Long time vegetarian roasted a chicken... need help with carcass ~

[FairyMom]

I haven't roasted a chicken in a very long time. My dh wants to eat low carb, so we are slowly adding meat (lean chicken, fish, and other poultry) back into our diet. I roasted a chicken based in beer with rosemary and onions from our garden. It was divine, but there's a carcass that I don't want to throw away. I know I can do something with it like stock, but how?

 

Thanks!!

[FairyMom]

Please, I don't want to throw it away. Can I make stock? How? How do I store it? Do I add seasonings now? :lurk5:

[OrganicAnn]

The easiest way is to break it up and put it into a crock pot with onions and carrots and celery and water (garlic and herbs too). Cook for 4 to 12 hours. Strain into freezer bags or mason jars and freeze.

 

Some cookbooks have recipes for what to add to stock (don't add strong tasting vegetables).

[joannqn]

Put it in a stock pot full of water. Add in some onions, celery, and carrots and let it simmer for a while. After about an hour or so, pull out the meat. Keep the meat in the fridge, break the bigger bones, and throw them back in the pot to simmer for a few hours. When ready, pour the broth through a colander over a big bowl to catch the broth. Discard the bones and veggies. Add the meat back in. Add in new carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. When they are starting to soften, add in eggs noodles for the final half hour of cooking. I like to add corn at this point. I use salt, pepper, thyme, and salsa for flavoring. It takes a lot of salt for a big pot of soup...just warning you. When veggies and noodles are soft, serve.

 

You can also use potatoes. If you do rice instead of noodles, add it early enough to cook through as it takes longer to cook

 

ETA: If I don't want to make soup, I freeze the stock in Gladware type containers I get from Walmart.

Edited September 5, 2012 by joannqn

[dollhouse]

You can definitely make stock. Just throw he carcass in a pot of water with a roughly chopped onion, some celery, and carrots. Season with herbs (such as thyme if you like) and simmer on the stove for an hour or two (longer is more flavorful). Strain and cool, skim off fat when cool if you like. You can freeze a chicken carcass and make a big batch when you have saved up a few, if you have a large stock pot. If you want to get fancy, you can google chicken stock recipes and find all kinds of variations.

[FairyMom]

The easiest way is to break it up and put it into a crock pot with onions and carrots and celery and water (garlic and herbs too). Cook for 4 to 12 hours. Strain into freezer bags or mason jars and freeze.

 

Some cookbooks have recipes for what to add to stock (don't add strong tasting vegetables).

 

It freezes! Good to know. Simmer for 4 to 12 hours? I don't have a crock pot.

[FO4UR]

I just boil the entire carcass for a long time. (several hours...or in the crockpot all day) Then strain out the bones, etc... Put it in the fridge over night, and strain the fat off the top in the am. Store it in the freezer in a ziploc or use it for a recipe that day.

 

 

 

You could just use a few big bones to make a broth, but I like to boil the whole thing to salvage any meat still left. I have a big stockpot with a strainer that fits right inside it, so that makes it easy to strain anyway.

 

 

 

I don't season the broth until I use it for the next meal.

[FairyMom]

You can definitely make stock. Just throw he carcass in a pot of water with a roughly chopped onion, some celery, and carrots. Season with herbs (such as thyme if you like) and simmer on the stove for an hour or two (longer is more flavorful). Strain and cool, skim off fat when cool if you like. You can freeze a chicken carcass and make a big batch when you have saved up a few, if you have a large stock pot. If you want to get fancy, you can google chicken stock recipes and find all kinds of variations.

 

Thank you! Can I freeze the stock after the veggies are added?

[FairyMom]

Put it in a stock pot full of water. Add in some onions, celery, and carrots and let it simmer for a while. After about an hour or so, pull out the meat. Keep the meat in the fridge, break the bigger bones, and throw them back in the pot to simmer for a few hours. When ready, pour the broth through a colander over a big bowl to catch the broth. Discard the bones and veggies. Add the meat back in. Add in new carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. When they are starting to soften, add in eggs noodles for the final half hour of cooking. I like to add corn at this point. I use salt, pepper, thyme, and salsa for flavoring. It takes a lot of salt for a big pot of soup...just warning you. When veggies and noodles are soft, serve.

 

You can also use potatoes. If you do rice instead of noodles, add it early enough to cook through as it takes longer to cook

 

ETA: If I don't want to make soup, I freeze the stock in Gladware type containers I get from Walmart.

 

Thank you!!

[FairyMom]

I just boil the entire carcass for a long time. (several hours...or in the crockpot all day) Then strain out the bones, etc... Put it in the fridge over night, and strain the fat off the top in the am. Store it in the freezer in a ziploc or use it for a recipe that day.

 

 

 

You could just use a few big bones to make a broth, but I like to boil the whole thing to salvage any meat still left. I have a big stockpot with a strainer that fits right inside it, so that makes it easy to strain anyway.

 

 

 

I don't season the broth until I use it for the next meal.

 

Other than health benefits, is there any reason to skim off the fat from the broth?

[LibraryLover]

Throw all the chicken bits into large pot, cover with water, and then some. Add salt, pepper corns, a few bits of celery, some cut carrots, a halved whole onion, and a couple of unpeeled garlic cloves. Cover pot. When it comes to a boil, turn down to simmer. Simmer it for a couple of hours. Add more water, if needed. Strain it. Dump the bits, save the liquid.

 

Stock. :)

Edited September 6, 2012 by LibraryLover

[joannqn]

BTW, I break the bones to get the marrow out. It's good for you.

[FairyMom]

BTW, I break the bones to get the marrow out. It's good for you.

 

What do you do with the marrow?

[FairyMom]

I think we had this conversation a few days ago, no?

 

Yep, we did. :tongue_smilie:

 

OP- throw all the stuff in a pot, cover with water, and then some. Add salt, pepper corns, a few bits of celery, some cut carrots, a halved onion, and a couple of unpeeled garlic cloves. Cover pot. When it comes to a boil, turn down to simmer. Simmer it for a couple of hours. Add more water, if needed. Strain it. Dump the bits, save the liquid.

 

Stock.

 

Add me to the list of people stupid enough to reply.

 

Didn't know there was another thread. I've been working. Thanks for the reply.

[LibraryLover]

Didn't know there was another thread. I've been working. Thanks for the reply.

 

 

Breaking the bones just lets the marrow out. It's nothing you see etc. If you add something acidic (I add apple cider vinegar), it helps extract the marrow without having to snap bone.

[joannqn]

What do you do with the marrow?

 

Let it soak into the broth. You won't see it.

[OrganicAnn]

4 to 12 hours is only if you are using a crockpot.

 

For stock, you strain out all the vegetables and meat leaving a clear liquid.

 

Skim the fat is to make it healthier. You may want to leave a little to add flavor.

 

Don't add salt. You can always add salt to your final recipe.

 

Break the bones and the marrow becomes part of the stock. Marrow is gelatinous.

 

Stock freezes well.

[FairyMom]

Breaking the bones just lets the marrow out. It's nothing you see etc. If you add something acidic (I add apple cider vinegar), it helps extract the marrow without having to snap bone.

 

Good to know, thank you. I have that in the pantry. :)

[FairyMom]

Let it soak into the broth. You won't see it.

 

Thanks. :)

[FairyMom]

4 to 12 hours is only if you are using a crockpot.

 

For stock, you strain out all the vegetables and meat leaving a clear liquid.

 

Skim the fat is to make it healthier. You may want to leave a little to add flavor.

 

Don't add salt. You can always add salt to your final recipe.

 

Break the bones and the marrow becomes part of the stock. Marrow is gelatinous.

 

Stock freezes well.

 

Thanks for the suggestion about the salt. I wasn't sure. There was a little salt on the outside of the chicken, but with the amount of water, I don't think that will matter.

[FO4UR]

Other than health benefits, is there any reason to skim off the fat from the broth?

 

 

Taste.

[FairyMom]

Taste.

 

Good to know, thanks.

[alpidarkomama]

I usually throw all the bones into the crockpot on low. I'm lazy, so I just add onions, garlic and water. When it's done I discard all the solids and salt to taste. For dinner, I heat it up, and stir in 8 beaten eggs. For my soup, I add rice vinegar, chili sauce, and cornstarch. Either way, it's good. I feel like it's a free meal! :)

[KungFuPanda]

I use my crockpot, but I saw you don't have one. You can use a pressure cooker too, or simmer in a pot. Simmer until the carrots have no flavor at all. If you taste a carrot and it's delicious, it needs to cook longer so the broth can steal all that flavor. Strain your broth with a soup strainer, or colander lined with cheese cloth.

 

Cool the broth and stick it in the fridge. When it cools, the fat will solidify on top and be EASY to remove. If you don't skim the fat, your stock will taste greasy instead of rich and wonderful. Your broth will look like jello. This means you did it right :-) It freezes beautifully. I use quart-sized freezer bags. I don't season with more than salt and pepper until I use my broth in a dish. We like lots if Italian seasoning in chicken soup :-)

 

Because it's a production, you CAN just freeze the carcass until you have several and then make a ton of stock at once. You should know that turkey bones make AMAZING stock. You may cry a little when you run out. Keep this in mind when the holidays approach.

[justasque]

I do mine in the crockpot. When it's done, I use a ladle to scoop out portions, then pour them through a strainer into a 1-cup container. Then, I freeze it. I have found this is easier than trying to remove all the bones and spent veggies.

 

I freeze my one-cup containers. I put them in the fridge first to cool. You can skim the fat off at this point if you like.

 

OP, if eating straight broth will skeeve you out, another option is to use the broth for the liquid when you make rice. I usually leave the fat in, because it's just the right amount for rice; I don't add any additional fat. I just pull a cup (or usually two) from the freezer, run it under hot water to release the block of broth, and put it right into my rice cooker. Add the rice and cook as usual. The broth will defrost as the rice cooks.

 

If you plan to do this often, you can keep a zip-loc in your freezer for veggie scraps. The outer layer of onions (not the papery stuff, but the tough layer under that), stems of chard, ends of celery, etc. Nothing dirty, nothing slimy, nothing moldy. When it's time to make broth, just dump the bag's contents into the pot with the bones.

[skimomma]

I think we had this conversation a few days ago, no?

 

Yep, we did. :tongue_smilie:

 

OP- throw all the stuff in a pot, cover with water, and then some. Add salt, pepper corns, a few bits of celery, some cut carrots, a halved onion, and a couple of unpeeled garlic cloves. Cover pot. When it comes to a boil, turn down to simmer. Simmer it for a couple of hours. Add more water, if needed. Strain it. Dump the bits, save the liquid.

 

Stock.

 

Add me to the list of people stupid enough to reply.

 

I started the other thread, so you are not stupid. :) Different people. And I did make stock with mine....in a crockpot.

 

ETA: But amusingly I thought this was my thread at first and was all confused because my name was not listed as the OP. Eerily similar thread title, eh?

[celticmom]

If you use the stock in a recipe you may need to adjust the salt in the recipe since your broth will have much less salt than store-bought broth. Even if you add more salt than the recipe calls for you will probably have much less overall salt than you would have had using commercial broth.

[celticmom]

The fat can actually be used in some recipes. I believe duck fat is regarded as highly desirable.