Stock from Supermarket Rotisserie Chicken

Crouton · December 5, 2012

So every now and then I'll pick up a rotisserie chicken from Publix for a quick week-night meal and hopefully chicken salad with any leftovers. With rotisserie chicken from the supermarket I usually toss the carcass in the trash. For whatever reason the idea of making stock out of a store bought cooked chicken never cross my mind, until now. I have two questions:

1) Do you make stock out of supermarket rotisserie chicken?

2) Does rotisserie chicken ever give you a headache/stomach ache? I noticed this on more than one occasion.

heidih · December 5, 2012

My dad and his wife buy those all the time from Costco and then try to give me most of it. I don't care for it but I generally make a simple stock/broth out of it or toss it in the freezer and add it to the big stock pot when I have a nice collection of bones. The broth tends to get used in soups.

Emily_R · December 5, 2012

Yup -- I do, and do just as Heidih does above - save the bones / carcasses in the freezer until I have enough to do a batch in my pressure cooker. I've never had a headache / stomach ache from rotisserie chicken, but I do have some stores whose chickens I much prefer to others...

**ElsieD** · December 5, 2012

I buy these also from time to time, mainly from Costco and I too use the carcasses for stock and no, those chickens do not give us headaches.

gdenby · December 6, 2012

Yes, I have made stock from rotisserie carcasses. I and my family did not have headaches or stomach problems. But I thought the stock was not very good. The remnants of flavorings were there. There was not much gelatin, which I supposed had already been cooked out. It was fine for cooking rice or noodles. Not so good for dishes where the extra flavors didn't work well.

Creola · December 6, 2012

I have made a soup from a supermarket chicken.When not feeling well and wanting a quick fix I made a Faux Chicken Pho, and it did the trick.

Charcuterer · December 6, 2012

I have experienced abdominal distress from supermarket rotisserie chickens but I also have trouble with food from Wendy's fast food. I figure there is a preservative that I don't handle in the seasoning mix.

**FrogPrincesse** · December 6, 2012

1) Do you make stock out of supermarket rotisserie chicken?

I occasionally get rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods or Bristol Farms. Similar to what others are doing, I keep the carcass (in the freezer if it's more than a couple of days) and make stock using my pressure cooker. I get the chickens with just salt on them or lemon/herbs. I prefer the flavor and the light seasoning does not interfere with the stock.

2) Does rotisserie chicken ever give you a headache/stomach ache? I noticed this on more than one occasion.

No, but I noticed that the quality of the rotisserie chickens varies widely depending on where you buy them. Costco has them very cheap but I don't care for the texture. I prefer leaner chickens with more taste.

SylviaLovegren · December 6, 2012

No, but I noticed that the quality of the rotisserie chickens varies widely depending on where you buy them. Costco has them very cheap but I don't care for the texture. I prefer leaner chickens with more taste.

This. Where we were in NJ, we could get the chickens from A&P, which were juicy and excellent; Whole Foods which were more expensive and OK but not great; and Stop&Shop, which were unpleasant.

I always made some sort of broth out of the carcasses. Waste not, want not!

Jaymes · December 7, 2012

We get excellent rotisserie chickens here. Not only from our mainstream grocery markets and discount stores, but also from various Hispanic rotisserie places. Like others, I always save the carcasses in the freezer until I have several. Then, depending upon what sort of chicken broth I want, I roast the bones, or not, before I stew. Often I do a sort of "pre-stew" to get off whatever remaining meat has been left on the carcass if I'm going to be making some version of chicken soup right away. Then, I set the meat aside and stew the bones/carcasses. And, I always try to crack as many of the bones as I can to get at that marrow.

Been doing this for a very long time, for me and my whole family. Nobody has had any sorts of intestinal or headache or other physical issues.

And the "remnants of flavorings" isn't a problem with just the lemon and herb seasoning. Not to mention that we are pretty fond of strongly-flavored soups. If I'm making tortilla soup, for example, I'd defy anyone to be able to detect some sort of previous rotisserie nuance what with all the salsa and jalapenos and garlic and cilantro I've put in.

Edited December 7, 2012 by Jaymes (log)

scubadoo97 · December 7, 2012

I've been picking a rotisserie chicken from Costco after shopping because it just to hard to pass up a 4 lb chicken for $5 and it's freshly cooked.

I usually get it home and debone it separating the white and dark meat. The carcass goes in the pressure cooker for stock either straight up or with the addition of un-roasted carcasses. I most often make tortilla soup with the dark meat

Edited December 7, 2012 by scubadoo97 (log)

naguere · December 7, 2012

_{My Dear Departed Aunt Cherry opined that in store cooked chickens were fine to eat , but they didn't make worthwhile stock}

scubadoo97 · December 7, 2012

The stock comes out fine but the birds have been brined in most cases

Jaymes · December 7, 2012

_{My Dear Departed Aunt Cherry opined that in store cooked chickens were fine to eat , but they didn't make worthwhile stock}

Well, life is really all about a matter of degrees, isn't it? If I were going to make an "important" dinner, for my boss, or a group of eGulleters, for example, I'd put a lot more time, care, money into all of it, including the chicken stock.

But if I'm feeding a big family of six on a tight budget, they're getting dinner made with stock from whatever chicken I happen to have.

Icanmakeit · December 8, 2012

It takes no effort to bake a whole chicken. I never buy those pre cooked chickens.

Jaymes · December 8, 2012

It takes no effort to bake a whole chicken. I never buy those pre cooked chickens.

Effort? Maybe not.

Time? And planning? Definitely.

And when I've gotten off of work late and am headed home around six o'clock or so to a hungry waiting family, I'm going to make a quick dash into the supermarket and pick up something I can have on the table within ten minutes. I'm pretty dang happy to see one of those warm rotisserie chickens waiting in the display case.

But hey, to each his own.

Paul Bacino · March 27, 2013

Picked up 2 Rotisserie chickens from Costco for a chicken pot pie recipe, I think the chickens are probably brined and roasted. Now making stock from the left overs, will probably make a salty stock, I have noticed it with single ones. But if I use two and roughly the same water will I get over kill salty. I usually pressure cook my stock. Ideas?

Use or not use?

Paul

Shel_B · March 27, 2013

Toots buys these chickens and makes stock from the remains. I've never cared for the results, finding it too salty for my taste and too intense, and somewhat muddy in the flavor profile. However, she'll sometimes make the stock and I'll add water to it, and it's not too bad - more acceptable. However, I much prefer making stock from fresh chicken.

BKYLN · March 28, 2013

if you have them, you might as well try it. no sense in wasting them.

Jason Perlow · March 28, 2013

Picked up 2 Rotisserie chickens from Costco for a chicken pot pie recipe, I think the chickens are probably brined and roasted. Now making stock from the left overs, will probably make a salty stock, I have noticed it with single ones. But if I use two and roughly the same water will I get over kill salty. I usually pressure cook my stock. Ideas?
Use or not use?
Paul

Nothing wrong with these chickens.

mm84321 · March 28, 2013

I would not want to eat a Costco chicken, no less the stock made from one. I say throw it out.

heidih · March 28, 2013

I have done it with the carcasses when my dad who insists on buying them gifts me with leftovers. The first time I used them I noticed a
muddy" taste as well; something I had seen with just bones also. When I thought of it as more of a roasted chicken broth and slow simmered it for a shorter time it was quite usable as a base for soups.

scubadoo97 · March 28, 2013

I use the caracas for stock and use it right away with the dark meat for tortilla soup. With an abundance of cilantro and spices like cumin and fresh ground chili powders I don't notice any muddiness and don't have to add much salt if any