Chicken stock

First of all, I'm embarassed to say that I have trouble making a good chicken stock from scratch.

So I'm trying again tonight. I am patiently waiting for the fat to congeal on top of the stock so that I can skim it. I've already strained it. The last time I did this I threw the stock in the fridge becasue I was tired of waiting but I think that made everything congeal too fast and I didn't get a good skim. Is this possible? Can I throw it in the fridge or am I doomed to sit here waiting while it cools at room temp.

Patience is not one of my virtues whenit comes to things like this. Any pointers ladies?

My best pointer is this...drive 5 hours round trip to Traders Joes and buy their organic chicken broth. :p

Thanks Queen. I actually already have some TJs in the cupboard but i was trying to use up the last bits of a carcass from diner last night. My round trip to TJs is only 2 hours.

I really think that TJs should be paying for advertising on this forum.:D

Good stock takes a long time. When I make turkey or chicken stock, I plan on 5-6 hours of cooking time. That's why I always start in the morning. You only have to skim fat for the first hour or two. (Wahine, if you don't have time, you can always freeze the bones for stock later, that's what I do)

I put the raw birdy bits under a broiler and make them brown and crispy first, but not cooked.

In a giant stock pot, I put:
• Chicken/turkey bones, wings and organ pieces
+ scrapings from broiling pan
• 6 celery stalks, 6 carrots, 2 large onions, cut into 4-6" pieces,
• A dozen or so whole peppercorns
• Fresh herbs (tarrgon, basil, rosemary) tied into a bunch

I heat the pot to a low boil. I avoid a roiling boil, because for some reason I find it makes the final stock "cloudy". Then I reduce the heat (maybe a 3 on a 1-10 scale) and wait. And wait. And wait.
Ocassionally, I'll do a fat skimming. After a while I start doing a collagen skimming. The veggies and herbs can be removed after the first few hours, when they've been totally spent. I can tell when the chicken stock is done because a leg bone will snap easily. All the marrow should be gone from the inside. Turkey takes a bit longer, bigger bones ya know, but they're too hard to snap.

After the stock is cooled, I pour it into ice cube trays and freeze them. You can pop then into soups any time when convenient.

I used to skim. Now I use this ..... http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp...separator&sr=1

Actually on Friday eve. I made some chicken stock and used it. When it's ready, just pour and it separates well in a few seconds and it's pretty effective. I think I made about 4 quarts. I have the bigger one and I had to do it several times but it's worth it. I hardly detected any beads of fat floating.

Good advice Blue. I really like your ingredients. I'm never around long enough to cook like this so I use a crock and cook the bits for up to 16 hours. :eek:

But that also means I'm not skimming during the cooking process.

As I still patiently wait for my stock to cool at room temp while avoiding doing my taxes.

Thank you MM. I was posting the last reply while you sent yours. That looks like exactly what I need. Is Linen and Things open at this hour on a Sunday? :D I will definitely be picking one up at the next opportunity.

skim the fat? I don't skim the fat.... uh oh!

Knot-squelching-in-cholesterol

Yeah, I just put it in the fridge and remove the fat when it solidifies. Works for me.

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

skim the fat? I don't skim the fat.... uh oh!

Knot-squelching-in-cholesterol

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That's exactly what I was thinking! oops! :eek: I'm a complete newbie to chicken / turkey stock. Usually takes 2 or 3 nights. That's probably why it never tastes all that good. heh.

~T~

I officially gave up the wait. I skimmed as much as I could but didn't get it all because I'm too bloody impatient. My homemade, from scratch chicken, mushroom and rice soup is under way.

If I don't make my weigh in goal this week we'll all know who's fault it is, Knott mentioning any names....

With chicken and turkey, you always have to start with cold water. And bring up to a soft boil gently. If you don't, the pores on the bone will close off and you won't make much stock.

Blues recipe is pretty good. (I'm sorry blue but I would leave out the liver. Gizzard fine heart fine but not liver.)

Waiting for the stock to cool:

Healthcode for restaurant and NFS guideline is 4 hours in the danger zone. (danger zone keeps changing from 45F - 130/145F??) I'll worry about it when I have to renew my safety certification...

You do not want to put hot stock pot in your home fridge. The compressor can't take the load to cool all the hot stock, not to mention, you'll heat up the surrounding food.

The easiest trick for home is take the stock pot to the sink, fill the sink with cold water and put the hot pot in the cold water. Give it a cold water bath. you should stir the stock in the pot so that you don't have hot spot in the stock. drain the water out of the sink when the water heats up.

Repeat the process. Should only take 3 or 4 cold water bath.

even if you were to cool it quickly, the fat will always float to the top.

Never bring to a hard boil, just to a low simmer so that you can skim away all the brown gunk that comes to the surface. If you leave that in, it makes the stock taste yucky.

In addition to Blue's celery, carrots, peppercorn and onion I add bay leaf and clove. (spike the bay leaf onto a quartered onion with clove)

Bourquet Garni should be added at the last hour or two. Otherwise all that wonderful aroma and taste will disappear. French Tarragon under utilized here but I think its the bestest.

Roasting of poultry bone isn't really necessary I don't think. For basic brown stock with beef or veal, always roast and paint thin layer of tomato paste. The acid in the tomato helps to break down the bone and connective tissue.

Roasting of carrots, carmalizing of carrots helps to breakdown a carrot to develop some of the sweet flavor.

I use left over chicken (roasted chicken from Costco) left over turkey (Thanks giving day) raw bones when I butcher my own chicken etc. They all get tossed into a freezer bag untill I have enough to make about 12-16 quarts.

Shawn

Thanks Shawn. Those are great tips. My soup actually turned out quite well but now I'm all pumped up to try it again.

Interesting stuff, Shawn.

I was always told - at least when it came to using the innards for stock for gravy - don't use the liver...it makes the broth cloudy. I guess perhaps that's why BT has cloudy stock?

Another "rule" I was always told:
Cooked turkey carcass is okay for making stock/soup, but you must use a raw chicken carcass for making chicken stock. I've always tossed out the bones after a chicken dinner. Is my "rule" an old wives' tale? Can you use a cooked chicken carcass for stock?

Hi Wahine,

check out this website: www.recipezaar.com

Put the broth in the fridge, then it's easy to skim off the fat.

Resi :D

I love that website Resi. I also really like Epicurious.com.

My Mom taught me to start cold and do a slow boil for better stock. Now I know why. Not putting the liver in was my idea as I get violently sick over any type of liver. Thanks ladies. I have a sudden urge to make some chicken noodle soup this weekend. Mmmmmmm. :D

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Originally Posted by Regina

Interesting stuff, Shawn.

I was always told - at least when it came to using the innards for stock for gravy - don't use the liver...it makes the broth cloudy. I guess perhaps that's why BT has cloudy stock?

Another "rule" I was always told:
Cooked turkey carcass is okay for making stock/soup, but you must use a raw chicken carcass for making chicken stock. I've always tossed out the bones after a chicken dinner. Is my "rule" an old wives' tale? Can you use a cooked chicken carcass for stock?

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I've used cooked chicken carcass along with raw bones. It doesn't seem to make much of difference. Only thing I've noticed is that it tends to make slightly less stock.

Oh one more thing. I freeze my stock in quart size tupper ware or in "gallon" size zip lock bag. Just don't fill it to the top. leave some extra space. Freezer burn doesn't affect the soup or if you are making some sauce. And always put a date when you made it. Last thing you want to do is use 7 month old frozen stock. 6 month is about the limit.

Another good site to visit is http://www.chef2chef.net

There you will find tons of recipes, pros discussing of their problems, ideas, menu items, serving suggestions problem solving... I go there from time to time to add my 2 cents and take out several dollars worth of advice. They also love non-pros to ask questions too.

Shawn

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

Another good site to visit is http://www.chef2chef.net

There you will find tons of recipes, pros discussing of their problems, ideas, menu items, serving suggestions problem solving... I go there from time to time to add my 2 cents and take out several dollars worth of advice. They also love non-pros to ask questions too.

Shawn

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Hmmmmmmm. From the way that this is worded, I would assume that you are a pro. Am I right?

Oh, I have so many questions I've always wanted to pose to a *real* chef.

So you might not want to answer this post.

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Originally Posted by Wahine

Oh, I have so many questions I've always wanted to pose to a *real* chef.

So you might not want to answer this post.

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LOL Just like you didn't admit that you are a PT? :p

H&B
~T~

I guess you could say I'm a professional cook.

I worked on a line (a line cook) not a chef, not even a sous chef, but just a line cook. That was back in my college days.

Today, I have a regular job and a side business of baking and selling cookies. And when I go insane, I would like to open a coffee house. Plan on serving light lunch, pastries, cake, petit fours... and some chocolate works.

And yes I do know how to handle my knife, make sauces, how to fix them, how to ...

And no I don't mind if you want to ask me questions. you can either post it or send me a message. And there is no such thing as a dumb question.

Shawn