Re: chicken broth question

[Guest guest]

,

i found i had to cook it longer. i don't understand why but it seems to

take longer to get gelatin from a fresher, healthier chicken than a

supermarket one. but this has only been *my* experience.

I'm curious to hear what others have to say.

laura

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 04:01:37 -0000 " " <c_dairy@...> writes:

So yesterday we tried to make chicken broth from a whole, organic,

free-range (truly free-range, from what I could gather) chicken. We

cut up the neck and wings but left the rest whole, added vinegar,

skimmed (though there wasn't much to skim), let it barely simmer for

6 hours, then strained and put it in the fridge. Today it doesn't

look particularly gelatinous, and there is very little, somewhat

liquidy fat on the top. It tastes great, but definitely a little

thin.

Did I do something wrong? Or is this normal for chicken broth? (A

lot of the descriptors I've read were primarily being applied to

beef broth...)

At least dd seemed to enjoy having " broff " with her cod liver oil. :-

)

TIA,

[Guest guest]

:

That's exactly how mine came out.

Marie

chicken broth question

So yesterday we tried to make chicken broth from a whole, organic,

free-range (truly free-range, from what I could gather) chicken. We

cut up the neck and wings but left the rest whole, added vinegar,

skimmed (though there wasn't much to skim), let it barely simmer for

6 hours, then strained and put it in the fridge. Today it doesn't

look particularly gelatinous, and there is very little, somewhat

liquidy fat on the top. It tastes great, but definitely a little

thin.

Did I do something wrong? Or is this normal for chicken broth? (A

lot of the descriptors I've read were primarily being applied to

beef broth...)

At least dd seemed to enjoy having " broff " with her cod liver oil. :-

)

TIA,

[Guest guest]

I find I get the best gelatin from a BAKED chicken ... I boil the chicken

a little til it is barely done, then butterfly it over a bed of semi-cooked

vegies and bake it.

Then take all the juices and put them back in the soup. All those roasted

vegie flavors are great in the soup! My Kitchen Science book says that the

cartilage turns to gelatin in the presence of HEAT ... maybe boiling water isn't

hot enough.

It also depends on the age of the bird. An older chicken takes longer

for the cartilage to turn to gelatin. In a young bird, the bones aren't

quite " done " ... you can tell by the cartilage on the breastbone. It could

be that free-range birds are older ... they take longer to reach " fryer " weight

because they are getting exercise.

My book says if you overcook a young bird, it gets tough. If you undercook

and older bird, it is tough. Older birds are best cooked for a long time

at low heat (crock pot or water smoker style). So you have to vary your

cooking style for the type of bones you are dealing with.

Anyway, my baked chicken is LOADED with gelatin, it is rather solid

after being in the fridge. I can make quickie soup by just saving the

drippings without water and adding a bit to some water.

Of course the old books say you are really supposed to use

chicken feet (and heads) to make the soup good ... I have yet

to experiment with that however (tho I have some feet and heads

saved for just that occasion).

-- Heidi Jean

>So yesterday we tried to make chicken broth from a whole, organic,

>free-range (truly free-range, from what I could gather) chicken. We

>cut up the neck and wings but left the rest whole, added vinegar,

>skimmed (though there wasn't much to skim), let it barely simmer for

>6 hours, then strained and put it in the fridge. Today it doesn't

>look particularly gelatinous, and there is very little, somewhat

>liquidy fat on the top. It tastes great, but definitely a little

>thin.

[Guest guest]

Heidi-

>My Kitchen Science book says that the

>cartilage turns to gelatin in the presence of HEAT ... maybe boiling water

>isn't

>hot enough.

Interesting, but it contradicts my experience, which is that I get the most

gelatin when I keep the simmer to the barest minimum possible. That seems

to hold true regardless of whether I first roast the bird.

-

[Guest guest]

>Interesting, but it contradicts my experience, which is that I get the most

>gelatin when I keep the simmer to the barest minimum possible. That seems

>to hold true regardless of whether I first roast the bird.

>

>-

Hmmmm ... sounds like the need for a good experiment. There's gotta be

a book on gelatin somewheres ...

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

You won't get the gelatin by cooking it for such a short time period. I

simmer mine in a crock pot for two days.

[Guest guest]

Though I've never added vineger, everything else sounds normal. My guess is

you didn't condense the final product enough. If you aren't freezing it for

later use, the volume isn't really an issue, but reducing it by longer

simmering & not adding water will get you a very firm jello after it goes in

the fridge.

>So yesterday we tried to make chicken broth from a whole, organic,

>free-range (truly free-range, from what I could gather) chicken. We

>cut up the neck and wings but left the rest whole, added vinegar,

>skimmed (though there wasn't much to skim), let it barely simmer for

>6 hours, then strained and put it in the fridge. Today it doesn't

>look particularly gelatinous, and there is very little, somewhat

>liquidy fat on the top. It tastes great, but definitely a little

>thin.