Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

5

Someone please hack what happened to my bone broth?

I bought some chicken feet/heads from my local butcher to make a nutritious bone broth. I put them all in a crock pot with water and cooked it down for a long time. Then I strained the heads, necks, and feet and poured the broth into a bowl that I put in the fridge. Today (two days later), I went to check on it, and THE ENTIRE THING SOLIDIFIED. And I'm not talking about fat...no, it was giggly and gelatinous, exactly like JELLO, but with the flavor of chicken broth.

Now what?

I know gelatin is really good for you, but honestly chicken-flavored JELLO is far from appealing. Is there anyway to turn it back into broth, or should I just suck it up and eat the gelatin knowing I'm reaping health benefits?

Seriously, it's pretty gross.

flag	asked Oct 9 2011 at 1:18 Farmer's Daughter 1,051●2●13

6

Heat it up with some water: soup. – ben61820 Oct 9 2011 at 1:22

10

Yep you just need heat to liquefy the mass. Sounds like you made a perfect batch so congratulations! – Shari Bambino Oct 9 2011 at 1:34

2

That's real broth for ya! Just warm it up and eat it as a soup. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consomm%C3%A9 – Matt Oct 9 2011 at 3:00

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Pat yourself on the back for a job well done. – Happy Now Oct 9 2011 at 8:05

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EXCELLENT -- you made PERFECT stock! The gelatin is caused by proteins and minerals that are suspended in the hot liquid, and re-form a "matrix" as it cools. As soon as you warm it up, it will liquify again. It's just perfect!!! – Firestorm Oct 9 2011 at 14:50

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Eliz · Answer 1 · 2011-10-09 03:16:59Z UTC

12

Hah! I try to end up with chicken jello on purpose! Congratulations, it means your broth is full of great stuff. :) As soon as you reheat it it will melt back into liquid.

answered Oct 9 2011 at 3:16

Eliz
1,810●4●12

Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 2 · 2011-10-09 01:22:17Z UTC

10

If you reheat it, it will turn back to broth. And it's not really gross, it's good broth full of gelatin!

answered Oct 9 2011 at 1:22

Beth-WeightMaven
15.3k●1●11●55

saiklón · Answer 3 · 2011-10-09 01:47:42Z UTC

3

Gelatin is jello. Warm it up. It solidified because you made it cold. Like water to ice but at a different temperature and part of it remained not too solid hence the jiggiliness.

answered Oct 9 2011 at 1:47

saiklón
1,646●1●4●12

Cassandra · Answer 4 · 2011-10-09 03:14:44Z UTC

This happened to me, and I thought I was going to throw up when I defrosted it to make soup. The things you learn when you go paleo! It was fine after I warmed it up, and it was delicious. Besides, gelatin is very good for you and your skin.

Moonablaze · Answer 5 · 2011-10-09 05:54:46Z UTC

2

you're doing it right, that's how Jello is made, by cooking collagen-rich animal bits (like heads, necks and feet) and cooling it.

Just heat it up and it will be a lovely broth.

answered Oct 9 2011 at 5:54

Moonablaze
2,159●4●14

andrew · Answer 6 · 2011-10-09 07:54:26Z UTC

2

Perfect stock! If it doesn't go wiggly in the fridge then I know I've failed. It is lovely just heated up and seasoned. And it is a good anti cold remedy!

answered Oct 9 2011 at 7:54

andrew
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staceychev · Answer 7 · 2011-10-09 12:06:09Z UTC

1

I haven't once been able to get my chicken stock to be gelatinous. Nice work! I'm jealous!

answered Oct 9 2011 at 12:06

staceychev
3,151●3●10

	its always been hit or miss with chicken for me, too and I been making stock for years and years. If you can get feet then it will always gel up but most people cant find them. Even a lot of pastured chickens wont gel Ive found. Luckily oxtails are pretty available in cities and those things will always gel. – ben61820 Oct 9 2011 at 13:33
	Yes, I basically made a stock of just feet, so that must be why it was so gelatinous. – Farmer's Daughter Oct 9 2011 at 14:57
	You can always find things like whole chicken feet at places where they sell raw meat and whole prey for our companion carnivores, like here hare-today.com, and yes they are of course NOT allowed for human consumption...but I mean the USDA is not sitting on your kitchen counter, and beware if you are thinking of meat for cats and dogs, it is (purposely) not bled out...and "whole prey" means whole animal, feathers, fur, and all. – ulcova Oct 9 2011 at 15:04
	I used to make lots of chicken stock but with bones only and let it simmer for up to 12 hours or more. It would always turn into gel. I can't eat chicken anymore since I moved to Delmarva. – ulcova Oct 9 2011 at 15:08

KindFood · Answer 8 · 2011-10-09 21:56:24Z UTC

Congratulations, you did it right! I make stock frequently, and it doesn't always gel. It help a lot to use chicken feet, and it also makes a difference what your water-to-bones ratio is. I simmer my bones and feet (combo of bones and carcasses from previously cooked chickens, plus raw feet, raw neck and back bones, when I have them) for at least 24 hours. I also add onions and celery, carrots if I have them, for the last few hours. At that point the bones have really softened and I pull them out, drain them and give to the dogs. I know, people say not to give cooked bones to dogs, but when they have been simmering for 24 + hours, they are plenty soft and my big Rhodesian Ridgebacks have no trouble crunching them up. Obviously, there are nutrients left in the bones so theoretically I could cook mine longer, but the cost of fuel isn't trivial, and I like sharing with the dogs.

Evelyn aka CarbSane · Answer 9 · 2011-10-09 12:18:03Z UTC

Congratulations! This is your goal! I was surprised once by my pork bone broth because it did not seem to take on the slightest body. I ran out of containers and used 2L soda bottles to store it temporarily in the fridge. I went to pour it out making soup a day later and nada! Had to squeeze it out in bloops LOL. For me pork shoulder bones really solidify a broth like nothing else.

I made chicken…JELLO??

9 Answers