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Subject: Homemade Chicken Broth/Stock

One way I stretch my food budget is to buy a whole chicken, use it for a few meals and then make soup out of the bones.
 
Now I'm going to get a bit off-topic, but I'm not sure where to post this:
 
I followed the recipe for making chicken stock to a "t", but it didn't turn gelatinous in the fridge, so I guess I got broth instead. It made great soup, but I would love to know the trick for making stock. Any ideas?
 
Thanks in advance.

The gelatin comes from the marrow of the bones.  One technique you may try is to brown the carcass a bit before putting it in the stockpot, use a little less water, and a little longer stew time. 

Thanks for the tip. Have you ever tried breaking the bones? Maybe that would do the trick?

Yes, that does seem to help the process. 

OK, I have to add.  I never break bones, nor brown.  I do cook for a long time however. Just the other day I made a fabulous "white" chili with a turkey frame I had left over in the freezer and it made a fantastic stock with tons of gelatin.  I cooked the frame in the crock pot.  I cooked it all day and it came out great.  Crock pots seem to help in the for the long cooking. 

Thanks, scturner97. Do you add water or just let it simmer with the lid on?

You get a lot of gelatin from the cartilage and the skin.   If you cook the carcass (including the skin) in plenty of water over really slow heat for a really long time (the frugal gourmet suggested doing stock in a 225F oven) until the carcass falls apart and the bones are soft, then strain out the solids and cook the stock down, you'll get what you want.  Refrigerate, than scrape off the fat.  If you want it more concentrated (it takes less space!), cook off more of the water.
 
I've seen suggestions to add a little vinegar to the water to extract more of the minerals from the bones, since we always seem to need more calcium.

Thanks to all for their input. I got out the left over chicken noodle soup for lunch today and it was semi-gelatinous (if there's such a thing) so I am close to my goal . I don't know why it took a couple of days to firm up a bit (maybe the noodles??). But soon I'll try again with everyone's suggestions this time.

Since the evaporation is minimal in the crock-pot, I only put water in about half way.  You can always add more water later.  I have a rather large one, so I think it depends on the size of your pot and how much meat/bones etc you have to work with.  If I happen to be doing it stove-top I will leave the lid partly on and let it simmer.  But I just happen to love the crock-pot for this job. It makes my job much easier, and I can come and go as I wish.  I also strain through a fine mesh strainer before refrigerating.  I find this makes for a nicer end product.  Sometimes the stock will just be more watery then others, if it tastes good, that's what's important.

Calgal,
 
Noodles can definately make your soup thicker.

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