8

Why would you cleave your chicken, bones, into pieces when you are making stock? I just throw whats left of my chicken in a pot with some vegetables bring it to a boil and then simmer away for an hour, am I missing something?

Varuuknahl
  • 1,928
  • 6
  • 20
  • 23
  • I don't think that an hour is long enough to actually break down all of the collagen, especially if you don't chop the bones. Does your stock turn to a jelly-like consistency when it cools? – Aaronut Nov 08 '10 at 20:56
  • Not usually, but I have had it happen before. – Varuuknahl Nov 08 '10 at 22:02

2 Answers2

7

To release the bone marrow, which is excellent source of protein and has medicinal properties.

Otávio Décio
  • 186
  • 1
  • 6
  • True, but not everyone likes the marrow taste – TFD Nov 08 '10 at 10:08
  • 1
    I can't vouch for the medicinal qualities, but it allows the collagen in the marrow to be dissolved, which will make for a "more luxurious mouthfeel" (that's how I've heard it described, I have no idea how else to explain it). – Joe Nov 08 '10 at 14:34
  • is it bad that I just simmer mine until it comes apart on its own? Marrow is supposed to be very good for you. – Manako Nov 08 '10 at 14:58
  • @Manako: Nothing wrong with that, some people even simmer their stock overnight. The whole point of making stock is to draw out all of that wonderful collagen and break it down into gelatin, and the longer you simmer, the more of it you'll get (until it's all used up, that is). – Aaronut Nov 08 '10 at 20:58
  • @TFD: That's where most of the collagen is, without which you would not have stock; if you don't want the fat then just skim it off (as most cooks do). – Aaronut Nov 08 '10 at 21:06
  • Marrow is typically more than 50% fat (and 50% of that saturated). IMHO you don't need this in your diet. You don't need "more luxurious mouth feel". You get a perfectly tasty "stock" from cooking without releasing all the marrow. Good food doesn't need fat. Marrow also has lots of metallic compounds which I think often impart an unpleasant metallic taste – TFD Nov 09 '10 at 11:52
  • @TFD - De gustibus non disputandum est. I grew up with my mom boiling cow bones and making bone marrow jello so I learned to like it. – Otávio Décio Nov 09 '10 at 14:23
  • 2
    @TFD: If you don't want the fat **then skim it**. That is how stock is supposed to be made! The texture of stock, AKA the "luxurious mouth feel", comes from collagen, which denatures into gelatin - not from fat. – Aaronut Nov 09 '10 at 16:36
  • @Aaronut Skimming only gets free floating fat, plenty more is bound up in the stock. Did I say the texture was from that fat? I was suggesting you don't need marrow which is what the question is about. Stock doesn't have to have bones in it at all! – TFD Nov 11 '10 at 05:33
  • @TFD The question asks "why cleave chicken" and the answer is, to release bone marrow. If you like it or not it doesn't change the reason why that is done. – Otávio Décio Nov 11 '10 at 15:26
  • @TFD: Fat and water are immiscible. All fat can be skimmed or congealed unless you've prepared the stock incorrectly (i.e. by using a rapid boil instead of a slow simmer - and even then, it's just dispersed, not dissolved or "bound"). Finished stock is supposed to be clear; if there is a significant fat content then it would be cloudy. – Aaronut Nov 11 '10 at 16:33
  • @TFD - No, fat does not "bind up in the stock" unless there is something like starches to bind with (like with a vegetarian chili made from beans), which is not present in the stock being discussed. What marrow adds to the "mouth-feel" and what is extracted is the collagen in the bones. – PoloHoleSet Nov 28 '16 at 16:30
2

The collagen released from the chicken bone marrow is what gives the soup body; It's why the soup feels more substantial in your mouth than a spoonful of water. As the stock cooks, the collagen breaks down into gelatin, if your not seeing this, you may need to cook the stock for longer.

Obviously if you don't break the bones, the marrow cannot be released. That having been said, a large amount of fat is also released from the marrow which later has to be separated from the finished stock. I have made perfectly excellent soup without bones, in fact Cooks Illustrated suggested using ground chicken which contains no bones or marrow (albeit with some prepared stock).

I suggest you find a traditional stock recipe and follow it's instructions. You may find that you've been missing something, or that you like your current recipe more.

Zack Bloom
  • 131
  • 1