[kallyn]

I can't seem to make decent chicken stock! I've tried 3 times so far. Here are my results. Can anyone give me any pointers?

1. (before I knew anything about stock making) - dumped some leftover roasted bones in water, simmered for 3 hours. Very light color and flavor with no gelling, which is to be expected.

2. Dumped leftover roasted bones in water, added a splash of vinegar, did NOT let it sit for an hour cold but instead immediately turned the heat on, let it simmer 12 hours, topping off the water every now and then. Also very light color and flavor with no gelling.

3. Dumped leftover carcasses + 1 chicken neck + 2 chicken feet into water, added splash of vinegar, let it sit for one hour, turned on the heat, let it simmer for 6 hours, turned off the heat and let it sit covered overnight, simmered again the next day for 4 hours, let it sit covered overnight again, simmered the next day for 3 hours (all the while adding more water when it got low). This stock has a nice color and flavor, but there is no gelling and also there's no fat!! I thought this was very odd. I put the stock in the fridge and it's been 2-3 days and there is absolutely no fat layer on the top. Truly bizarre.

Help ladies! How do I make a stock that gels, and what on earth is up with my latest stock with no fat layer?

 

[Laurel723]

:

Mine didn't gel either, but I used a regular chicken, w/ meat, neck and skin, no chicken toes, and 1/4 C ACV, and I cooked that puppy for 36 hours on low in the crockpot. (Well, w/ one small delay-hubby turned it off at 4 am when he got up because I "forgot" and left it on

(at least he pays attention to these things...) I turned it back on a 530 when I got up...

Smell delish, and the bones fell apart-the end pieces were there, but the middles were gone, so I guess that means that it's got lots of minerals in there....

Hope someone who has done it (successfully) comes along...

You should have seen the butchers face when I asked him if he could order chicken feet for me.

 

[kallyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurel723 You should have seen the butchers face when I asked him if he could order chicken feet for me.

Hee hee! It was probably like my butcher's face when I went up and asked oh-so-sweetly for 5 lbs of pure pork fat.

: I am lucky to live near an Asian supermarket, so the chicken feet were the easy part.

I've still got like 6 more feet in the freezer...

 

[lilsparrow]

:

 

[mamabohl]

hmm...I've been making chicken stock for a long time...way way before I got into NT. I've never had a problem with it gelling as long as I wasn't using skinless breasts (of course I don't do that anymore). Anyways, here's what I've always done. -

Cook a whole chicken, serve for dinner with lots of sides. Then I cut off all the skin I can and pick off all the meat I can (there will still be quite a bit of both). Now that I know fat is healthy I might leave the skin...think I'll read the other stock thread to figure that out.

I usually freeze the carcass after that, just cuz I don't feel like making stock right away. Once I do make the stock I break the carcass up enough to fit in my crock pot, then add enough water to cover...estimating that the carcass will cook down so I don't want to put too much water in. I add 2-3 bay leaves, some sage and thyme, 1-2 carrots, a couple stalks of celery, a couple cloves of garlic (crushed), and some green or yellow onions. If I happen to have leftover parsley and/or mushroom stems I add those too. Then I put on low for 12-24 hours. I take a few of the small-ish bones out with tongs, break them in half, and put them back in. Then I leave it on low for another 6-8 hours. After that I strain into a bowl, cover and put in the fridge. It's usually very thick, flavorfull, and a deep orange.

I have found that I can't make stock on the stove-top because the water boils away and then everytime I add more water it thins out the broth. Breaking the bones lets the marrow go into the stock. HTH!

 

[member]

I basically make mine the same way as Genie but I let it crock for 20-24 hours; it's is deep amber to brown, and very flavorful.

 

[kdmama33]

I'd say you need to add onions, celery, carrots, some parsley, etc. Flavorful stock is about more than just the chicken. Oh, and I always use chicken feet, too.

I make mine on the stovetop -- I put in plenty of water at first, bring it to a good boil, skim off the foam, and then turn it down to the very lowest setting. I keep the lid on and cook for about 24 hours. I always get broth that gels and is a lovely deep golden brown color.