Making Chicken Stock

Johnny Vinyl

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First of all, great idea Steve on creating this sub-forum and I hope to be an active participant.

I made a roast chicken for our GTG yesterday and decided to use the leftover carcass, skin and a fairly decent amount of meat that will still on the bone, to make a chicken stock. This is the simple recipe I used.

1. Chicken carcass, skin, bits of meat.
2. Two carrots (rough chopped)
3. Two stalks of celery (rough chopped)
4. One large Onion (rough chopped)
5. About 1/4 tsp. each of Salt and pepper.
6. Enough cold water to cover.

I brought it to a boil and then reduced it to a very low simmer, and it's just about done (approx. 4 hours). I will strain out all of the solids and then return it to a low simmer for another 2 hours. I do this to reduce the volume and intensify the flavour. I will then let it cool and put it in the fridge for now, as I don't have any cheesecloth for the final straining.

Here is my question. How often to you strain the liquid at this point? Is the objective here to have as clear a stock as possible or do I have some leniency in this regard? Also, do you use any other ingredients when making a stock?

Thank you.

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Johnny Vinyl

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OK...here is the stock after it was drained of solids. The picture doesn't really show you exactly how it looks, but it has a very rich colour and I'm happy with the result so far. It has been returned to the stove for a few more hours.

Steve: I thought I put this thread in the new sub-forum, but obviously didn't. Can you make it so?

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Ronm1

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John

Clarity IMHO depends on how the broth is to be used, as an added ingredient in other dishes more straining would be overkill. OTOH if its the leading player as in a consommé, clarity is more important but an egg white/she'll mixture would need to be added to bind and strain off further impurities.
 

Johnny Vinyl

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John

Clarity IMHO depends on how the broth is to be used, as an added ingredient in other dishes more straining would be overkill. OTOH if its the leading player as in a consommé, clarity is more important but an egg white/she'll mixture would need to be added to bind and strain off further impurities.

Thanks Ron! Great explanation and exactly the answer I was looking for. It will not have a starring role as I use it purely for making soups.
 

Tom1356

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The key to making clear chicken broth is to boil the chicken for 10 minutes then discard the water and clean the pot. Put the chicken back in the pot with new water and boil.
This is the secret to perfect Pho.
 

garylkoh

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The Chinese make two different type of chicken stock.

The way to make clear chicken stock is to not let the water boil. Typically, I will put a chicken/roast chicken carcass in a covered pot with water and whatever else ingredients you want. Then, gently steam the pot in a large wok for up to 6 hours. It makes for a different tasting stock than if you allowed the water to boil.

The other type of chicken stock is a milky-rich one. For that, you need to have a frantically-rolling boil. It needs a huge flame, but the result is that all the collagen comes off and you get almost a syrup after about 4 hours.
 

GaryProtein

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The Chinese make two different type of chicken stock.

The way to make clear chicken stock is to not let the water boil. Typically, I will put a chicken/roast chicken carcass in a covered pot with water and whatever else ingredients you want. Then, gently steam the pot in a large wok for up to 6 hours. It makes for a different tasting stock than if you allowed the water to boil.

The other type of chicken stock is a milky-rich one. For that, you need to have a frantically-rolling boil. It needs a huge flame, but the result is that all the collagen comes off and you get almost a syrup after about 4 hours.

...and that gives the most delicious, unguent chicken stock. YUMM!

Throw in carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, dill, parsley, some salt and pepper, and with the chicken, you have a feast.

I don't care if the stock is clear or not.
 

JackD201

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For easier to make clear stocks, I always put in veggies whole and have the herbs wrapped in a small cheese cloth. I bring it to a light boil then drop down to a simmer. For health reasons, be sure to cool the stock quickly after you've made it and then store in a fridge or freeze. That is, unless you are going to use it right away. :)
 

Keith_W

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Looks as if your questions have been answered :)

As Tom said, how clear your stock needs to be depends on how it is going to be used. But in general, the clearer your stock, the higher quality it is. I agree with the blanching step (although I wouldn't do it with roast chicken). I have two grades of sieve that I use - a plain conical sieve (to get the bones out), and a fine conical sieve for straining finer particles. If I want an even finer stock, I strain through cheesecloth. However, many times I can't help but love the look of a consomme - there is something about that clear and golden liquid which is very sexy. So I use an egg white raft to clarify. There are more modern methods (e.g. gel filtration or agar filtration) but I admit I have not tried them yet. Gel filtration is said to both clarify and concentrate at the same time. The downside is that it removes all the gelatin from the stock.

I normally make my chicken stock in the pressure cooker. This cuts down the time required and produces a more flavoursome stock. You know how you can smell that delicious chicken flavour when you are making a chicken stock? You can smell that because those are aromatic molecules escaping from your stock. If you use a pressure cooker, and take care to adjust the heat so that it does not vent, there will be no loss of aromatic molecules and a much better stock. In fact, it is absolutely critical that you make sure your pressure cooker does not vent. Not only does this cause loss of flavour, it also causes the liquid inside to boil violently (therefore introducing lots of particulate matter into the stock and ruining its clarity), and you run the risk of clogging the safety valve if you don't dismantle and clean it properly.

What else to add to your stock - I would suggest you try leeks instead of onion. I also normally add a bouquet garni - thyme, bay leaf, and parsley.
 

treitz3

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Very interesting about using a pressure cooker for stock. I'll have to try that method.

Tom
 

Johnny Vinyl

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Interesting indeed about the Pressure Cooker method. I don't own one, so to buy one just for this is foolish, but my Sister does and I'm going to try it out when I visit her in July. BTW...it turned out very nice. Had a wonderfully rich colour and tasted well....like chicken! ;).
 

treitz3

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John, since you do not have a pressure cooker you may want to look at this book [about $15.00]. The first 82 pages contain the tips and tricks using the cooker she uses, troubleshooting, the preparation for certain kinds of foods, such as lentils, the best cuts of meats to use, and adapting recipes for pressure cooking. The remainding 376 pages of the book is filled with time tables, substitutions, and recipes.


She uses one model of pressure cooker for all of her recipes and she even has her own forum http://pressurecookerrecipes22484.yuku.com/ for questions, hints and tidbits of information that one may not ever learn elsewhere. It's like learning from Grandma herself, if you know what I mean. You can use any type of pressure cooker you want, she explains how to adjust any and all recipes to adapt to the pressure cooker you have or may acquire. My pressure cooker is decades old, looks like new and operates wonderfully. If you ever want a good meal cooked quicker and more flavorful than modern methods, you may be interested in checking this cooking method out.

It's not for everybody but I thought I'd throw this information out there for those who may be interested. Happy cooking!

Tom
 

Johnny Vinyl

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Thank you Tom for pointing me to that site. I will have a look. I'm an oven and stove-top cook and only in the last few years have begun to experiment with some crockpot cooking, so there is hope for me yet.
 

GaryProtein

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I suppose if the Iron Chefs use a pressure cooker for some foods, we can too!
 

amirm

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I haven't used a pressure cooker as I was traumatized as a child. My mother spray-painted the ceiling of the kitchen with a chicken...... may be this should be on Tom's home renovation thread instead :D
I have the same memories of my childhood but the new ones are completely different animals. While I have seen one explode on TV, that was with misuse. Otherwise, they are very safe and amazingly useful. We use ours quite often.
 

garylkoh

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I have the same memories of my childhood but the new ones are completely different animals. While I have seen one explode on TV, that was with misuse. Otherwise, they are very safe and amazingly useful. We use ours quite often.

Looks like I may have to buy the book recommended by Tom.... and a pressure cooker.
 

GaryProtein

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I haven't used a pressure cooker as I was traumatized as a child. My mother spray-painted the ceiling of the kitchen with a chicken...... may be this should be on Tom's home renovation thread instead :D

My ex-wife spray painted the kitchen ceiling with the Vita-Mix when she had it running high speed without the cover and dropped the spoon she was using [for some unknown reason] to stir the smoothie she was making, but I still like the Vita-Mix! :p :p

I think you should give the pressure cooker another opportunity to show what it can do.
 

carolkoh

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I subscribe to the "odds and ends" version of making chicken and vegetable stock.

I have a couple of plastic bags in the freezer. One I toss chicken bones (when deboning thighs) / wing tips / carcasses of roasted chickens into, the other, I toss veggie ends into - the woody parts of asparagus, carrot peels, broccoli stems, etc. When the bags get large enough, I make stock - which I cool and then freeze in small containers for later use. The addition of herbs comes later in what ever soup / stew I am cooking that the stock goes into.
 

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