I made the base chicken stock the other day it turned out great. I am makeing sure to always to save bones for future stock.

I sometimes smoke chicken and other poltry, I was wondering have you ever tried to make a stock out of smoked chicken bones? If so what might I use a smoke stock for?

Jim

You could use your leftover smoked bones for making a stock a broth. You could use the stock in many dishes - from stews, braises to soups (split pea and ham for example). Even clear broth soups or any soup that uses a stock or broth. Really, when it comes to using the stock, it just comes down to thinking about what dishes you want to impart a slight (that's assuming the stock is not too strong) smokey flavor to. Hope this helps. Cheers!

What a coincidence that this topic shows up today. Just this morning I re-discovered a youtube channel by Michael Pardus, who is a teacher at the CIA. He has a couple of videos that cover consomme: http://youtu.be/1kCt5XHKDCk

Hello!

I've made both dark and light broth after watching your tutorials. A few questions if you don't mind: When do you blanch when making a dark broth? Before or after frying? If before then I'm guessing the meat has to be dried before frying?

Both my dark and light broths came out quite opaque, even though I didn't boil the broth and skimmed it regularly. Could it be that I'm cooking them too long? (about 2 hours total, removing chicken after about 45 mins).

Thanks.

When making dark broth, it's best not to blanch the meat. It will be much harder to obtain a good color and a good sear when browning the meat due to all of the excess moisture.

Not sure what to say in terms of the liquid being opaque. If the broth wasn't boiled, if it was skimmed periodically and if it was handled gently during straining, it should be fine. The main thing to focus on is that it has excellent flavor. Most stocks and broths aren't "crystal clear" but they shouldn't be murky and or greasy. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I'm about to make chicken broth, per the lesson, but before I start, I wanted to ask a couple of questions:

1) Once the bones are returned to the broth (once the meat has been removed and set aside), why is the broth simmered for only one additional hour, rather than the four hours total that one would simmer chicken stock?

2) I second Norland's question: although blanching creates a clearer chicken stock, does it come with the disadvantage of losing some flavor when the water is discarded?

Thanks for your help! I can't wait to make some delicious broth =)

In total, the bones and mirepoix do end up cooking for a couple of hours but you could simmer them a bit longer if you like. It mostly just comes down to how much time you have and of course making sure you don't cook the broth so long that the mirepoix stats to break down and disintegrate.

As for whether or not blanching causes the broth to have less flavor, the short time it takes to blanch the bones does not really affect the intensity of the overall flavor. To really know for yourself, experiment by making two broths. Blanch one and not the other and see if there is any difference in clarity and/or flavor between the two.

Good luck Yaara and happy broth making!

Hello Everybody...I have been making broth for years and usually make it based on Marcella Hazan's method with meat, and/or chicken and vegetables and get great results. I have been using Jacques Pepin's Essential Pepin cookbook lately and am very impressed. However, his chicken stock mystifies me...it calls for 4 lbs chicken bones, onion, herbes de provence, 4 bay leaves, 1 tbsp soy sauce (optional) and 12 cloves! I am mystified why he would do this. Does anyone know? I guess this question should really be with the stock videos...Rozanne

This is very common in France . A french chef/ home cook will push whole cloves into an onion for chicken stock/broth. If you feel 12 cloves are a bit much, cut it in half and add to taste during cooking.

I first want to thank you for these lessons! I have been making stocks for a while now and still learnt a lot from them, but I could never find a proper comparison/definition of stock over broths (here in spain: fondos vs caldos) some mentioned that stocks do not use salt in case they are used for a reduction later, others mentioned that stocks were reduced broths..until it all became clear with your lesson! :) I am so grateful!

Anyway, about the doubt I meant to ask..you mention in the stock lesson how the merkiness of water is normal and it will become clear as long as it is not moved as proteins coagulate. Why then, in the broth is it a common practice to strain off that initial merky water (blanch) and starting covering again with cold water? Wouldn't that merkiness subside as in stocks or due to all the meat, even if slowly simmered, it could result in a not so clear broth unless done? Thanks again!

You certainly can blanch both stock and broth if clarity is of utmost importance. In broth production, there is more protein (because there is more meat) but the exposed bones in stock also provide ample opportunity for impurities, etc to come into solution. The clouding is also impacted by the specific pH of the water in your area. More alkaline water can emulsify fat and keep that in the solution. Enjoy!

Thanks for the clarification Ken...I had never heard about how water pH may affect emulsification, that is interesting!!I have some pH paper, so I'll test to know! :)

Hi All

Hope you are all having a spectacular week.

I want to make the best chicken broth possible and I have lots of time. Once I remove the meat from the chicken bones and put the bones back into the broth with the mirepoix how long should I simmer the broth for maximum flavor? Is overnight too much?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Hi Dave- Regarding your question, overnight is usually OK as long as you are safe and know that it is kept at a slow, low simmer. You don't want it to go too quickly, nor do you want a warm pot of stock sitting around for hours at a temperature that may encourage bacterial growth.

Chicken bones are small in comparison to say, beef bones, so at some point there is a diminishing return on the time. I've found that simmering for 3-4 hours or so is good, overnight perhaps better, but there's only so much flavor to extract. I hope this helps!

A good way to really see the how much flavor and how long it takes to extract that flavor from the ingredients when making a broth or stock, is to taste the ingredients along the way.

For instance, after half an hour, taste a carrot or a small piece of meat from the bones (once the meat and/or bones are cooked of course) and then try the same thing after an hour of cooking. Then again after an hour and a half. You will be surprised just how much flavor those ingredients give up in a relatively short period of time. Once those ingredients taste bland, there is no real benefit to cooking the stock or broth any longer. They have served their purpose of flavoring the water. And if cooked too long, they can start to break down or disintegrate into the liquid.

Does that make sense Dave? I just remember doing this when I first started making stocks and it really helped me have a better understanding of timing etc. In fact, I just did this yesterday while making a vegetable stock. I am still always surprised just how bland the vegetables taste after the stock has finished cooking. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Thanks Ken and Dawn yes the information did help.

My broth turned out great. What I think I will do next time is cook the meat, remove the meat from the bone, put the bones back into the broth. At this point let cook for the longest period of time. I want to get all the marrow and connective tissues transformed into flavor. Once I'm satisfied I've got all the flavor than I will add the mirepoix. This way, as you said Dawn I don't want the mirepoix to break down.

Thanks for the help guys.

Sounds good Dave. Also, wanted to point out that it's not just the mirepoix that can break down — the bones can also start to break down. Cheers!

OK I'm cool with that : )

I was wondering about what to do with the skin when it's cooked and you remove the chicken, separate the meat from the bones, refrigerate the meat, and put the bones back in the broth to extract more flavor. It seems like the skin is pretty played out by that point and has nothing to contribute to added flavor.

Should it just be discarded at that point or is there some other use for it that I'm missing?

Cheers.

Hi Roger- You are correct, after many hours of simmering, the skin has been "pretty well played" out as you say.

I suspect there are some culinary applications (i.e. it can be emulsified for a terrine, fried to make crispy skin bits) but it is most likely destined for the compost, trash, or dog bowl. I hope this helps, enjoy!