Chicken stock

[Andy M.]

Who can sort out this conundrum for me? I just read something very similar to the above in the "JOY" cookbook; but Alton Brown's recipe says to simmer for 6-8 hours. So who is correct??

Two hours or eight hours???

I usually go about 4-5 hours or so for chicken bones with meat.

I have a recipe for chicken stock I took from egullet.com that calls for times more like your 8 hours. I've never done stock that long.

I dont think 2 hours is long enough but I know some do. My sister never goes more than two hours for chicken bones.

 

[ErikC]

One thing that I like to do is reduce the stock after all the solids have been reduced. That way you get a more concentrated flavor. Also, it takes less room to store in the freezer if you make more than enough for your current needs.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Who can sort out this conundrum for me? I just read something very similar to the above in the "JOY" cookbook; but Alton Brown's recipe says to simmer for 6-8 hours. So who is correct??

Two hours or eight hours???

Look again at the recipe in Joy and you'll see it's closer to 4 hours than 1-2 (about 30-mins to bring the pot to a simmer, 30-mins to simmer the meat and bones and skim the scum before adding the aromatics, then 3 hours additional simmering). And, that is starting with 2-quarts of water. Alton Brown's recipe starts with 2-GALLONS of water so it is only natural that it would take longer to reduce by half at a simmer.

 

[TheMetalChef]

<--- is all about a big water stock and a long simmer. Whether veal, beef, or chicken, I'd rather give that pile 'o' flavor as much time as necessary to extract at low heat.

Of course, I pretty much go straight from water & bones to consomme by delivering a healthy amount of loose meat to accelerate the clarification, particularly on a veal stock.