# Roast chicken question... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803 "2013-11-26T05:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/21 "2013-11-27T17:22:19Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > OK, I have all the ingredients ready to go when I have time to cook (probably Friday night; it’d go good with Thanksgiving leftovers). > > Remaining questions: how exactly do I know when it’s “ready” (post 2 above says when the carcass “falls apart”; what exactly does that mean?)?.. Taste is important too. If your stock still tastes a bit watery, leave it to simmer and reduce a while longer (with the lid off your pan to aid evaporation.) ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/22 "2013-11-27T18:17:22Z")
I generally simmer (barely a bubble breaking the surface here and there), you don’t want it at a rolling boil, for 6-8 hours. Can’t wait to toss the turkey carcass in the pot tomorrow night! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/23 "2013-11-29T11:06:18Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Also, after straining, put the broth into a tall pitcher and stick it in the fridge overnight. The fat will rise to the top and solidify, so it’s easy to take off. If you simmer the carcass long enough, the broth might jell, and you’ve made aspic. It will melt as soon as you heat it up again for even tastier soup. I’ve reread this post a couple of times, and I’m not quite sure if I understand those last two sentences. Do they go together? (It’s important so I can figure out if it’s worth delaying my soup for another day to do this fat thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/24 "2013-11-29T11:10:10Z")
Yes, they go together. Both the fat and the jellified broth (aspic, uh?) are solids; the fat can be scratched off surprisingly easily and the jelly will melt with just a bit of heating; for example, you can melt it and then add it to mashed potatoes. The same procedure works on roasting juices: pour into something tall (rather than letting it solidify in the pan, or washing it off), stick into fridge, scrape fat off, melt solidified non-fat portion upon use. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/25 "2013-11-29T18:04:05Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’ve reread this post a couple of times, and I’m not quite sure if I understand those last two sentences. Do they go together? (It’s important so I can figure out if it’s worth delaying my soup for another day to do this fat thing.) Basically, if you have enough bone in your stock (which provides gelatin) and simmer long enough (so you have a reduced amount of liquid that the amount of gelatin you have can gel), your stock will gelatinize when you put it in the fridge. So, in other words, when you cool your stock in the fridge, the fat will rise to the top and solidify. You might have a liquid mass below that, or a gelatinous mass below that, depending on whether your cooking has rendered enough gelatin for the amount of liquid out of the bones. If it’s a gelatinous mass, it’ll liquifiy easily with a little heat. Gelatinized stock is good. As for doing the fat thing, that’s up to you. If there’s not a lot of skin on the bird, I don’t worry about defatting. If I’m cooking whole bird parts with the skin on, yeah, gotta defat that or else you’ll have an awful oil slick on top of your stock. The easiest way to get rid of all of it is the fridge method. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/26 "2013-11-29T18:38:20Z")
Defatting stock is easiest in the fridge, but it does take time. When I roast a bird or a chunk of beef, I usually want to serve the liquid with the meal, but I don’t want a lot of fat in the liquid. So I have a fat separator. It will separate most of the liquid in just a couple of minutes, as opposed to several hours. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/27 "2013-11-29T18:48:17Z")
And [here’s what a fat separator looks like](http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-grips-4-cup-fat-separator/1013355266?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenfoodprep_&gclid=CI-TrZnUirsCFcKDQgod5SEAiA) for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/28 "2013-11-29T19:01:07Z")
Yep, that’s a fat separator all right. There’s an amazing amount of fat in most chickens, even if you don’t add fat when you prepare the bird. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/29 "2013-11-29T19:16:35Z")
You can also save the fat (like I like to do) and use it for frying onions and the like. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/30 "2013-11-29T21:25:58Z")
Heck yeah! Save that fat! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/31 "2013-11-30T00:10:27Z")
Sometimes I peel and cut up potatoes, onions, and carrots, and give them a light coating of chicken fat, and roast them. I stir every now and then. This is incredibly good. For some reason, beef fat doesn’t work as well for this. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/32 "2013-11-30T02:11:24Z")
I always roast the carcass until it’s nice and brown before I start boiling it. It gets really yummy that way. Put a bit of onion and garlic in with it, and then chop them up into the broth. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/33 "2013-11-30T02:20:36Z")
I’ve done this. The way the chickens are roasted in the supermarket there’s a TON of fat in the remaining base carcass of the chicken. Boil them to pieces for a soup and you get a very oily broth, it’s basically watery chicken fat. Better IMO to remove the meat you can get off and get some pre-made low fat chicken stock for soups. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/34 "2013-11-30T04:21:24Z")
Ugh, someone couldn’t have told me this before I got the ingredients? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/35 "2013-11-30T16:39:21Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I’ve done this. The way the chickens are roasted in the supermarket there’s a TON of fat in the remaining base carcass of the chicken. Boil them to pieces for a soup and you get a very oily broth, it’s basically watery chicken fat. Better IMO to remove the meat you can get off and get some pre-made low fat chicken stock for soups. I haven’t had this problem Separating out the fat is quite easy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/36 "2013-11-30T17:11:56Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I haven’t had this problem Separating out the fat is quite easy. Indeed. Doing it today for my turkey stock. Takes maybe 30 seconds. As someone noted above, cool the stock in a tall pitcher so you don’t have a lot of surface area. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/37 "2013-12-01T00:31:31Z")
OK, so following the “chill overnight” suggestion will help with **astro’s** problem? How about a cereal container? Is that tall enough? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/38 "2013-12-01T01:16:02Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > OK, so following the “chill overnight” suggestion will help with **astro’s** problem? How about a cereal container? Is that tall enough? I don’t know what a cereal container is, but anything will work. It’s just that the taller and thinner the better. You could use a big bowl, and it still wouldn’t be all that much work to skim the chilled fat off the top. It’s very close to being a solid, and will come off in chunks. You just scrape if off with a spoon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/39 "2013-12-01T01:40:26Z")
Yeah, I don’t bother putting it in a pitcher, just a 5 quart dutch oven. The layer of fat will be thinner, but it’ll still be easy to remove. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803/40 "2013-12-01T08:25:05Z")
I just put the lid on the pot I cooked it in, and stick the whole thing in the fridge after it’s not so hot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roast-chicken-question/674803.md?page=3)