Preparing Old layers for Culling

[carlf]

Yep, if I was big on making my own stock, I would have kept the carcasses. But just didn't have time to make that much stock and I don't really have anywhere to store it.
But yeah, if someone has a big freezer and stock pot, definitely make stock with the carcasses. Birds that old are gonna have a lot of flavor..

 

[nsscchd]

Would anybody be willing to share their methods for making stock?

 

[carlf]

A big pot, pile of carcasses, water to cover, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, pepper corns, some oregano, basil and thyme. Simmer for a few hours, strain then divide and freeze.

 

[nsscchd]

Please forgive my ignorance. When you say carcasses, you mean the bones and what's left after it has already been cooked and the meat pulled off correct?

 

[harmesonfarm]

nsscchd, yes it can be cooked leftover chicken bones etc. or uncooked after being butchered into different parts.

I always change my stock everytime i make it, but the base of how i do it is the carcasses, halved onions (i leave them skin on), unpeeled carrots broken up, some celery stalks and a whole washed lemon that i prick all over with a fork. Cover all with water in a large enough stock pot, let it gently simmer on the stove top for about 3-4 hours or more. Strain, let sit overnight in the fridge and next day you can skim all the fat off the top and remove it if you want. Either process pressure canning or freeze. will last about a week in the fridge, just bring to a rolling boil prior to use.

I've also in the past added fennel root, star anise, parsley, or even bay leaves but none of those are necessary.

 

[aart]

nsscchd, yes it can be cooked leftover chicken bones etc. or uncooked after being butchered into different parts.

I always change my stock everytime i make it, but the base of how i do it is the carcasses, halved onions (i leave them skin on), unpeeled carrots broken up, some celery stalks and a whole washed lemon that i prick all over with a fork. Cover all with water in a large enough stock pot, let it gently simmer on the stove top for about 3-4 hours or more. Strain, let sit overnight in the fridge and next day you can skim all the fat off the top and remove it if you want. Either process pressure canning or freeze. will last about a week in the fridge, just bring to a rolling boil prior to use.

I've also in the past added fennel root, star anise, parsley, or even bay leaves but none of those are necessary.

Ditto Dat^^

I prefer to use a pressure cooker as it's faster....an hour or so for the meat, strip the meat, then everything else back in for another couple hours to get that gelatinous bone stock. Mmmmmm.

Yes, either already cooked carcass/bones....bones from grilled chicken is excellent..... or raw carcass/parts.
Already cooked stuff won't have near as much fat to scrape off....but no meat either....and a different flavor.
I just use onion and carrot, salt, pepper and maybe some other spices....all of which is strained off and discarded to compost or chickens.
The longer you cook those bones the richer and thicker the stock will be, less volume to store and more dilution it can tolerate when using later.

 

[nsscchd]

Awesome thanks. Timely post for me I have about eight girls finished laying. They are 4 years old so they did their job. I have had chickens for many years but have always sold the hens for a couple bucks so I didn't have to mess with it. I have read too many good things about homemade bone broth lately to let them go this year.

 

[LunaChickie]

Awesome thanks. Timely post for me I have about eight girls finished laying. They are 4 years old so they did their job. I have had chickens for many years but have always sold the hens for a couple bucks so I didn't have to mess with it. I have read too many good things about homemade bone broth lately to let them go this year.

We make our soup like they mentioned making stock above except we add meat too. Then we just remove the bones and add dumplings or noodles. Perfect on a wintery day!

 

[tmarsh83]

I haven't had to do it yet, but my plan has been outlined by others here.

I'll be boning out as much meat as possible, and pressure canning it. Canned meat isn't cheap, and we use it often. I already can some venison, and plan to do more of that in the future. For older girls making their last contribution to the household, I can't think of a better way to use them.

And then the stock. I've made stock dozens of times in small batches home, and when I worked at a restaurant in high school with an exceptional chef. It's up to you what to include, you know your tastes. For me, i'm not a fan of adding herbs at the stock level, because I can add them later if that's the purpose. Same as I do with tomato sauce anymore. I used to make marinara, and spaghetti sauce, etc, but this year decided to just can a pure, straight sauce so I have more flexibility when I go to cook it.

My thinking for stock is the same. A standard 2/1/1 onion/carrot/celery mirepoix, is a must. beyond that, I'm pretty conservative. One lemon halved, maybe a couple bay leaves, that's it. Fresh parsley can be a nice, earthy addition, but even that I would rather add when I know what i'm doing with the stock later. I want my stock to be chicken stock, not chicken and herb.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you pressure cook the chicken first, the meat falls off the bones, then can the meat wit ha little broth, and the broth in separate jars. Very handy to have on hand.

Mrs K