I need to make chicken stock so I bought a 3 lb fryer chicken today. Obviously my plan was to roast the chicken tonight, take meat off the bones and then use the carcass to make the stock tomorrow.
My roommate, however, is begging me to make my chicken and sausage gumbo. To do this, I usually boil the chicken whole in a large pot of boiling water for an hour, take out the chicken, use the water as the base for the gumbo, add the chicken to the gumbo, and discard the bones.
I really need chicken stock though. Can I make the gumbo tonight and then boil the carcass again tomorrow to make stock? I'm worried the stock will be weaker in flavor since the bones already went through a similar process, but maybe its no different than roasting it.
Anyone have experience with this?
Best Answer
Once you've boiled the carcass, most of the juices, fats, etc. have been released. Trying to do a second pass will result in a much weaker stock. There's only so much that can be released, and it's already happened on the first pass.
You should just choose one thing to make, or buy a second chicken, I'm afraid.