On 2/14/2026 at 8:40 AM, Shel_B said:A few days ago I made I made Chris Young's Costco roast chicken stock: https://youtu.be/3k20zFlbFfE and it blew me away for it's simplicity, cost effectiveness, speed, and flavor. In the video, Chris shows the stock to have been gelatinized, but mine didn't turn out to be so.
In my preparation, I used the meat almost two whole chickens, holding back a small amount of meat for a sandwich. I added almost three quarts of water. The result of these amounts caused the pot to fill a fair percentage over the maximum fill line, reducing the head space inside the pot while cooking.
My question is this: could the reduced head space affected the formation of gelatin in some way, or reduced the amount of flavor extracted from the meat.
I make stock with pretty much every Costco chicken carcass. Bone, skin and any gel sitting at the bottom of the bag. I use the Instant Pot mini most of the time or if I've got the big 8 quart out I'll just add around 3 quarts of water. I don't bother to add any seasoning or veg - just the carcass. And I cook for 90 minutes.
And if I want chicken to add to the soup I might make from the stock - I cut it off before IPing.
Always gelatinizes.
