Bones!!!

[lynneuk74]

Have just cooked a roast chicken. Know you can use the bones to make stock. Plan to do this but don't want to do it right now (haven't got any onions, carrots etc which I believe you need and also don't have time).

My question is, can I freeze the bones to use for stock at a later date?

Thanks

[Plocket]

First of all I don't add anything to the stock, except the bones and water. Anything else can be added when you use it for cooking.

Secondly, as the chicken has been cooked yes you can freeze the bones before making into stock.

Thirdly: surely you can throw them into a pot of water and bring them to the boil? It doesn't take long. And then the next day you can do the same, and again, until the stock is nice and strong. As long as you boil the bones every day you can keep it going for ages!

[lynneuk74]

I got the impression - from looking online - that it had to be done for a few hours at once - checking every half hour which I definitely am too busy to do.

So I just keep boiling them up - do I leave on the hob in between or put in the fridge?

[halfadaily]

after stripping the carcass I simmer in a large pan with water, a couple of stock cubes and a squirt of tomatoe puree for about an hour. Then when cooled remove whats left of the chicken from the carcass and add back to the liquid. You'll now have a very tasty chicken soup. This freezes very well.

[woofgang]

The boil everyday method is traditional, but there is a risk of food poisoning. Yes you can freeze the bones. A less risky option imo is to save up the frozen bones till you have gota a large pot full then have a stock making session and then freeze the stock

[Xollob]

I freeze all my bones and carcasses until I have enough for a stock making session. I usually make the stock in a pressure cooker, then reduce and put in screw-top yoghurt jars. If you fill the jars when the stock is still hot they should keep for quite a while in the fridge.

[WendyS]

Yes, you can freeze your bones until you have time to make stock. If you cook roast chicken or other roasts with bones sufficiently often and make stock regularly you might find a pressure cooker is a worthwhile investment. You can throw bones & selected vegetables in and everything is cooked in 20 minutes. I would be lost without ours as we make a lot of homemade soup in winter with our own stock. If you have a friendly butcher (real shop, not a supermarket) he may also have a lot of surplus bones he will let you have for stock making .