Stock, or broth? One is made with bones, and the other with meat. I don’t remember which is which.
I’ve had a chicken carcass with a good bit of meat and fat on it in the freezer. I decided I’d do something with it. So I’ve put it in a slow-cooker with water, some kosher salt, and a little bit of pepper. I’ll let it cook for eight hours or so, and then strain it. I’ll recover the meat I can and save it separately. As for the strained liquid, that will go into the fridge to separate the fat. I’ll save the fat for… something. (What is chicken schmaltz used for?) That will leave me with the broth/stock that I can use in rice, or perhaps in a soup.
Broth/stock can be used for so many things in cooking. You can use it to deglaze the pan after you brown your chicken, for just about any chicken dish. If you’re cooking a quick soup, add stock or broth instead of water to “deepen” the flavor. When you’re cooking rice or potatoes, cook them in a 50/50 blend of stock/water for a more flavorful starch dish.
Here’s a favorite recipe of mine, for Chicken with Asian Plum Sauce:
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2Tbsps vegetable oil
1/3C plum jam or preserves
1/2tsp Chinese five-spice
5 scallions, minced
2Tbsp soy sauce
1/3C chicken stock or broth
1 clove garlic, minced
Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Cook 5-6 min. on each side, until cooked through. Remove chicken thighs to plate tented with foil.
While chicken is browning, combine in small bowl: plum jam, soy sauce, Chinese five-spice and garlic. Finely slice the scallions, reserving the ends for garnish.
Deglaze pan with chicken stock or broth. When it starts to bubble, throw in the scallions and stir constantly until they begin to get tender. Now add the plum jam mixture, and whisk until it all “pulls together”.
Pour this glaze over the chicken thighs. Cut the scallion ends into “matchsticks” and garnish the dish with them.
I like to serve this with some stir-fried Asian-style veggies and some rice.
If you haven’t yet, you might want to get the bones out and cut them into pieces. It helps get the gelatin out, which makes for a thicker and stickier broth. And I can’t remember the difference between broth and stock.
Mom used to use it in chopped liver. The Jewish side of the family used to spread it on bread like butter at times.
But you don’t want to completely de-fat your broth/stock - a little fat with soup or stew or whatever makes it taste much better. In fact, I’ve used schmaltz for venison stew, as venison is such a lean meat that it requires a little additional fat in order to taste optimally yummy. (A little - roughly a 1/2 teaspoon per serving is the rule I use for soups and stews, YMMV)
I will make stock out of chicken carcasses – I would recommend you sticking them in the freezer until you have a sufficient amount to make it worth your while. It generally takes about 8-10 hours for me to be satisfied/tired with all of it.
I will take the thigh and leg bones and hit them with a meat tenderizer/hammer to fracture them in two to realize the meaty goodness.
Keep it at a simmer, just under a boil, then use a spider to remove the solid remains of the bird. I will chill over night, then scrape the fat (schmaltz) off. The resultant stock should be as jiggly as jello.
I will heat it to liquid and put it into pint bags and freeze them. You can also pour it into ice trays (remove and bag) to add small amounts to what ever.
I started with a raw, frozen chicken carcass, the remains of my first successful attempt at Southern-fried chicken. (Previous attempts over the years have been edible – actually good – but not ‘right’.) It’s been simmering in the slow-cooker for almost two hours now. I did fish it out and hacked it with the cleaver a few times. The meat was coming off of the bones, and the bones were falling apart. I’m not seeing any ‘scum’, but there’s definitely rendered fat floating about.
Sounds like you’re doing it right. One question – how can you have a carcass left after you make fried chicken. We didn’t leave anything but feathers, head, and feet. But around here in the African American community, the feet are a delicacy.
Well, I’d never disassembled a bird before. At least before cooking. So after chopping off the wings, thighs, and legs, and getting a couple of breasts off, I was left with the middle and neck. I should have had more breast on the breast pieces, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Someone posted a link to a YouTube video of Alton Brown cutting up a chicken for frying, and I’ll watch it before butchering the bird next time I make fried chicken.
Some approaches recommend browning/caramelizing the bones/stock source in a pan before simmering, though admittedly that makes more sense with big, bony bones like veal shanks than with a hollowed out chicken.
I took a cooking class with a CIA-trained chef. SHE said, classic-cooking-wise:
[ul]
[li]Stock is made with the bones ONLY; broth is made with meat, fat, etc.[/li][li]You DO roast the bones for beef/veal stock (to help get that nice deep rich caramelized brown; you DON’T roast the bones for chicken/turkey stock[/li][/ul]
I think you should cut an onion into quarters or eighths and put it in with the liquid, skin and all. Or do that next time, at least. I never cook chicken without adding some onion in some way.
I thought about an onion, and celery and carrots too; but I haven’t any. So I thought that I’d just make the broth (thank you, Claire Beauchamp) this time and add the veg when I make something with it.
I ran the broth through my sieve and came up with about a gallon. A bit of cling film, and into the fridge to allow the fat to separate and float to the top. It’ll go into zip-top bags mañana. I also have about 1/3 of a margarine cup of chicken meat, which should be just enough for a good-sized chicken salad sandwich (or two smaller ones) once I get some mayonnaise and bread. Or I might just wrap it up in a couple of corn tortillas and douse it with Tapatio.
When I am finished making my stock, any solids, such as chicken meat are so devoid of flavor that the cats won’t even eat them. I don;t even try anymore, just toss them into the garbage.
Usually but it’s really good with chicken broth as well. Usually if I use chicken broth I go with white wine rather than red. I’m not a purist I just like to eat tasty food.
