Wabi Sabi Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Taking chicken bones off of plates after a meal and using them to make stock? These are bones from meat that has already been served and your family has eaten off of them. Gross or acceptable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Maybe both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I haven't done this because my husband thinks its gross but I think its perfectly acceptable. The boiling will kill any germs and the bones themselves get removed. The gross objection just doesn't seem reasonable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Do you think it's grosser to cook raw meat for six hours or to cook cooked meat for six hours? I'm gonna go with they are equal. No big deal. But hey, different people have different family taboos, and woe unto he who violates one of those deeply-embedded beliefs. It will make everything it touches unclean. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Gross! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Even though my logical side says no big deal since it's going to be boiled, my squeamish side says Eww! I vote gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Even though my logical side says no big deal since it's going to be boiled, my squeamish side says Eww! I vote gross. :iagree: If money is REALLY tight, then I'd say do what you've got to do. Or maybe debone the meat before serving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Gross. :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 :ack2: :ack2: :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaM Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I wouldn't do it with guest bones but with my own family? I have never even considered that it might be gross. If I am willing to kiss them on their snotty (and lovely) little faces then eating broth made with boiled chicken bones they ate off of seems pretty inconsequential LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 If I'm planning to use the bones for stock, I take the meat off before serving it. I don't think I would use bones that were served on someone's plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Gross.:ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Acceptable. How could it be any worse than raw meat/bones? But I wouldn't tell anyone I'd done it because too many people think it's gross. After living overseas in various places, I have come to realize that boiling covers many sins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I wouldn't do it with guest bones but with my own family? I have never even considered that it might be gross. If I am willing to kiss them on their snotty (and lovely) little faces then eating broth made with boiled chicken bones they ate off of seems pretty inconsequential LOL. :iagree: Maybe I'll think differently when they are older, but using their boiled chicken bones seems a lot less disgusting than having their snotty boogers wiped on me as they kiss me, wiping their butts, and cleaning their vomit. But we may be the most disgusting family on here since I keep their uneaten food for leftovers. I'm not sure why the food becomes gross once it leaves the serving plate and resides on their individual plates. These are kids that share baths and showers, and I share more intimate things with dh. A little leftover food sharing seems pretty minor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 My kids are 9, 16 and 20, and I'll still pick up bones of their plates, nibble a bit of extra meat off them, and toss them in the crock pot overnight. But i refuse to fear cooties . . . i mean, if someone is sick, i wont take their bones. but otherwise? I even sometimes put food the youngest didnt eat back in with the leftovers. call me gross, i'll call you uptight! i think our cleanliness obsessions do nothing to make us healthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Gross! I debone the chicken meat before serving, so I can have "clean" bones for stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I'm trying to remember what I've done in the past. I think I usually just use the chicken carcass or any bones left on the serving plate. It doesn't really gross me out though...not anymore than a chicken carcass (or raw chicken). :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 :iagree: Maybe I'll think differently when they are older, but using their boiled chicken bones seems a lot less disgusting than having their snotty boogers wiped on me as they kiss me, wiping their butts, and cleaning their vomit. But we may be the most disgusting family on here since I keep their uneaten food for leftovers. I'm not sure why the food becomes gross once it leaves the serving plate and resides on their individual plates. These are kids that share baths and showers, and I share more intimate things with dh. A little leftover food sharing seems pretty minor. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kel & the Kids Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Huh. Never occurred to me not to! I mean I boil them for HOURS right? If I didn't do that I'd have to buy more canned soup which would have to be *more* gross, don't you think? Maybe I won't mention it to anyone anymore though :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Acceptable if no one has sucked on them! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Acceptable if no one has sucked on them! :lol: :iagree: On the rare occasion that I serve chicken with bones, I can guarantee that nobody's fork or knife even touched the bone, let alone their mouth or even fingers. That's the reason I don't often cook chicken with bones- too much waste. So the bones from the plates are fair game for soup here- especially because one child will often get a separate plate for the bones so she can get them away from her other food. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 :iagree: If money is REALLY tight, then I'd say do what you've got to do. Or maybe debone the meat before serving it. Yes. Debone prior to serving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Acceptable. Seriously, I have all those same germs. The twins - I wipe their poop-covered bottoms and snotty little noses and get big wet kisses from them. DD - she helps me cook all the time. I promise, whatever she has helped cook has grosser stuff in it than her chicken leftovers. We're still working on some of the niceties of sanitation. DW - not to be graphic but I kiss her. Crazy huh? So something that's been somewhere near her fork which was used to bring food to her mouth....not really gross. Then I'm going to take all those germs which we all already share, and annihilate them in boiling water for 24hours. With vinegar. I don't get where the grossness comes in. Yes, I use different standards for company. But really, my life contains so many more disgusting things than a boiled chicken bone that it doesn't even register. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Yes, I use different standards for company. But really, my life contains so many more disgusting things than a boiled chicken bone that it doesn't even register. :lol: Isn't that the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2Es Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I do it all the time. I take the bones and put them in the freezer until I have enough to make stock. Where else are you going to get your bones? By wasting perfectly a perfectly good raw chicken? The instructions I have for stock involve cleaning and pre-roasting the bones anyway, so that kills off most of the people germs before they hit the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I totally take the bones off plates when I make stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galatea Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 You mean if you eat bone-in chicken, then use those bones for stock? I'm having a hard time understanding where "gross" even enters into that. That's how people always made stock, for thousands of years. It's the reason so many broth soups and stocks exist, because the bone still has nutrients and flavor and they didn't want to waste it. And you're going to boil it! How can that be gross? I'm so confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 You mean if you eat bone-in chicken, then use those bones for stock? I'm having a hard time understanding where "gross" even enters into that. That's how people always made stock, for thousands of years. It's the reason so many broth soups and stocks exist, because the bone still has nutrients and flavor and they didn't want to waste it. And you're going to boil it! How can that be gross? I'm so confused. :iagree: I'm wondering if the people who think this is disgusting buy cartons or cans of broth or stock from the supermarket? Because I'm pretty sure that what goes into the giant stock-making vats in those factories is a lot more disgusting than the bones of a home-roasted chicken that one's own family just nibbled! ;) Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 :iagree:I'm wondering if the people who think this is disgusting buy cartons or cans of broth or stock from the supermarket? Because I'm pretty sure that what goes into the giant stock-making vats in those factories is a lot more disgusting than the bones of a home-roasted chicken that one's own family just nibbled! ;) Jackie :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I think it's fine. But we probably do hundreds of things that would gross out the more particular souls among you. Right now I'm looking at the comments about whether anybody's knife or fork might have touched the chicken bone, and I'm thinking "What?! People use cutlery to eat chicken on the bone?!" because my lot just grab the wings and drumsticks with their fingers to devour while I'm slicing up the breast meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I do it. The soup will get boiled. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 You mean if you eat bone-in chicken, then use those bones for stock? I'm having a hard time understanding where "gross" even enters into that. That's how people always made stock, for thousands of years. It's the reason so many broth soups and stocks exist, because the bone still has nutrients and flavor and they didn't want to waste it. And you're going to boil it! How can that be gross? I'm so confused. :iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I'm wondering if the people who think this is disgusting buy cartons or cans of broth or stock from the supermarket? :lol: I think it only seems gross if you sit around and ponder it. I think most factory farms are pretty gross too. Heck, my aunt had a pig, a cow, goats, and some chickens for a while in a little farm behind her house. Oh my God. The coop for the hens...whew...that sucker smelled. There were probably only five or ten of them in there. I won't mention the pig. I had watched a lot of educational children's programming on what a near genius the pig was, and I completely believed it. Until I saw a pig close up. And smelled it. That just doesn't look like genius to me. Or smell like it. But we may be the most disgusting family on here since I keep their uneaten food for leftovers. I'm not sure why the food becomes gross once it leaves the serving plate and resides on their individual plates. It's not residing on their plates. It's the mixing with their saliva. My husband grew up without a frig, and his mother is a firm believer from experience and observation that eaten or touched food spoils faster. We have seen it in our house. Someone's leftovers (kept in a little bowl in the frig) start to have an "off" smell even hours later. Food that no one touched does not spoil for much longer. This is because the frig just slows down the multiplication of bacteria, but the contaminated one spoils faster. It's kind of gross actually. So on that one, I disagree, especially if I have a big container of leftovers that I'm hoping to last for two days or something, not just until dinner. Or maybe it's just my kids who mash everything on their plate between their fingers and otherwise ensure it is exposed to every bacteria possible. :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I have absolutely no problems doing this with family. I figure anyone I'm willing to kiss, I shouldn't worry about some germs from bones that get tossed right into the stock pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Certainly no grosser than what happened to the chicken during the butchering process. Far LESS gross than letting a kid eat a conventional chicken nugget. :tongue_smilie: I have been making stock this way since I was a kid, both when times were tight and times were financially comfortable. It is quite reasonable and totally safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 My husband grew up without a frig, and his mother is a firm believer from experience and observation that eaten or touched food spoils faster. We have seen it in our house. Someone's leftovers (kept in a little bowl in the frig) start to have an "off" smell even hours later. Food that no one touched does not spoil for much longer. This is because the frig just slows down the multiplication of bacteria, but the contaminated one spoils faster. It's kind of gross actually. So on that one, I disagree, especially if I have a big container of leftovers that I'm hoping to last for two days or something, not just until dinner. Or maybe it's just my kids who mash everything on their plate between their fingers and otherwise ensure it is exposed to every bacteria possible. :ack2: Eaten or touched food probably does spoil faster, but I've never noticed it while using my refrigerator. Our leftovers always last for days. I rarely toss anything out for spoiling. I would think that leftover which spoil within a few hours of being served weren't in the best condition when served. I may be wrong, but I've never had anything spoil that quickly. Or maybe we have tougher stomachs over here. We aren't afraid of germs or dirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Eaten or touched food probably does spoil faster, but I've never noticed it while using my refrigerator. Our leftovers always last for days. I rarely toss anything out for spoiling. I would think that leftover which spoil within a few hours of being served weren't in the best condition when served. I may be wrong, but I've never had anything spoil that quickly. Or maybe we have tougher stomachs over here. We aren't afraid of germs or dirt. :iagree: We also keep leftovers off plates if there's a fair bit left. Our leftovers are usually eaten by the next meal and since we do have a refrigerator they are never anywhere near spoiled. The only time I have leftovers spoil is when I lose them in the back of the fridge for a week or longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 No, they are talking about . . .give the 9 yo a chicken leg, he picks it up and eats the meat (some of it) off the leg. I pick up that leg that he has bitten and use it for stock. Some ppl think thats gross they are not saying its gross to make stock, just that its gross to take bones which someone has chewed meat from and making stock. and i think its all in your head. stock is boiled. unless someone is sick, there's no problem. and i wont buy canned stock, but that has to do w strange food allergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Timely thread, as I was debating the very thing last night as I was cleaning up after a chicken dinner. I lean toward acceptable, because they're boiled for almost 24 hours here. DH leans toward gross but knows that the gross response is irrational :lol: As someone mentioned upthread, I often wonder what the general response to something like this would be in other countries. I feel like we're conditioned to be hyper-concerned over things like this, even when there's no logical reason to have fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I wouldn't do it with guest bones but with my own family? I have never even considered that it might be gross. If I am willing to kiss them on their snotty (and lovely) little faces then eating broth made with boiled chicken bones they ate off of seems pretty inconsequential LOL. This. although as someone said, cooking for 6 hours should kill anything... I hadn't considered that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I do that all the time. Of course, we don't pick up pieces of chicken and eat from it directly here, so maybe it would make a difference if someone had sat there sucking on the bone for awhile. But I cook my stock for twelve hours, so I'm not too worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Didn't read all the replies yet... We avoid that whole situation by cooking the chicken in the crock pot. By the time it's done, you can serve the chicken and already have some excellent stock left over in the crock pot. I just strain the cooking juices straight into mason jars; no extra bone boiling required. :) Saves time and effort and avoids possible yuck factor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galatea Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I assumed they meant individual pieces of chicken that one noshed on. KWIM? Not where the meat has been cut off (like a whole chicken). I don't think it's gross either, but I do kinda understand the idea of "gross" if it's something someone licked off of. (But again, that doesn't bother me either because I cook the bones forever.) I assume that too. Hey, if I serve fried chicken and my family chews and licks on the bones to get all the little bits off, I would still use those bones for stock. That's the whole point of using bones for stock! It's to get the nutrients and flavor out of the bones! Maybe some people think it's gross for me to say that, but I wouldn't care at all about a little saliva on a bone I'm going to boil for hours. I know people throw away bones all the time, I do it myself, but if I was planning on making or needing stock, a little saliva wouldn't scare me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Totally acceptable (though I won't bother guests with it!!). Can't pass up the free meal. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Gross on a completely emotional and unscientific level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I assume that too. Hey, if I serve fried chicken and my family chews and licks on the bones to get all the little bits off, I would still use those bones for stock. That's the whole point of using bones for stock! It's to get the nutrients and flavor out of the bones! Maybe some people think it's gross for me to say that, but I wouldn't care at all about a little saliva on a bone I'm going to boil for hours. I know people throw away bones all the time, I do it myself, but if I was planning on making or needing stock, a little saliva wouldn't scare me. I've been making broth with "used" bones for years and it never once occurred to me that it would be gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) You mean if you eat bone-in chicken, then use those bones for stock? I'm having a hard time understanding where "gross" even enters into that. That's how people always made stock, for thousands of years. It's the reason so many broth soups and stocks exist, because the bone still has nutrients and flavor and they didn't want to waste it. And you're going to boil it! How can that be gross? I'm so confused. SO true. How is it gross? Cans of mushroom and chicken from-who-knows-where-- now THAT is gross to me. Yet folks use ('where did that come from?') cans of cream of ick *all the time*. Edited October 11, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMWB Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Acceptable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.