I have now a pile of chicken bones and I have heard they can be useful in making some food. How should I preserve them and where can I use them? Should I cut them into pieces and throw them into a new soup? What is their purpose in the soup? Flavor or something else? I am always looking for ways to cut my costs so any budget-cooking ideas welcomed!
I will outline here ways how I can cut my costs with bones:
- According to Wikipedia, bones are a good source of calcium with acid boiling:
A study determined that "prolonged cooking of a bone in soup increases
the calcium content of the soup when cooked at an acidic, but not at a
neutral pH".
so putting some acid there (lemon juice or something else?) I can cut my milk costs, sounds great.
- more ideas like this? How should the internals be handled?
Best Answer
Notice how dogs enjoy gnawing on bones? Ever been to a restaurant where they serve bone marrow?
Boiling bones in water draws flavor out of them. Most canned broth and stock you buy--beef stock, chicken stock, etc--is just this--water boiled with bones for hours.
Most literature I've read suggests using raw bones, but some recipes call for roasted bones--the ones I've seen most often involve roasted veal bones.
I've also made stock from roasted chicken bones. The stock does still take on flavor. It's easier to get good flavor from unused bones, though.
Additionally, I've found another pitfall. I've tried to make stock from the leftover bones of bbq'd ribs. This was not a good idea. The broth had a savory flavor, as intended. Unfortunately it also had the background taste of bbq sauce. Now, when I do make stocks, I'd consider using leftover bones, but
To answer your original question, try this:
Use this to
The main benefits here are flavor and nutrients, but I just do it for the flavor. Cutting bones up does improve the extraction process, but if the marrow is exposed already (most beef/veal bones will be) you're fine. If you save old bones, freeze them until you have enough. Don't bother trying to make stock with the bones from one chicken.