Making stock out of chicken bones

[HanSB]

...leftover from people's plates is disgusting?

I had a lovely roast chicken dinner at a friend's house and was helping her clear the table. She scrapped all the leftover bones covered in bits of gravy from everyone's plates into a saucepan to make a stock.

I'm all for using the stripped leftover carcass to make a stock but it had never crossed my mind that you would use the half eaten around left over bits of bones from plates.

Is this actually the norm??

Chefs will often roast bones first. Something like 1/2 hr at 200 degrees before boiling. I'm team bones and this really adds to the depth of flavour in the stock.

Ain't nothing getting through that roasting and boiling.

I use all the bones. I've never known anyone gnaw on the actual bones so really not sure what all the Pearl clutching is about!

Chicken bones shouldn't have hours of cooking anyway - beef bones are a different matter.

And nothing like the little salt cubes people are comically referring to as 'stock'!

Simmering bones releases all the goodness from the marrow / along with vital vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Including a partially used bone and putting it into the stock pot is completely normal here!

I find the pressure cooker is great for getting a deep stock.

Bed of 3 roughly chopped onions, black pepper, full bulb of garlic halved roughtly, big lump of ginger chopped, loads of bay and rosemary from the garden.
At least one 2 kilo carcass.
I always have a cup.
Boiled, then stand, smash down, re boil and stand.

Great tip is to freeze a carcass if you can't be arsed doing stock there and then.

Kitchen paper dipped in it when hot, quickly removes excess fat from the top.
An easy way to skim.

Of course I happily use stock pots too, very handy.

I find the roasted chicken gives the best result.

I do mine in the slow cooker, bones, an onion, carrot, celery and herbs. Delicious and nutritious. I would use all the bones of all the plates.

This.

In my mind, you kill an animal, you should try your very best to use it all.

I realise given it's going to be boiled for ages it's irrational, but still.. I wouldn't do it.

Urgh! There's probably nothing wrong with it as the bones are boiled but I definitely wouldn't want to eat it. It would feel like making a stew with everyone's plate scraps. 🤢

As others have said, I always strip the chicken and serve it on plates boneless and then simmer the bones for stock or soup.

Oh that's so gross!

I would and do so this. Waste not want but. Makes amazing stock and chicken soup too!

Home made stock makes the best gravy, but I wouldn’t use bones off a plate. That said, I strip the chicken and wouldn’t serve meat on a chicken bone

I think chewing a bone at the table is pretty horrible!
everything goes in our stock pot too, I use cub s occasionally, but homemade stock is much nicer.

I do it, it gets boiled for hours to reduce it and concentrate the flavour, and then goes in the freezer if I'm not using it in the next day or two.

My chicken stock is probably one of the most hygienic things in my kitchen!

Well goodness me. Everyday's a school day on MN! 😳 I've always done this, bones either roasted and then boiled or put in freezer for later...... Not at all surprised that lots of people don't do the same, we're all different after all, but am surprised some people would exclude bones from plates and find it disgusting... I'll be more discreet with my recycling of leftovers in future.....

This would gross me out.

See I'm kind of imagining the bones covered in ketchup as that's how my kids leave their plates at the end of a meal!

Shudder. The bones alone 🤢

Well you wouldn't be eating it and presumably it would be boiled, so what's the problem?

Spot the non cooks on the thread!

Regular stock maker here. I've never thought to use bones from a plate, but I probably should as they've only been touched with a knife and fork.

Yes, stock cubes are good and Knorr Stock Pots better, but nothing beats a truly homemade stock.

I'm a good cook but I think the effort, time and energy costs that go into a homemade stock are too high to make it worthwhile. Although I rarely cook anything which needs stock. What are you all making that needs you to have litres of stock in your deep-freeze?!

I don't freeze it! It makes a good base for gravy, ramen, soup, risotto, shepherds pie, pho, for example. Cook potatoes or rice or noodles in to enrich the flavour.

A stock cube is nowhere near any of that. Yes good in a pinch, but second best.

I buy it. Though if I did make my own reusing plate bones is fine IMO.

Have you ever worked in a kitchen? Making stock is the easiest job in a kitchen. You will find a couple of big pans on the go after service to make the stocks for the next day. All the peelings, skins, offcuts, bones etc. get thrown in and left to boil for a few hours. They all contain flavour so nothing is wasted.

Always use for soup. Also to flavour rice, pasta, pulses, put some on the dog's dinner, use in Curries and 'wet' dishes. Lots of uses, and far better than stock cubes. Chuck everything in the slow cooker, four house on high, no bother, no steam or boiling dry. So easy, and cheap.