Making Stock

[Gul_Dekar]

I was making some chinese soup with chicken feet the other day & simmered the soup for about 2 hours+. I stored it in the fridge after that & the next morning it became really gelatinous. I only used about 1 lb (there were 6 or 7 pairs of feet) for I'd say 4 1/2 quarts of water.

That mean there's a lot of collagen in chicken feet right? Wouldnt it be good to use for making stocks?

[PCL]

Spot on dude.

Chicken wing tips are good too.

But for clear stocks you might want to ease off on the feet. In other stocks and dishes requiring more body in the broth/stock, calves feet or pig's trotters are also used.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Chicken wing tips are good too.

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When it comes to chicken, the outer two joints of the wings are especially rich in collagen, which breaks down into gelatin ...I usually use only the skin and boned carcass for broth. It is the collagen which actually causes the gelling. The collagen is in the connective tissues, bone joints, and in the marrow. It is recommended that the bones be cracked to extract the valuable nutrients from inside. The combination of collagen, and inner bone nutrients from the marrow, add both flavor and nutritional value to the soup.

Or you can just stay with those chicken feet ...

[fifi]

My great aunt Minnie always added chicken feet to the stock she made for chicken and dumplings when she could get them. One of my earliest kitchen memories was standing on a chair looking into the big pot of bubbling stock and having a chicken foot rise up out of the bubbling brew. I giggled for hours. And, her chicken and dumplings had the most silky texture known to man.

[Chris Amirault]

Another fan of chicken feet in stock. It transforms the mouth feel of the stock. In addition, it seems to me that the feet add an almost sweet, umami-like underpinning that the other chicken bones don't add. Anyone else feel that way, or am I off my nut?

[Chris Amirault]

My great aunt Minnie always added chicken feet to the stock she made for chicken and dumplings when she could get them. One of my earliest kitchen memories was standing on a chair looking into the big pot of bubbling stock and having a chicken foot rise up out of the bubbling brew. I giggled for hours. And, her chicken and dumplings had the most silky texture known to man.

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Fifi, we need to meet this Aunt Minnie, or, if not possible, read a long, loving tribute to her! I'm eager to meet her!

[fifi]

I have probably posted this several times elsewhere. Aunt Minnie was my Grandma's sister that came to visit at the family "compound" in Houston on the shores of White Oak Bayou. In the thirties, she was a wealthy widow that owned a good part of the town of Brookshire, a railroad town. Part of her holdings was the hotel and restaurant. She supplied goodies to the Southern Pacific trains passing through to California and Florida. I have always surmised that she is "stirring the pot," in more ways than one, for St. Peter.

[Abra]

I too think chicken feet make the very best stock. I just don't enjoy peering into the pot while the stock is simmering as much as I would otherwise.

[foodpsycho]

Chicken wing tips are good too.

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When it comes to chicken, the outer two joints of the wings are especially rich in collagen, which breaks down into gelatin ...I usually use only the skin and boned carcass for broth. It is the collagen which actually causes the gelling. The collagen is in the connective tissues, bone joints, and in the marrow. It is recommended that the bones be cracked to extract the valuable nutrients from inside. The combination of collagen, and inner bone nutrients from the marrow, add both flavor and nutritional value to the soup.

Or you can just stay with those chicken feet ...

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I adore chicken feet but what I LOVE is the marrow in the thigh bones. I've never known anyone else who cracks open chicken bones for the marrow. Anyone?

[Pan]

I've always liked marrow, but I don't crack open chicken bones for marrow unless they're fully cooked (no raw blood taste) and high-quality chickens that haven't been fed cod liver oil. [Yuck! ]

[k43]

I've tried to enrich chicken stock made from scraps and bones of a cooked chicken by cracking the bones. All it did was darken the stock and, I think, make it taste burnt, probably because I prefer the taste and skin of chicken roasted at high temperature (450 F.).

Would cracking raw chicken bones also increase turbidity?

[bleudauvergne]

I tend to crack the bones and add feet. I feel like it adds although it could be completely in my imagination. I read somewhere that this was the best way to extract all of the flavor from the bird. I admit nothing goes to waste at my house, so cooked bones are generally thrown in the pot in addition to uncooked. I always ask for extra feet from my poultry vendors because these are in many cases thrown in the bin if the customer doesn't want them. They give me all they've got and I take them gladly. I put them in the freezer if I'm not going to use them right away.

[Kim D]

The last time I wanted to make chicken stock, I went to a Mexican grocery store to find chicken feet. They had them. And the feet had long toenails. And I remembered reading that you have to clip off the toenails. And that was too much for me. I bought necks and backs.

How do you clip chicken toenails? How short should they be trimmed? Or do I have to use pliers?

- kim

[Wolfert]

I thought the manicure was a cleanliness issue. Am I wrong?

[bleudauvergne]

I'm really quite brutal, I clip the whole first digit when I'm using them for soup. When I want them to look good, I parboil and then the claws easily come off completely just by pulling them off.

[Kim D]

I've been searching the internet trying to find out why the toenails need any personal attention. So far, no luck.

But I did find Chicken Soup Tips and Hints:

Fresh chicken feet need to be scalded about five minutes so the skin and toenails can be removed before adding to the stockpot.

At least I won't have to worry about clipping them to the proper length.

- kim

(I started writing this before bluedauverge posted her tip. Note to self: Learn to type faster.)

[scott123]

Poultry bones and meat contribute very little flavor and body to stock, imo. Although it's common knowledge that skin contains the most collagen, and thus appendages with a high ratio of skin will produce additional body/gel, I contend that skin produces the lion's share of flavor. At some point I'm going to perform a stock experiment and prove my theory. Three different stocks, prepared separately, all with the same amount of water, the same pan and simmered for the same amount of time. One with a pound of skin, another with a pound of meat and a third with a pound of bones. I am absolutely certain stock #1 will be the clear cut winner, not just from a perspective of body, but from a perspective of flavor as well.

Since I am a firm believer that skin is the source for the majority of stock making magic, yes, there is nothing better than chicken feet. Chicken feet are best, then wings.

[foodpsycho]

I've been searching the internet trying to find out why the toenails need any personal attention. So far, no luck.

But I did find Chicken Soup Tips and Hints:

Fresh chicken feet need to be scalded about five minutes so the skin and toenails can be removed before adding to the stockpot.

At least I won't have to worry about clipping them to the proper length.

- kim

(I started writing this before bluedauverge posted her tip. Note to self: Learn to type faster.)

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I remember my mother singeing the chicken feet over a gas flame, peeling off the outer skin and pulling out the nails before she threw them in the soup pot. The smell was not pleasant. I think she learned this from the CIA and I don't mean at the CIA.

Edited April 2, 2005 by foodpsycho (log)

[Sleepy_Dragon]

I've been wondering if chicken feet could be a straight up substitute for veal bones. Does anyone know? Could they be used in a brown demi? And if so, how much feet = same amount of veal bone stock power?

Pat

[divalasvegas]

The last time I wanted to make chicken stock, I went to a Mexican grocery store to find chicken feet. They had them. And the feet had long toenails. And I remembered reading that you have to clip off the toenails. And that was too much for me. I bought necks and backs.

How do you clip chicken toenails? How short should they be trimmed? Or do I have to use pliers?     

- kim

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Many, many years [decades] ago I remember our mother (myself and my younger brother) making a trip with her to visit relatives on her side of the family in a little town called Lone Star in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The one thing after all those years that I remember is being told that, among other chores, what my brother and I could do to make ourselves useful was to "clean" the chicken feet. As I recall, we found this to be a great adventure. Looking back upon it now, I wonder why we didn't go screaming from the house. Except, back in those days, when your elders asked/requested/ordered you to do something, you did it. "Back talk," as we called it was not allowed. Frankly, I still agree with this, but that's another diatribe.

Anyway, as I remember, they plopped down a bowl of "uncleaned" chicken feet in front of us--one bowl for me, one bowl for my brother and demonstrated how to clean them. There was no special equipment. Using our bare hands, we were to pop the nails off the chicken feet and then peel the webb-like skin. I remember having a lot of Zen-like satisfaction doing this. Yes, at first it was kind of weird since I was city girl, but I actually got into it. After we had done all of this popping and web peeling, they were washed under running water and then stewed like you would do stewed chicken. A really simple thing really: put chicken in the pot, add cold water, seasonings and onions, and simmer until done. Serve with rice, collard greens, bisquits or cornbread, hot sauce and so forth. I ate them. I liked them. I think really enjoyed them all the more because I had such an integral part in their preparation.

Hope this is of some use.

P.S. -- Really missing my mama, Mae Alice, right now.

[fifi]

What a lovely story, divalasvegas. I really enjoyed reading that. It reminded me of my post earlier in this topic. I forgot to mention that at some point, we were taught how to play with a chicken foot by pulling on the tendons and making it dance.

[Kim D]

Next time I make chicken stock, I think I'll work up the courage to use chicken feet. (There has to be some way of using a word play on "chicken out" here. )

When I was a kid, about once a year the neighbors across the street would butcher chickens. Their house was at the top of a hill and it was a very long way down to the street. After the heads were chopped off, the chickens would run down the hill with blood spurting from their necks. We thought it was the funniest thing ever.

- kim

[hwilson41]

Hmmm. My apologies, but part of this just doesn't make any sense to me. What on earth could be on or in a chicken's toenails that five hours of simmering wouldn't neutralize? Bad flavor? From what? I'm confused, and skeptical.

[Okanagancook]

An old thread but on topic.

Got our two lambs for the season and always included are the bones.  So I roasted them up and simmered in just water for 24 hours then reduced to 2.5 litres.  I also got about four cups of lamb fat which I just could not throw away.  We chucked the hardened disc into the bushes down by one our creeks for the bears or whoever finds it first.  Good use of all the parts.

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Okanagancook (log)

[heidih]

@Okanagancook  Love hearing about stock other than beef and chicken. Also like the fat disposal method   How wil you use it?