http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x84218Oh my.
One supposes the cooking and baking forum's going to be surfeited with poetry now.
CaliforniaPeggy (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:04 AM
Original message
Hi, everybody! I haven't posted here before...I hear you all are cool...
I have a question about making my own chicken broth.
When I bake a whole chicken, as I did the other day, I always save the drippings for use in the next chicken dish I make.
The resulting broth is soooooo flavorful and it makes a great sauce.
So, is it true that I can get the same kind of broth from cooking the bones? Seems to me that it is, but I really don't know how...
I know, I know...
I'd greatly appreciate any tips you can give me!
Thanks!
Lucinda (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:15 AM
Response to Original message
1. Allo! We are mostly harmless...goood to see you in here!
You can get great stock several ways.
You can even add the carcass from your roasted chicken to a stock pot and add celery and onions and cook it down for a great chicken broth.
CaliforniaPeggy (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:27 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Thanks for the nice welcome, my dear Lucinda!
So....I take the bones and cover it with water? Or how much?
And about how long do you cook it?
And how do you get the bones out? I don't want to chomp down on a tiny, sharp bone...
Thanks for your suggestions.
Chellee (136 posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:39 AM
Response to Reply #2
5. Ok. Bare minimum.
Get a big stock pot. Put in the carcass with an onion, a couple of carrots, and a rib or two of celery. Add a bay leaf, some parsley, some black peppercorns, and water to cover everything. Let it simmer uncovered for an hour or so, skimming off anything frothy that comes up to the top. Strain, cool, defat, (save that, it can be used elsewhere).
You can make it better with the addition of some parsnips along with the other veggies.
CaliforniaPeggy (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:51 AM
Response to Reply #5
6. Thank you!
That looks like something I could do.
And I do have a big stock pot.
I'm going to do this!
Arkansas Granny (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #2
13. My daughter has used the carcass of a store bought rotisserie chicken to make good stock.
She covered the bones and skin with water, added some onion, celery, carrot and whatever herbs she wanted and simmered it for an hour or so and it makes a really good stock. If you simmer it uncovered, it will concentrate the flavor.
If you've done a good job of picking the usable pieces of meat off the bones before you start the stock, you could just strain the whole thing and discard what's left. If there is just a little bit of meat left on the bones, it has usually given all it's flavor to the broth anyway. Otherwise, I just pick over it and either return any pieces of meat to the broth or a separate container to use elsewhere.
Lucinda (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #2
14. Well...
I use:
Celery - makes a HUGE difference to the finished stock flavor
Onions - not peeled
Carrot
Coarse chop the veggies - add the roasted carcass, salt, pepper, garlic powder and water to cover and then bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours. The pour it all through a colander to strain. Just look for a deep rick golden color.
I think the best chicken stock comes from stewing a whole chicken though...or cut up parts, as long as they have skin and bones. Same basic process. I just pull the chicken out when its done - debone, and then return skin and bones to the pot and keep simmering a couple more hours.
You can also add bay, or poultry seasoning to the stock as it simmers. I like the simplicity of the garlic powder, salt and pepper though - because I use the stock in LOTS of things...so I am going for a good strong chicken flavor, supported by the veggies.
Inchworm (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 09:07 AM
Response to Original message
7. Ms Peggy!
These guys ARE definitely cool
My methods are rather, umm, rustic.
After I bake a chicken I usually bone it then and serve the meat. I'm not real particular about getting every piece of meat at this time so there is some goodies left on the bones. Often, (since it is just me and the dogs here) I'll also save a thigh full of meat and one side of the breast then take ALL the bones and put them in the freezer for stock.
When I want a comforting bowl of soup I take the carcass/bones and cover with water + 2 - 3 inches and slowly bring to boil and reduce to med-low. Add 2 stalks of celery, carrots, and an onion. Cook as long as I can stand to wait
My main issue with doing this is getting ALL the little bones out once it is cooked. I'm sure if you just tossed out the neck from start it would be better, but I'm a tightwad so I tediously go through all the remnants in the pot and pluck out bones and other stuff that looks like I don't wanna eat. Hehe, it is much smarter to allow this stuff to completely cool before rifling through it for yummy bits of meat to add back to broth (silly me..always forget that part).
Bring the broth back up to temp and toss in half a bag of egg noodles. Voila! Soup!
I'm sure you'll get better tips from the pros. Good to see ya.
PS: I don't know if I'm supposed to or not, but I saw on TV where they skim yuck off the top of broth as it cooks. I do that. Dogs get all the skin/gristle I remove before I do the noodle part. Win win
elleng (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 10:16 AM
Response to Original message
9. Hey CalPeg, 'bout time you got here!
Tesha (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
10. oh, you're going to like it here...
everyone is so helpful and friendly...
Anytime you have roasted bones, turn them into soup, just drop them into water and cook a bit...
if you want to save the meat from them, don't cook too long
strain the broth if you're worried about the little bones
to brighten the taste add celery leaves
to sweeten it add carrots
and have fun - and remember - recipes are just suggestions.
japple (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 11:18 AM
Response to Original message
11. Welcome CP! Glad to see you over here. When I roast a chicken or turkey and have cut all the meat off the bones. I take the carcass and put it in a large stockpot with the pan drippings and whatever vegetables I had stuffed in the cavity. Simmer for about one hour. Strain, cool, and divide the broth into freezer containers.
Then I pick the bones clean, including any chewy bits clinging to the ends of the bones and pack those up into little containers and freeze them. I make sure to go over every morsel to make sure there are no bones hiding in it. When I fix my dog's dinner, I add a couple of tablespoons of this to the dry kibble. She especially loves those rubbery bits of cartilege.
Tesha (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #11
16. dogs love stuff like
A long time ago, when I had a dog. I'd take the bones and skin and stuff left over from soup making and
pressure cook them for --something like - 15 minutes - maybe 10? with some water...
when it was cool enough to handle I'd ladle it into my blender and blend away...
It kept well in the fridge or freezer and that mixed with dry was a wonderful treat!
- I hate waste... my kids called it the Doggie Milkshake.
CaliforniaPeggy (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
12. Wow, thanks everybody!
I am very happy to be here, and I will be back...
You all are too kind!
cbayer (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-18-11 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
15. Hi CalPeg and welcome. Here is my chicken broth *recipe*
I use everything I can from a roasted chicken, whether I made it at home or bought it roasted.
If we eat it over several days, I save the bones, gristle, skin and everything else from each meal.
I put everything in a big stew pot and cover with water. If there are leftover veggies from meals, I put those in too. Two mistakes I have made - one was adding the lemons that I had roasted the chicken with (way too much), the other adding leftover stuffing (just turned to big mush mess).
I simmer the crap out of it, sometimes for hours and hours adding water from time to time. When it is done depends on taste.
I let it cool, pour it through a collander and discard the bones, etc. Once in the fridge, the fat will float to the top and solidify, making it really easy to removed.
You can then use it for anything, but my favorite is just boiling some egg noodles and having chicken noodle soup.
Enjoy!
Hmmmm.
This is rather disturbing.
This is the sort of thing on to which the defrocked warped primitive used to jump, to publicize her deep and widespread knowledge, but no defrocked warped primitive at this campfire.
In fact, the defrocked warped primitive hasn't been around Skins's island much lately. Perhaps disappointed because she didn't make the top primitives of 2010.....
And then there's the absence of the ubiquitous hippywife Mrs. Alfred Packer, who surely knows a great deal about such things.
One wonders if Mrs. Alfred Packer is too busy making earrings, or if she's hostile about the CalPig primitive enroaching on her territory.
Time will tell.
