to think making stock by boiling a chicken carcass with onion, carrot, bayleaf, whatever, is a pointless waste of time?

[Mintyy]

I did it once a couple of years ago and vowed never again.

Honestly, a Knorr chicken stock cube does the job better, cheaper and quicker. With no washing up.

Knorr tastes like pot noodle.

We make our own stock.

I've done this once. It tasted revolting. At least I didn't put blue string in it.

Yanbu, the only way you get any flavour is by boiling flesh and bone from fresh. Boiling the carcass of a roasted chicken is a waste of time IME - lots of fat, little flavour.

I do think it tastes much better. But can't be arsed with the faff.

I love salt so am possibly biased.

I don't think making stock out of chicken bones is an economical thing to do though (my main point) once you've factored in the cost of energy and the bits and bobs of veg and herbs you need.

Fucking make ahead gravy.

I agree Dandy. I made it one Christmas and it was truly shit. I felt betrayed by Oliver tbh. I trusted him so implicitly until then

I'd be with you, except I find the knorr cubes too salty - I end up boiling a potato in the stock just to take some away.

(And I loved the Get ahead gravy, so did all my guests at both Xmas dinners, Mmm chickeny goodness)

I hate the smell when it's all simmering away so I don't bother.

I buy organic low salt stock cubes, and find they taste great in soups and risottos.

Do it in a pressure cooker - only takes 10 minutes and contains all the smell. But results in lovely, tasty stock.

I've never boiled a chicken carcass

What if it's had sausagemeat stuffing in it?

Does it make all weird?

I love the smell of stock cooking. I reuse the carrot or onion etc in the soup. Soup is a great way to feed a lot of people easily for a weekend lunch.

I'd have thought it would add to the flavour if it had remains of stuffing.

I chuck the carcass in my potatoes pan without washing it up, cover with 2 litres of boiling water and leave on a low heat for a couple of hours.

Sieve through a colander into a plastic jug and whack in fridge covered with foil.

No faffing with vegetables or herbs here and the stock is always tasty and no bother at all once you've already done a roast dinner and got some leftover bits off the chicken. Either put it in your potato pan and boil it up, or put it in the bin, surely?! I think it's one of these things that if you do the simplest version, it's still worth doing.

Makes risotto a million times nicer, plus stock cubes are just MSG and salt. I usually use half for a risotto and half for a soup. Sometimes use it half with cream for a chicken pie filling.

So would I, but I never stuff my roast chickens, maybe just pop a halved onion and a bayleaf in the cavity.

I have the time to make it and it tastes better so do....before au pair with with 3 young children, knot was prefectly acceptable.
I use a leek, onion, celery, parsley stalks, a few black peppcorns, a carrot and chicken carcass. It does tatse much better.

I did it once.
Cooked a whole chicken, stripped it, made stock.
I think I was probably feeling all inferior after reading something on here.

It was indeed delicious but it took ages, cost a fucktonne of electricity and my house stank for two days.

I haven't been tempted a second time.

If there are any leftover veg I bung them in, or if I have a bendy old carrot or the spindly bits from the middle of a head of celery lurking. I always pop in a couple of black peppercorns and a bayleaf though (have a baytree on the back doorstep so they are always to hand).

I make stock every time I roast a chicken. Takes hardly any effort and it's the basis of a lot of soups, casseroles etc. I just keep it frozen until needed. But I don't put fresh veg into it - massively wasteful! I just keep the peelings/stalks etc from the veg!

Stock can be lush and full of flavour and just so good for you. It doesn't need to be a chore or an expense. If I have meat with bones that we don't eat (which would be all of them obviously because I don't have the teeth for them) I freeze them and keep them until I have lots and then roast them in the tray I use for the joint on weekend, shove them in the pot for the veggies with some water, salt and pepper and veggie bits which comes to my second dull but worthy moment. When you chop veg there is always carrot tops and unused bits of onion and these can go in the freezer too until you are ready to make your giant vat of stock.

We have chicken noodle soup nights when we use the stock and I just love thinking about the healthy goodness that goes into my gang when we do. If it's done well when it's cold it sets like a jelly from the bone stuff . I have no scientific back up but I am sure it is the most healthy thing in the world.

I've done it and just don't agree that it tasted delicious. Even with all the other stuff in it, and even though it came from a happy organic chicken.

I certainly shan't bother again unless I'm going to make your actual chicken soup with it. For chicken stock to go in some other recipe ... I'm afraid I really cba.

Fuck you've just reminded me my stock is sitting on the kitchen counter cooling down. Must chuck it in the fridge. Was a ££££ ginger pig chicken so aiming to get max value from it. Chicken noodle soup tomoz. Yum

I love home made stock. I never use stock cubes - they are full of msg and give me a headache. They call it yeast extract these days but it is still msg.

Exactly as Ballroom says. I don't fool myself it's particularly healthy, given that it's a supermarket chicken, but it tastes good and is a free bonus. I do sometimes put some veg peelings in but I've certainly never bothered putting in unused veg.

Only in Britain would putting some water in a pan and bringing it to the boil be called poncey. We're a caricature of ourselves sometimes.

How could it not have tasted delicious, Mintyy? I really don't get that! Especially if you used an organic (aka fucking expensive) chicken

It's how I justify buying £££ organic chickens. Also as DD1 was vegetarian for years and is now an omnivore I enjoy the misery of boiling up bones (ref Mrs Doyle and tea making ) and using the stock; for soup and risottos it's immeasurably superior to stock cubes.