Do you have to soak or clean the chicken feet before you start cooking them down? I’ve been wanting to do this.
I put all the bones (and feet) in a big pot of cold water, heat that to boiling, boil it all for 5 minutes and then dump it out into a colander and rinse with cold water. That’s a blanche. That’s basically my first step — it’s supposed to remove some impurities and make skimming the stock less of a chore during the rest of the process.
It’s not a necessary step and I guess a lot of people don’t do it. Technically, the feet should be clean when you buy them, but, I mean: they are feet. So I feel better if I clean them with a quick boil, and the blanche does that as well as help get some junk off the other bones.
Also, for a white stock, you’d start over with the bones in water and start the long simmer — but for a brown stock you’d want to roast the bones at 400 for maybe 45 minutes before beginning that long simmering process. My wife is a little sensitive and she doesn’t like the smell of roasting bones in the oven. But if I blanche the bones first, the oven roast produces a much reduced smell. Seems like a Win-Win.
The paws I bought at Walmart had the outer skin removed and were clean. I do clip off the claws and take the ends of the toes off with them. This allows the collagen to flow out and into the broth.
I have only used them w/carcass soup, so far. When I have enough carcasses, I start with 3 gallons and by the time I’m done, I have 1 gallon. I put the paws in with the other bones, simmer 2-3 hours, strain, and then go on to add boxed stock and any de-fatted drippings. I reduce that, then add an onion, carrots and reserved meat for another 1/2 hour. Season at this point: lemon pepper and thyme, usually. If thin, I may add some Better Than Bouillon and taste before using more salt. Refrigerate, skim all fat and reserve for other uses.
I freeze the extra w/o carrots, because I don’t like them mushy. When using the overage, I microwave carrots and 1 cup broth until carrots are just barely tender (20 minutes in 5” intervals), add them and the broth back in and heat before serving with a salad and biscuits. If I have leftover plain white rice I add some of that in for the final warming.
Love what the paws do. The soup gels after cooling.