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Every time I make chicken stock with a carcass it feels like I'm still throwing away a bunch of skin and marrow (and some meat chunks), but I love the idea of using everything.

Is breaking up everything in a food processor and then straining it problematic for the stock or food processor? I've read that breaking up bones can make your stock "cloudy" but I don't see why that's a problem...I'm also wondering if this would make it taste bad or render it indigestible. Thank you!

Edit

To clarify, my question is whether it could be useful to process (blend up) the carcass at some point, either before or during cooking. Without processing, it seem like a lot of material gets thrown away when I strain it. For example, you can break apart the bones and see the marrow.

braces
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  • Hi, I don't understand what you are asking. Do you mean processing - cooking - straining, or cooking - processing - straining, or something else? Why are you "not using" the skin and bones if you don't process them? – rumtscho Mar 31 '23 at 07:50
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    There's nothing left to use after you cook bones for stock, see the previous answer above. – GdD Mar 31 '23 at 08:39
  • Thanks both for the questions and link! I looked through the link and added a clarification, still wondering about my specific question – braces Mar 31 '23 at 13:04
  • Why don't you just clarify the stock. Make some consomme. – Neil Meyer Apr 01 '23 at 10:34

2 Answers2

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To clarify, my question is whether it could be useful to process (blend up) the carcass at some point, either before or during cooking. Without processing, it seem like a lot of material gets thrown away when I strain it.

I doubt that breaking up the bones will make the stock indigestible -- from what I've read, chicken bone marrow is safe as long as it has been cooked. So the question seems to me to be whether breaking up the bones will improve the stock, and if so, whether the improvement is worth the extra effort. At this point, I think the question is subjective -- try it, and do it if you like the results.

I definitely wouldn't use a food processor or blender to pulverize everything beforehand. That seems like it'd be hard on the food processor, and probably unnecessary. Instead, start making the stock as usual. Once the stock has simmered for an hour or two, most of the collagen will have been extracted and the bones will become brittle. At that point, you can pick out the larger bones (which contain the majority of the marrow). Snap them in half, or give them a quick chop with a cleaver, and return to the pot for a little more cooking.

I don't think there's any use in breaking up the skin, as the skin is already very thin and fully exposed to the hot water, so everything that's likely to be extracted will be whether the skin is cut up or not.

Caleb
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  • For poultry bones, I’ll take a cleaver to them before hand, and chop any long bones (leg and thigh, mostly, but I often buy just thighs or leg quarters) before making the stock. – Joe Mar 31 '23 at 16:30
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It's my understanding that a cloudy stock is actually not a problem or undesirable save for aesthetics, especially a common concern with regards to classic French and various Asian cuisines. In particular, if you want to have a perfectly clear soup your initial stock should be clear. On the contrary, going so far as to get a perfectly clear stock is a trade off that can actually lose some flavor, particularly if your stock cooks for a (relatively) shorter length of time. If, however, your stock cooks for a longer time you might be introducing undesirable flavors by including these.

There are also a number of dishes where having it impart a muted background flavor is desired, generally when one would prefer a white stock to brown or with regards to most fish based stocks, and is another reason that a clear stock can be desirable.

My main concerns with your intended process would be in the stress incurred on the food processor, accidentally leaving in bone, not getting things broken down fine enough for the texture to be desirable, or adding an unpleasant texture and taste with waterlogged skin.

My instinct would be to leave the skin out entirely, but to save the marrow and break it down with a good knife, working it in a similar manner to making your own minced beef or garlic paste, then pass it through a very fine sieve, helping it along with a rubber spatula and by pouring over some of your stock. This should help ensure that the resulting stock is more homogenous, free of any accidentally introduced bone, and that the added marrow more readily suspends in the stock. You could try including the meat using the same process as well, but I don't think it would break down as readily as desired so might leave the meat out.

If keeping things low waste matters to you, I would suggest lightly roasting or pan frying the skin to lightly crisp it before breaking it down. If the meat does not break down cleanly, this could perhaps be a good use for the food processor. I would add a very small amount of the stock and the meat into the food processor, enough to help it come together smoothly. In this case you could also reserve the bones for a second stock or to add to a garden bed. For details with processing for a garden, check here.

To know definitively what combination of ingredients should be retained for the best results, I would suggest you break a portion of each down as finely as possible, keeping them separate, and mix them each individually with a small quantity of your stock to see what individual characteristics they provide before deciding which ones to include.

Au reVoir
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