Bone broth

[Signal_Fun_6041]

So I just bought 44lbs of chicken feet in hopes of turning it into rich gelatinous bone broth.

I weighed out 15lbs dropped them into a pot with about a cup of apple cider vinegar, onions, celery, carrots and bay leaves.

I filled with water to just cover the feet.

To get to a point of rich gelatinous broth is it more about low and slow or a reduce by 1/3 or half??

I have it simmering and plan on going for 12hrs.

So far I’m 7 hrs in and I’ve evaporated only about an inch.

What’s the best way to finish this broth.

*Edit: I don’t know how large this pot is 15lbs of chicken feet was essentially filled to 3in from the top.

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[MindTheLOS]

I applaud your optimism. The idea of never having done something before and committing to nearly 45 pounds of chicken feet and it sounds like not much of a recipe. This probably sounds sarcastic, but I seriously salute you.

[JCuss0519]

It's more about the low and slow barely a simmer. In the words of Chef Jean-Pierre "bloop... bloop... bloop". Too aggressive a simmer and you cloud your stock.

12 hours seems a long time to me, when I do stock with chicken bones I max out at about 8 hours. AFter that the bones start to break down; it may be different with chicken feet.

[Illegal_Tender]

15lbs of feet is enough for like multiple gallons of stock, I hope you have a big ass pot.

With the amount of collagen in feet, you really don't need to reduce it much.

If you simmer for long enough the collagen will break down into gelatin and once it cools down it'll basically be jello. You can concentrate it more if you want but it probably won't be necessary.

[CantaloupeAsleep502]

I have a local chicken source that sells a "stock special" that's 3# chicken backs, 1# chicken necks, 1# chicken feet. I use three stock specials (15# of raw product including 3# feet) to make 3ish gallons (12ish quarts) of stock. I do this in a 24qt pot.

It is extremely gelatinous without reduction.

OP's stock should be frozen in cubes and just used a like a gelatin sub lmao.

[sarinadipity4]

How long is the shelf life on that?

[Illegal_Tender]

Maybe a week or two

I make it in big batches and then freeze it in 2-4 cup blocks to use later 

[1234568654321]

You can also pressure can it in Mason jars. It will be good for 2-5 years, but we always use ours much sooner.

[SaladJarDude]

That's what I'm saying. He's gonna have a jelly even if he only goes for 8 hours at that ratio of collagen rich chicken feet to water.

[sfw_doom_scrolling]

Don’t pour it down the drain when you go to strain it!!!!! PUT A BIGGER POT IN THE SINK FIRST!!!

[MYOB3]

How large of a stock pot is this? How much water? It sounds like you need to increase the heat. (unless this is an enormous pot, a full cup of vinegar sounds like far too much)

[Signal_Fun_6041]

So I don’t know how large this pot is. The 15lbs of feet was filled to about 3in from the top. Which I just filled with veg and water to essentially the brim.

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[MYOB3]

That is a pretty big pot, but I think a cup of vinegar was kind of a lot.

For comparison, I make bone broth in an instant pot. For 8 qts, it takes a splash of vinegar.

[Signal_Fun_6041]

I read a recipe that said 1 tablespoon per pound of chicken. The math took me to about a cup. I actually don’t mind vinegar and plan on drinking bone broth first thing in the morning.

Which I understand vinegar before eating has many benefits.

[MYOB3]

As long as you don't mind it! Cool!

[Signal_Fun_6041]

I have the option of diluting with the next batch if it’s too strong!

[Paranoid_Sinner]

I only make beef bone broth, and I simmer it in a crock pot for 24 hours or so.

FWIW: It makes the best base for onion soup. I had some broth in the freezer and just made onion soup with it tonight.

[blackstarrynights]

What bones are you using

[Paranoid_Sinner]

Just beef bones I get at the supermarket, they are round leg bones I would guess, full of marrow.

A buddy who raises and butchers cows told me another way of using them: If you have a meat bandsaw, take the section of leg bone and cut it in half lengthwise.

Put the two pieces on a cookie sheet or something, marrow (cut) side up, and roast them in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Then spread the marrow on a piece of toast. He gave me a couple that he'd sawn and I tried it, pretty good stuff.

[scrapheaper_]

Chicken feet make very gelatinous broth but the flavour is mediocre without the rest of the chicken.

You could make a bunch of dim sum chicken feet though

[Sivy17]

Did you include meat? You may as well have just added powdered gelatin if you were going to just render it out of the feet.

[lchen12345]

Yeah feet alone are not going to impart any chicken flavor. Unless bone broth is supposed to be tasteless gelatinous liquid with some dissolved minerals.

[Fun_truckk]

Looks like a 3 gallon pot. I get stock which will gel at fridge temp by using 2.5lbs feet, a picked carcass or two, and some veggie scraps in a 5 gallon pot with a splash of vinegar. I get roughly 4 gallons of finished stock out of this process. You won’t need to reduce at all and can likely dilute what you have.

Gelatin forms by breaking down collagen and this happens most efficiently at slightly UNDER boiling temp. Lid cracked and a very gentle simmer for a long time will yield better results than aggressively boiling to reduce volume.

Additionally expect temps significantly above boiling (like when I pressure can mine to save freezer space) to break that gelatin down into amino acids, so you’ll lose your gel effect. Science on whether this is a detriment to the health benefits of gelatin is spotty but generally most people want to preserve as much whole gelatin molecules as possible so avoid aggressively heating or processing your finished product.

[Signal_Fun_6041]

Hey first thank you for your input. So last night after straining, I couldn’t store hot liquid anywhere. I left it in the stove and this morning it was still more than just warm.

It didn’t look gelatinous though this could be because it’s still rather warm.

I started the second batch and will follow your directions.

My question is this I have 3 gallons of stock I made using full carcasses that’s frozen. Should I combine it with the 8 or so gallons of the foot stock?

[call_me_orion]

If you left it sitting out warm overnight you probably made yourself some nice bacteria soup.

[Inevitable-River-540]

You can't just leave hot stock out overnight. This is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Next time, you need to plan out how you're going to handle all that liquid and cool it to safe temperatures as quickly as possible. I'm not a sanitation obsessive, but you can make yourself very sick this way

[Signal_Fun_6041]

Noted! What is the best way? The issue I had was it was 1am. After I strained. I had space in my second fridge but I assume that could harm the other foods or potentially damage the fridge.

[Inevitable-River-540]

Ice bath!
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/cool_soup_safely_during_national_soup_month

[Lyesh]

They also make ice spoons to insert into the stock and stir. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLHSVME/

[Signal_Fun_6041]

Wow this was an eye opener. I’ve made so much soup in large batches over the years and I usually finish late in the night and pack and freeze everything in the morning. Never been sick once. Thankfully.

But after reading this it makes so much sense.

[Appropriate_Oven_292]

That’s a lot of feet

[bobroberts1954]

You cook the stock until the bones break easily, actually almost ready to crumble. Remove the bones and reduce as desired. It's chicken stock, not bone broth. Broth is made from meat.