rotuts

@TdeV Congratulations ! you certainly can SV w/o cutting up . but the ' knuckle ' is a vertebral body . each is connected to the other by a series of ligaments most of those ligaments connect the projections of the bone . then the inner bodies are connected tightly w more connective tissue. an easy way to get smaller pieces is w a cleaver and a mallet , and pick a spot that seems softer , and bang away. keep track of your fingers , for sure. and do not use a knife , as you might ruin the blade. very interested in what you do after that. I havent had ox tail in ages . very tasty meat , even if the tail is not from an Ox , 20 years old.

Asked by this same OP , June 2024 ? https://forums.egullet.org/topic/143759-braising-help-needed/page/3/ and answered ?

@ElsieD Stop&Shop doesn't usuallt have very good sales , compared to Marketbasket. however , they periodically have very good deals on CkDrums , and even wings . I dont cook wings wings go on sale @ $ 2.48 . the store brand chicken @ stop&shop is significantly larger , thus more meat // bone , and better presented than MB . and in the past , S&S has had Fz turkey ( whole ) breasts for $ 0.99 , same turkey ( StoneyBrookFarm ) never goes below $ 1.29 / lbs at MB. go figure.

@ElsieD this was two trays of CkDrums. price went up 10 cents from previous sale ! ( 11.1 % ) so that's from 18 legs . I saved one for MC . he sometimes get some of the ' shreds ' , I dont press too hard on one container for him. I ran the CkDrums through the iPot 3 times , so 3 X stock . no seasonings used for that reason . seasons up when i sue the, I open a Fz brick , use a cleaver and whack what I plan to use , and get the same brick back into the same bag quickly , and re-vac . then back to the freezer. even Fz it has a wonderful chicken aroma. N.B. : the color you see on the CkDrums is not , unfortunately , from the maillard Rx. its from the smoke. so this is not roasted Ck stock. later this week Im thinking of doing another batch , but roast the CkDrums in the oven after they are smoked 325 until very brown. I might even take the meat off the bone for that ( surface area ) and skin the legs , chopping off the end 1 " where its difficult to remove the skin , then Id have roasted CkJell.

de-fatted . I chill overnight in the refrigerator ( 35 F ) , then 20 min or so in the freezer ( -6 F ) the fat peels right off bagged and vac'd .

For sure , CkMarrow is a nutritional powerhouse .

Good points . temperature differences aside we both get a superb amount of gelatin. granted , I concentrate it on purpose .

@AAQuesada thank you for those ideas . Ive found that chopping the bottom of the leg for marrow , probably adds little marrow to the stock . this in an iPot HP 1 hour. Im pleased with that , as i did not care very much for the flavor of the cooked marrow. when you say you pull yours @ 2 Hrs : how are you cooking for those 2 hrs ? @ 2 hrs , you pull the chicken out of your cooking method ? then , you continue over night w the stock ? what heat method are you using then ? I think its fine to chop the bones making your ' personal ' stock . I will chop off the bottom of ChDrums , as I pull off the skin , as its easy to do . next time . but not for the marrow . for easy of getting the PITA skin off .

Ive been working w Stop&Shop chicken drumsticks decided to SV a batch , freeze , for later use as dark meat Ck for other dishes . I dont like CkFat, so skinned the lot : 5 lbs . nice and plump these are. bagged SV later tonight , chill and freeze . just Thyme and Rosemary . I thought it was going to be easy to skin these . Grab the skin , blunt dissection down to the small end , rip off the skin. its a bit of a PITA , that end bit . but I think it will be worth it in the end. next time Ill just pull the skin down to the end , then chop the end off . just tendon down there on another thread , I looked into CkMarrow . fount it not interesting at all. but iPot'ed nothing much seemed to happen to it , so I doubt much would happen to it SV 150 F a much lower temp than HP iPot. Im thinking 145 or maybe 150 F , 8 hours or so. rapid chill . freeze . next time , Ill do all bags 2 CkDrums // bag.

I make naan-ish AF pizzas from time to time , remarkably easy Campari tomato , thyme , fontina cheese AF'd . about 4 - 5 minutes plated . w EVOO quite nice . added Chipotle tabasco to live it up .

Over on the IDS thrad https://forums.egullet.org/topic/167917-cooking-with-a-countertop-indoor-smoker/page/12/#comment-2458890 I smoked two trays of CkDrums, for the purposes of making CkJell Stock : 6 legs , in the 6 qt iPot water to allmost cover ( 6 cups ) after 1 HR HP . I immediately release . it save time as this will be a 3 X stock . Ive discovered w past sessions , using quick release the steam lost equals about 1 cup of water from the iPot. this concentrates the stock , ' seamlessly ' w no extra work I hand mash the legs , getting to a state of muscle strands . I iPot 30 min more , HP . the solids are removed and jus pressed out via a hand potato ricer . this was done three times ( 3 X ) . the last session , above. the stock was strained to remove any remaining strand , cooled in the sink then added to my Brick-Maker containers a little over 4 cups 3 X stock. I refrigerated the three containers over night . later today Ill place them in the freezer for 15 minutes or so facilitating the removal of the fat , then overnight again in the freezer , then vac the bricks and keep in the freezer for future use. I open the Vac'd bag , quickly remove the CkJell I plan to use , and re-seal in the chamber vac the same bag. works quite well.

A favorite of mine , Jamie Oliver , seems to still be going strong. ' Eat yourself Health ' is current . Ive learned a great deal from him , over many years. Tom Kerridge also has ( fairly ) current show , ' Pub ' and a travel show to Spain. he points out clearly and early , the Spain show is sponsored by M&S. but there is 50 % cooking along w travel. in terms of competition shows Great British Menu , an exceptional show early on for several seasons , now seems to be pretty much about props , not food so much. Ive given up on them several years ago

PBS cooking shows ATK , Cook's Country , Lidia's kitchen , Pati's Mexican are $$$ streams for the company that makes them . quite some time ago , I noted that PBS cooking shows had less time cooking //30 min than FoodNetwork. Ads for PBS , ads for the cooking shows products , etc. I have no idea if PBS paid anything for them , as it was a win // win financially for each party. One particular show on PBS some time ago , was clearly given to PBS for free. it featured a long time prominent ' style ' personage , and PBS was glad to get something for free in spite of the personalities felony conviction . they did place the show early in the cooking show ' day ' , saving the Meat and Potatoes for a more Prime cooking time : Saturday afternoons , USA

@Pete Fred OK. you have a lot of work to do . take it slowly . change very little each Bake . Ill take all the remainders .

to conclude : this is the CkMarrow pic'd from the first phase of the CkJell iPot . 1 X note that it did not melt . there may be some CkMarrow flavor in the pot , but Id guess not much. the flavor is earthy , but not like mushrooms are earthy . the flavor is not rich and delicate . no more CkBone chopping for me. there might be hints of Iron ( from the RBC's ) . so , there is a reason CkMarrow is not mentioned ( to my knowledge ) in Julia Child's tomes or served at 5 ***** FR restaurants . its work to get , and adds , if anything , nothing very delicious . but is for sure , a nutritional powerhouse.