How fresh does the carcass have to be? We roasted a chicken before Christmas, and haven’t gotten around to it yet- it’s still sitting in the fridge.
I used to do that, but there are no ice cube trays here. Ice maker. And it’s not well designed for them if I were to get them. Trust me, I’m trying to figure that one out.
Plus, how much is a cup in cubes? That I don’t know.
That’s why you count how many cubes a cup fills when you pour your first tray, and you label the freezer bag that you later put them into to like this:
---- 1 cube=2Tbsp -------- Chick. Stock -------- 01/08/08
1 c.=16 Tbsp, so if you have 2 T cubes, than 8 cubes = 1 cup.
Thanks. I’d never thought of that.
That’s a bit old. If you’d stuck it in the freezer though it’d be fine. I’ve kept chicken bits in the freezer for a few weeks until I accumulated enough to make stock. Also I like to make the stock richer by using it instead of water with the next batch of parts-a double stock. My chef brother does this a lot.
Concur - I never have problems getting my stock to set, even if I only simmer for a couple of hours. There comes a point, I feel - and quite early on - when you’re no longer boiling things out of the bones, but rather, depositing them back on - as the moisture evaporates.
Please, please try this filtering method if you are in no rush for your stock as it is absolutley amazing, you will get a stock so clear and pure it’ll look like Sauterne!
All you have to do after you have made your stock (I vote for about 2 hours simmering, too long and you get a weird taste I think) is freeze it in an old ice cream tub or something then, once it’s frozen, place it in a muslin lined colander with the fat side up and let it defrost through. I have used this method with both lamb and chicken stock recently and the results were fantastic.
Willass, that definitely sounds like something to try at some point. But I don’t have Muslin, and I will probably not have a chance to get it any time soon. If I do see it at one of my local stores, though, I will grab some.
A clean tea towel should work just as well but will probably ruin it plus all my tea towels smell a bit funky even when straight out of the washing machine but I use mine like a chefs side towel so that’s probably why!
Note to self: buy new tea towels
What do you mean, “like a chef’s side towel”?
As in I don’t just use my tea towels to dry up crockery, I use it to wipe down surfaces, wipe spilled sauce off plates etc. I am a very keen cook and used to work in a kitchen so have two habits of pointlessly plating food up to restaraunt standard and wiping everything down with a towel.
Ah, thanks.