my long-cooked stocks would gel, but given the choice between a good gel and leeching everything I can out of the marrow and bones, I go for the latter. Sadly, my local farm seems to discard the hoofs and hocks.

Could the gelling action have to do with the meat? I get a lot of aspic on my meats when the juices cook out.
--
AnnaArcturus

 

[flowers]

No answers and more questions.

We aren't using heads and feet (yet) and I am getting a sometimes gel and sometimes not.

 

[staceychev]

Yes, hipsands, it does come to a boil on the high setting on the crock pot. I boil it and then turn it down to the low setting.

I'll ask my farmer about feet--although I'm going to admit to a bit of squeamishness about that one...

 

[artemis33]

Well, I am certainly no expert....but I recently made a batch of broth that gelled amazingly! The first time I had real chicken jello

The things I did differently that time were:
1) I made it in a stock pot on the stove (I usually use the slow cooker)
2) I only cooked it a few hours instead of my usual 24ish.

This was just a local brand store bought chicken. I was thinking it has something to do with the stove top but maybe it was the cooking time?

I have also observed that my pan drippings from my roasted chickens gel very well. Sometimes I save them and throw them in with my bones (but I've still never had it full on gel like this past time). I almost always make broth from roasted carcasses because I prefer the flavor of the meat that way (rather than boiled meat) and then if I want it a little richer I might add a few raw legs with the meat on.

Hmn.....

 

[TonyaW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabee I don't have an answer, but have a similar question. When I roast a chicken, I notice that the juices that run off the chicken do gel up. Then later I throw all the bones into a pot and cook for 24 hrs, and my stock doesn't gel. I'm wondering if I hadn't first roasted the chicken, if I would have had stock that gelled. If I just cooked the whole chicken in the stock, then pulled the meat off to make tacos, for example. I guess I may just have to try it.

I roast my chickens and get the gelled juices. However, I also save the carcasses and make stock later on which also gels up. Also, I simmer my carcasses, about 4 at a time, for about 24 hours on the stove.

 

[Magelet]

I always thought that it was the fat in the juices not the juices themselves that gel from a roasted chicken? Am I wrong? I too am in search of a gelling stock, and I'm now seriously confused about stockmaking. My mom always told me when I was a kid never to boil stock or broth because it makes it murkey, and only to simmer it. And some people are saying to only cook it a short time but I thought you were supposed to cook it for 24 hours + to get all the nutrients out of the bones?

 

[Uxor]

I've never tried this, but I have heard you can get stock to gel if you pound on the bones with a mallet to break them up before you cook it.

 

[jamsmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemis33 Well, I am certainly no expert....but I recently made a batch of broth that gelled amazingly! The first time I had real chicken jello The things I did differently that time were: 1) I made it in a stock pot on the stove (I usually use the slow cooker) 2) I only cooked it a few hours instead of my usual 24ish. This was just a local brand store bought chicken. I was thinking it has something to do with the stove top but maybe it was the cooking time?

I am leaning more toward the cooking time as well. I just boiled the turkey carcass (butterball....my husband gets one every year from work) and I boiled it for about 4-5 hours and it gelled beautifully.

 

[Ruthla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabee I don't have an answer, but have a similar question. When I roast a chicken, I notice that the juices that run off the chicken do gel up. Then later I throw all the bones into a pot and cook for 24 hrs, and my stock doesn't gel. I'm wondering if I hadn't first roasted the chicken, if I would have had stock that gelled. If I just cooked the whole chicken in the stock, then pulled the meat off to make tacos, for example. I guess I may just have to try it.

I have the same experience. I think it's because the juices dripping off the chicken are much more concentrated. I also cook the chicken a long time, and it doesn't usually gel, but I think the gelatin components are still there, just more broken down. It's the nutrients I'm after, so I'm not too worried if it gels or not.

 

[saratc]

The gel comes from the cartilage, tendons, and other connective tissues around joints. Heads don't contain too many of those, but provide other great nutrients. Feet are almost all cartilage and connective tissues, so they provide a great gelatin source.

Gelatin will break down as you cook it. I like to fish out my chicken bones after I've cooked it for a few hours and break them apart and I notice that at this time, there are still a lot of white cartilage and connective tissue intact. However, after I cook it the full time (I like to let it go 12 to 24 hours), all of those tissues have been dissolved.

The broth won't gel if:
1) You don't have enough connective tissues to begin with on your bones
2) You dissolve all your connective tissues and continue to cook your broth too long

I put in 7 to 8 feet per pot, and my broth always gels even though I cook it so long. I make sure to break up the feet part way into tiny little bones and joints to make sure the stuff under the skin dissolves (otherwise the connective tissus are sometimes trapped under the skin).

Sometimes I remove all of the soft white gel-ly parts part way through and blend it up and add it back after my broth is all done and I've strained it. That way the gelatin stuff doesn't get overcooked and broken down, and I still get to cook my broth for a long time to draw out all the minerals.

I also have great success saving my gelatin drippings from roasts and adding it at the end after I've finished cooking a pot of broth. This adds great flavor and also helps gel the broth.

 

[hipsands]

yes saratc that is what I"ve found to be true too about using feet and overcooking it. after you use chicken feet once, trust me you will be amazed at how gelled it is, you'll never do without it!! Sande

 

[neveryoumindthere]

Why does everyone want it gelled? Is it because then you *know* the gelatin has been extracted from teh bones or is it because you like the consistency of gelled stock or something else?

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The gelling grosses me out personally. I use up my stock as soon as I make it, though I did have 'gelled' stock a couple times and was happy because I thought I was supposed to be

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