I think you must be the one who first alerted me to Fallon :-)
We had a fat ‘gallina’ from the ethnic store, which we had roasted - my husband doesn’t mind eating ‘old hen’, and I save some of it for Chicken Pie; we used the bones from that, along with the bones from about 10 lbs. of thighs/legs (husband boiled them, vacuum-packed the meat for future use, and saved the bones.) To that, we added the pound or so of necks. We saved the broth from the first cooking of the thighs, added water to it, and threw in all the other bones/necks.
It took the entire weekend. We actually had to put the containers outside, for the fat to form on top and be scraped off (not enough room in the fridge, and it’s very cold here now, so it worked out fine.)
After fat was scraped off (left a little in each container, for flavor) everything went into the freezer.
We’ve been kicking ourselves for not saving every bone-leftover that we’ve pitched :-) In the future, we won’t have to buy chicken specifically for broth - we roast at least a chicken a week, or buy one of the rotisserie chickens at the grocery; and we’ll be saving all those bones. We don’t eat a lot of beef-on-the-bone, but will save and freeze the bones of what we do eat.
I remember the first time, when I was a kid - maybe the only time - that I sucked marrow out of a beef bone. It was shocking and revelatory! and we may start eating more beef, if only to save up bones.
-JT
I keep thinking I should find chicken or pig feet-my broth hasn’t gelled lately-stays a liquid in the fridge. Poor quality chicken from Aldi? Too much water?
Last time I made beef broth I considered sucking out the marrow but couldn’t go through with it!
I have saved the chicken fat for cooking-carmelized onions are great cooked in chicken fat. I feel like the broth and cooking fat are pretty much “free” when I use carcasses to make broth. Does my frugal heart good :-). Especially when I buy only olive oil, butter or coconut oil for cooking; none are cheap.