Keep those carcasses! Stock comparison


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Keri C

TVWBB Wizard
Don't throw out those trimmings from the onions and celery during your Thanksgiving meal prep. Keep all those carcasses, bones, and excess skin from your roasted and (even better) smoked birds, and make a big pot of stock.

I've had a 30-qt turkey frying pot bubbling on my range since about 8:00 pm last night, with two complete smoked turkey carcasses, a pile of smoked chicken carcasses, all the smoked/roasted skin that I pulled from the birds at the various meals, miscellaneous necks and backs that I've kept from cutting up whole chickens, and all the scraps of onion, celery, and carrot from the last month or so. Peelings, papery onion skins, everything like that goes into gallon-sized ziplock bags and into the freezer for just this purpose. This is, by far, the biggest batch I've ever made at once, but it is some of the best I've ever made, probably due to the long simmering time. Gonna be some good soup made out of this stuff during the coming cold weather! First pic is a top view of the simmering pot-o-stock. Second pic is a comparison between my simmered stock (left) and canned Swanson chicken broth (right). The difference in flavor between the two is as definite as the difference in color.

And, no, I don't know why I felt compelled to share this. Just wanted to hear myself talk, I guess... /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif


Keri C
Smokin (and simmering /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif ) on Tulsa Time

MVC-505F-A.jpg


(Yeah, I know, it looks kind of gross, but it sure tastes good. And the house smells GREAT.)

MVC-506FA.jpg
 
Keri,

Yum!

We always disjoint chicken wings before cooking and save the tip section for making stock. Always just baked in the oven till crispy, then into the stock pot. Next time, though, they're going on the WSM!

Nothing improves soup like home made stock.
 
Jim...

Yes, the stock freezes very well. Don't waste money using your FoodSaver, though. Use a freezer zip-loc bag and push all the air out. I freeze in 2 and 4 cup quantities.

Been freezing stock like this for many years now...we always have homemade stock on hand.
 
Cooking carcasses is awesome. I agree to throwing in just about anything short of the sink. Slow cook for hours..... cool..... and throw in the freezer. Zip lock bags work great for me. Just suck out the air.
Great comparison Keri!
Warning: Be carefull about adding seasoning to the stock. Lot's going on in there already. Season when used if needed.
Gravy, mmmmmmmmmm...... /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
I freeze in those 4-cup Ziplock brand square plastic containers. I've never been brave enough to go straight to the ziplock bags with stock. I figure it'd be my luck that I'd get a box of bags that all had a leak in the bottom of the bag. /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

I got three gallons of stock out of the batch I was cooking up. It wound up cooking from 8:00 pm one evening until about 3:00 pm the next afternoon. Good intense flavor. I used about 5 cups of it in the dressing I made today, and the slight smokiness that carried through in the stock added a very interesting note to the dressing.

Keri C
Smokin on Tulsa Time
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top