So imagine my surprise when we discuss how to actually make chicken stock and the difference between stock and broth. So here was my advice:
- Never, ever, ever let the bones you are using boil, you're trying to gently suck out the flavor and collagen from these bones. To put it this way: Massage the flavor out of the bones, don't punch the flavor out.
- I know you want to, really, really, really want to- but do not stir the stock. It just sends impurities throughout your stock as opposed to gently(because we're not boiling it!) floating to the top where they belong(so's you can skim the scum).
- Lastly, don't cover it. You want a really flavorful stock, so you concentrate it as much as possible, leaving a cover on does not help it reduce to the yummy and rich stock you want.
- The difference between a stock and a broth is simply this: you boil a whole chicken, you's making a broth. Stock is made from bones. Broth is made from meat. Bones...meat...*childish giggle*
- You may not know this if you buy chicken stock in can (which I do a lot, I am not ashamed to admit) but a really well made stock, when cooled, is more like Jell-O than like soup. That's because you were a good little monkey and massaged the collagen out of the bones, and guess what Jell-O is made from???
Oh gawd, that random quotation mark will haunt me forever.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you just spelled God like a hillbilly debutante will let you sleep tonight? Anyway, thanks for the stock vs broth tips. Kind of timely as well because I've been wanting to make my own soup. Here's my own brand of idiocy: Won't boiling the chicken for your broth render it unserviceable for use in the soup? Boiled chicken always sounded nasty and now I don't know what is better for the soup I was thinking about. Stock or broth?
ReplyDeleteJill
Not really anonymous, I just don't have any of those trendy accounts they asked for. Maybe I'll make a live journal.
If you boil a chicken you will ruin it. A broth has other flavors like carrot, onion and celery, and whatever herbs you feel like using. Remember, its being simmered(and less likely to overcook and be gross) and essentially infusing yummy flavors into the meat.
ReplyDeleteBroth will not have the same richness as stock, but it will do if you're looking for a lighter base for your soup.
Ok, so can I use the same chicken to make the broth as I put in the soup? Should I cook the chicken first? I really am helpless in the kitchen unless I'm directly following a recipe. Maybe I'll just call you before I attempt this.
ReplyDeleteYes, roasting or browning the chicken before you make a broth out of it will definitely add tons of flavor, and yes, you can use the same chicken. Why waste all that meat?
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