To brown, or not to brown?

[brie]

I'm working on, er, enhancing my recipe for cream of chicken and wild rice soup. The base of the soup is chicken broth (duh); I boil chicken thighs for about 40 minutes an skim off the fat. The chicken gets pulled to bits before being returned to the broth to simmer further while I dump in the rest of the ingredients.

My question to you: would the flavour be much enhanced if, say, I browned the chicken skin-side down first? I assume this would render some fat out immediately, helping keep the calorie content down (provided I drain the fat before adding the water). But would this do anything, flavour wise?

[Anneke]

The Maillard reaction (aka "browning") will always give you a depth of flavour, whether it be the bones, the skin or the flesh. However, this is a cream of chicken so it is probably desirable to keep the broth light in colour.

Since you skim off the fat from your broth, rendering the fat while browning is really of no consequence to you.

I find that most store bought chickens are so flavourless to begin with, that whatever flavour you have gets lost in a soup, regardless of whether it was roasted, poached or sauteed. One way to add flavour is to get a better chicken (kosher, free range, whatever). Another way is to make a flavourful broth with LOTS of chicken bones and proper aromatics. Instead of poaching your chicken in water and using that as the broth, make a nice chicken stock instead to poach. THis will intensify the flavours all around.

[MarkV]

Anneke beat me to the punch but I was going to say the same thing.

Make a good homemade stock to intensify the flavor.

[soussweets]

often times when i make a demi-glace for meats (barring filet mignon) i will do a half beef and half roasted chick stock. what i mean by this is to simply bake your chicken thighs, pull the meat and return the bones to the oven for browning. then use the bones in the same manner as a chix stock. it adds quite a bit of flavor and adds alot of depth to anything you do. you can treat it as a stock ,,, or keep reducing until you have a glace de viande. you should all try chicken demi,,, unbelieveable flavor.

[brie]

Thanks very much for your responses.

When making the chicken stock, about how long should I allow it to simmer? I know that it seems like everyone has their own personal preferences - ranging from 2-3 hours to overnight and even longer. Which is "correct" - if there is such a thing?

[soussweets]

for just a good rich stock i simmer for about three hours,,, any more and it will start to cloud up and loose clarity.if you want to simmer longer i would omit celery from the stock-- seems to bitter after a couple of hours.

[chiffonade]

I never brown chicken prior to making stock because I peel off the skin before placing the meat in the water. In addition, I never use breast because it has little flavor - I only use thighs and backs for my stock. These give the richest flavor and most gelatin.

Chix stock is not like beef stock that really benefits from roasting the bones. You get at least 50% more flavor from beef stock if you roast the bones - and you lose a lot of the fat as well.

[soussweets]

hey chiff,,, im curious if you are simply saying you do not prefer a browned chix. stock or you truly don't belive it offers any flavor difference. I myself and several chefs i confer with all agree you can't beat the taste of roasting chix. for stock. this of course only pertains to certain items as some things may be overpowered by the flavor. try making a chicken demi and i promise you will change your mind.

[wizcat3]

I worked with a sous chef that belived that when making a new stock you should use the stock that is left in the walkin, and it would bring it up to par (that is refresh ). I had a hard time with this. What do u think? He also believed that I should freeze the molding berries and then make into a coulis. Uck! I used to throw them out. What do you all think of this. We were never taught in school anything llike this.

[Anneke]

Ick. Not an unusual scenario unfortunately. I worked for a four diamond hotel whose chef did just that. Believe me, I have stories...

At some of the 'finer' kitchens I've worked in however, we always had both dark and light chicken stocks on hand. The light one was used for soups and such, while the darker one was used for sauces/reductions. Both have their place in the kitchen, and when executed properly, they are each wonderful in their own right.

[chiffonade]

...im curious if you are simply saying you do not prefer a browned chix. stock or you truly don't belive it offers any flavor difference....

That's how I learned it in school - we didn't roast the chicken. I have found that using dark meat only and including plenty of backs gives a very flavorful stock. When you roast chix for stock, do you include the skin when you assemble the stockpot?

[chiffonade]

Originally posted by wizcat3
...you should use the stock that is left in the walkin... freeze the molding berries and then make into a coulis.

This is clearly a person too focused on the bottom line. Willingness to use spoiled product does not tell me he is interested as much in the final product on the plate than the final product on the spreadsheet.

[wizcat3]

You are correct about the berries. I used to lose them from the walkin. I had to draw the line. But I am wondering more about the stock, veal in this case. Old stock is old stock, right? I would think you should not use it after X amt of days. The another thing they did was make a second stock with the bones. Wouldnt that make a weak not gelatinous stock? What do u all think of this? Thanks for the advice.

[chiffonade]

...The another thing they did was make a second stock with the bones. Wouldnt that make a weak not gelatinous stock? ...

This is called remoulage and it creates a more flavorful base than just plain water for your next batch of stock.

[chiffonade]

...When making the chicken stock, about how long should I allow it to simmer? ...

I'm probably in the minority here but I like to use the meat from chicken stock so I don't simmer it forever. I simmer it 1 or 1.5 hours, remove the meat and set aside for another use, break the bones (to expose the marrow) and return them to the pot for another hour or so. I only use dark meat in stock and plenty of backs and necks (for the gelatin). I've never had a weak stock, even using this controversial method of cooking the meat for only an hour - hour and a half.