Post Processing - Some Questions and a little commentary

[Ridgerunner]

I use the gnawed on bones for broth, as far as I'm concerned the cooking to make broth takes care of any germs. I do take into consideration contamination from other foods or flavorings, so not all go into making broth. The cooked bones do alter the flavor of the broth.

The way I typically use bones is that I save the bones in a gallon zip-loc type bag in the freezer until it is full. Then I put the bones in the crock pot, cover with water, and cook on low overnight, maybe 14 to 20 hours. You could go an extra day if you wished. Some people put a little vinegar in this to help dissolve the bones, a true bone broth. I don't do that. I strain the bones out of this liquid and freeze the liquid. I use that liquid instead of water when I make the next batch of broth.

No two batches of my broth are the same. I may use different herbs and other flavorings like veggies or different quantities of the same flavorings. Some batches are all raw meat and bones, some contain some cooked bones. Some contain different proportions of body parts, I remember one that wound up with six feet in it, that was thick when it cooled. I never use salt in mine, some people do. There are no hard and fast rules about what has to go into it, just try something and see how it suits you.

 

[3KillerBs]

There are no hard and fast rules about what has to go into it, just try something and see how it suits you.

Exactly!

I use what parts I have, raw or cooked, and always get something useful.

https://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-chicken-stock-219819

 

[Curnow]

I don't usually used the gnawed on bones for stock myself, but the long simmering will kill any germs so that's not a concern.

My reason for not using them is the inconvenience of saving them from the trash, the likely contamination with other food remnants that I wouldn't want the flavor of in my stock (I loathe ketchup), and a general preference for using bones with meat on them rather than bare bones because I think it yields a richer flavor.

The flavor of stock made from raw bones and roasted bones differs and both are delicious. Traditional recipes for brown stock call for roasting the bones before simmering.

Yes, I agree there is a difference in the raw or roasted bones. I too use bones we have eaten from. I simmer mine a long time...this time of year I get them started on stove and finish on top of the wood stove over night. I usually add at the very least salt, pepper, and bay leaf. I usually throw in onion and some veggies too for good measure.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

My wife makes ours. Mix of gnawed bones - usually leg and thighs, and raw - neck, backbone, and breast bone if i previously butchered it out, plus wingtips. Thrown in a big pot, plus two celery stalks, three large carrots, and a large yellow onion (halved), only removing the outermost paper. Some salt, a mix of peppercorns, about half a head of garlic. Turmeric. Sometimes ginger, or a bay leaf. Cover with water, bring to bare simmer, let it go for like 18 hours, sometimes two days.

Cool, strain, dispose of all but the "seasoned water".

There's usually enough dissolved collagen in it that it will jelly in the fridge.

 

[aart]

Mix of gnawed bones - usually leg and thighs, and raw - neck, backbone, and breast bone if i previously butchered it out, plus wingtips.

Yep, I never grill the back, save it raw in the freezer along with the gnawed bones.
That's for grocery birds(I didn't slaughter last year).
For slaughtered birds save out more parts raw, including feet.

 

[Mosey2003]

In the future, in the event I cook a bird or part and it is too tough, is there any way to salvage it? I don’t currently have a dog.

If your meat comes out tough, there IS something you can do.

What you want to do is take it off the bones and lay it out so that the grain of it is running parallel to you on the counter. Then cut it in 1/2" dice across the grain. Think cheap condensed chicken noodle soup, those little bits? Those are older laying hens. If you cut across the grain the fibers are short enough they don't taste very tough anymore. Then go ahead and cook it again in soup or dumplings, etc. Or even throw it in a pressure cooker with broth if you want to really be sure.

For example, if the grain was laid out like this:
======= = =
======= = =
That's how you'd cut it, little bits across the end.

Same idea as how you cut flank steak across the grain for fajitas, because it's typically a tougher cut of meat.