Stock From Chicken Feet

Birdie

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HDD

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Something Ray has recommended and I'm off to search for chicken feet today!
I wonder if anybody else makes this. I haven't used the feet before but my husband remembers his grandmother made chicken stock this way.

How to Make Stock from Chicken Feet | SimplyRecipes.com

I've used chicken "paws" (Walmart's label) for stock several times. It does gross me out but it makes very gelatinous stock. I like the idea from your link of throwing out the first pot of water. I might try cutting off the nails (if I can stand to touch them) next time.
 

lvysaur

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I keep quiet about these things because I'd rather that animal feet at $10/lb not become the next new hipster food
 
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make it almost weekly in slow cooker on low, overnight, and add some chicken necks for natural thyroid...turns to nice gelatin....drink cup a day most days....bones and all go to dogs
 
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Birdie

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I've used chicken "paws" (Walmart's label) for stock several times. It does gross me out but it makes very gelatinous stock. I like the idea from your link of throwing out the first pot of water. I might try cutting off the nails (if I can stand to touch them) next time.
@HDD Hi. That's where I got mine. Quite a good time joking with the Checkers.
Oh, they are grossing. Sitting now in the fridge. This is a first for me.
 
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Birdie

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I keep quiet about these things because I'd rather that animal feet at $10/lb not become the next new hipster food
Good idea.
 
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Birdie

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make it almost weekly in slow cooker on low, overnight, and add some chicken necks for natural thyroid...turns to nice gelatin....drink cup a day most days....bones and all go to dogs
I don't know about those necks. I'd heard that they inject chickens in the neck. Maybe it's different now.
And Ray recommends 3 or 4 hours only for cooking it. That's for beef. I'm assuming it's the same for chicken stock...
Too bad the reason for not overcooking is not coming up in my brain...
 

lvysaur

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I think gelatin is best "overcooked". I regularly cook gelatinous stuff for 8+ hours (unless it has muscle meat in it). I still get the "calmness" from it
 
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Birdie

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I think gelatin is best "overcooked". I regularly cook gelatinous stuff for 8+ hours (unless it has muscle meat in it). I still get the "calmness" from it
No problem. Just want to be sure it's known Ray doesn't recommend that. Keeps things straight.

Second thought, if it's without meat maybe that makes a difference Peat wise. I don't know.
 

HDD

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Quote from @tara in another thread-

"I think Peat has said that there can be a lot of lead and maybe other unwanted minerals in beef bones, and cooking a long time, or with acid, would leach that into the stock along with the calcium. I wonder if chicken bones would be likely to carry less lead?"

Haha @Birdie my checker was surprised I was making broth because she ate the paws. By the way, you're hair is beautiful! I think I read somewhere your natural color came back?
 

lvysaur

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Second thought, if it's without meat maybe that makes a difference Peat wise.

I just hate overcooked meat, that's all.

I think Peat has said that there can be a lot of lead and maybe other unwanted minerals in beef bones

Peat's main qualm was the "degradation" of the protein with long hours of cooking. I don't think it's true.

As for lead, I'd have to see solid evidence on that before worrying. I find it hard to believe that 3 hours of cook time would leach significantly less lead than 8 hours.
 
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Birdie

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Quote from @tara in another thread-

"I think Peat has said that there can be a lot of lead and maybe other unwanted minerals in beef bones, and cooking a long time, or with acid, would leach that into the stock along with the calcium. I wonder if chicken bones would be likely to carry less lead?"

Haha @Birdie my checker was surprised I was making broth because she ate the paws. By the way, you're hair is beautiful! I think I read somewhere your natural color came back?
Thank you. Wish the rest of me were doing as well. Surprisingly, the color did come back after eating Peat wise.

On the lead issue, I recall that lead collects in the marrow, so this was why he didn't use marrow bones. And I think he said lead collection in the bone itself wasn't enough to be a concern.
 
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Birdie

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I just hate overcooked meat, that's all.



Peat's main qualm was the "degradation" of the protein with long hours of cooking. I don't think it's true.

As for lead, I'd have to see solid evidence on that before worrying. I find it hard to believe that 3 hours of cook time would leach significantly less lead than 8 hours.
Yes, he was talking about the meat part and overcooking results...

So, do chicken paws count? I would think yes. Collagen...
I don't have enough energy to go back to search his remarks.
For me, just knowing the conclusion is enough because at the time I read about it, it made sense to me.

I do my broth for 4 hours or longer, but keep in mind the principle of not going way longer.
Just my 2 cents.
 
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Birdie

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This morning I did step 1. Boiled the paws, rinsed and cooled.
Really unpleasant smell. They puffed up. I don't know about clipping the nails off.
This reminds me of working with cadavers. Think I need some extra Lithium or something.
Not sure I'm up to this. :rolleyes:
I admire the rest of you.
 
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Birdie

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Well, cut the nails off at the joint. Not too bad at all. It's all in the pot with the vegs and cold water.
Feeling better about this whole thing and looking forward to a good end product!
 

lvysaur

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To summarize:

- bone broth has 5x more lead than meat broth
- 2x less than EPA lead limit for water
- likely even lower in reality; proper broth soaks bones, skims fat, and discards one batch of boiled water. No idea if they did any of these things for the experimental broth.
- It is difficult for bone lead to leach into water, since bones with 10x more lead resulted in broths with only 1.7x as much lead. This actually suggests that there's a portion of lead that "leaches easily", and might be remedied by the soak/skim/discard steps.

Basically there's almost nothing to worry about.

Yes, he was talking about the meat part and overcooking results...

So, do chicken paws count? I would think yes. Collagen...
I don't have enough energy to go back to search his remarks.
For me, just knowing the conclusion is enough because at the time I read about it, it made sense to me.

He was referring to the amino acids degrading after a long cooking time. However, I have seen no evidence for this put forth on the forum, and my anecdotal experience tells me that 12 hour long gelatin broths make a positive difference.

Here's what I would do for chicken feet:

Cut into lengthwise halves and soak in the fridge for 12+ hours. The cross section is important, because whole feet won't really "clean out" as well.

Discard water, put the feet in clean pot of water, bring to boil, boil on medium heat for 30 min.

Discard water again, rinse the feet, rinse the pot, and boil in clean water for several hours.

During the last hour, add vegetables/herbs for flavor. Adding them earlier makes overcooked and bitter. Strain and refrigerate.

This is what I do with pig's feet, it completely gets rid of all the boar taint, and the excess fat. You need to ascertain that the chicken feet are skinless; sometimes they have the orange skin still attached, which must be peeled. Hopefully that helps with your low energy.
 
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Birdie

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I simmered the pot for about 5 hours. Turned it off and left it overnight. By morning it was gelled.
Will heat it up again and strain it. One step at a time!

That's me in my photo, in my kitchen where I'm doing this broth.
I see below there is a thread called, "How Ray Peat Makes Chicken Stock."
Looking forward to reading that.

Just looking a bit at your ideas, @lvysaur and where you cut the feet, the lady in our recipe here, cuts off the ends of the toes for the same reason.
Not sure which I'd prefer to do, but yours sounds good too. Thank you!

One of the recipe comments advises using a cleaver to roughly chop the feet. I like these ideas for next time.
 
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lvysaur

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Just looking a bit at your ideas, @lvysaur and where you cut the feet, the lady in our recipe here, cuts off the ends of the toes for the same reason.

Same effect for cooking, but crosswise cutting is much better for soaking and cleaning. I like these things to be as clean as possible.
 

SQu

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By the way, you're hair is beautiful! I
It really is!
He was referring to the amino acids degrading after a long cooking time.
I felt pretty sick for several days after a long cooked batch once (wasn't chicken feet that time) and suspect glutamate. I now don't go past 3-4 hours and check for freshness before I start and it's been fine. I do think pig trotters give more gelatin but the chicken feet give a clearer broth and less fat to skim.
bones and all go to dogs
Such a bonus for their health and the budget too
 

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