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What's the secret to chicken stock with the richest chicken flavor? A chicken part you may only eat at a dim sum restaurant: feet. Stock cooked slowly and made from chicken feet and backs is full of collagen, so it becomes fully gelatinized when chilled, which gives it great heft and mouthfeel. Even more important, it tastes amazing. "It's the best tasting stock I've ever had," says c oliver. "I just kept eating spoonful after spoonful." Adding chicken feet to her stock made "an amazing difference," says chef chicklet. "I was finally able to get that flavor I was trying to achieve before. It's so full of flavor, and filling. Liquid gold," she says.
Chicken feet are sold at Chinese and Latin American markets, either fresh or frozen. Cut the nails off the feet with poultry shears or a large knife; this is "much easier than trying to get them completely clean of gunk underneath," says Melanie Wong. Melanie also blanches the feet and any other parts that haven't already been cooked, which she says gives "a clearer, cleaner stock without skimming."
An easy way to simmer stock for a long time with steady heat is to do it in a low oven all day or overnight. smtucker sets the oven at 180°F to make stock. "Totally amazing stock that has richness and fullness," even using roasted carcasses, she says.
Discuss: Best chicken stock ever – thanks to Sam Fujisaka and others
I finally tried this stock last week. It is, BY FAR, the most outrageously fantastic chicken stock I have ever made or eaten in my life. It far exceeds the quality of my mother's and grandmother's (see post of 12/3). I attribute the improvement to the combination of blanching and roasting. I cannot think of anything I've cooked previously that has made me feel so incredibly self-satisfied. And...+READ
I finally tried this stock last week. It is, BY FAR, the most outrageously fantastic chicken stock I have ever made or eaten in my life. It far exceeds the quality of my mother's and grandmother's (see post of 12/3). I attribute the improvement to the combination of blanching and roasting. I cannot think of anything I've cooked previously that has made me feel so incredibly self-satisfied. And bonus round: my DH, who wouldn't know the difference between beef bourgogne made by Julia herself and Dinty Moore beef stew said, "this is the best chicken soup I ever tasted." Thank you!-COLLAPSE
I have always made my stock by first roasting the chicken parts I will try to find feet here and add them the next time I make stock. I freeze it in ice cubes to make a quick addition to gravies etc as well. I heat it in the microwave in a cup with a clove of garlic when I have a cold or stuffed sinuses. Cheaper than anything you get at the drug store!
Why hasnt anyone mentioned the chicken heads for the stock?
I make chicken stock like a mad man, and am loath to ever throw a poultry part away without first extracting the flavor into stock. However, these two tips (feet, oven) sound FABULOUS. My own little tip for making stock? Leave out the celery or keep it to a bare minimum. Celery flavor seems to really concentrate and overpower the poultry flavor. Other ingredients I always include: onions (of...+READ
I make chicken stock like a mad man, and am loath to ever throw a poultry part away without first extracting the flavor into stock. However, these two tips (feet, oven) sound FABULOUS. My own little tip for making stock? Leave out the celery or keep it to a bare minimum. Celery flavor seems to really concentrate and overpower the poultry flavor. Other ingredients I always include: onions (of course, and no need to remove skins unless they're dirty), carrots (the sweetness is a great enhancement), fresh parsley, fresh thyme and bay leaves (but they MUST be from a bay tree, not the camphor-like California Bay that is so prevalent in spice aisles.)-COLLAPSE
OMG -- now I know why i've never been able to replicate my grandmother and mother's stock! Thank you so much for this posting! The feet are the secret.