How long can I keep a chicken carcass and still make stock from it?
I bought a whole chicken for dinner two days ago. Immediately after quartering it, I put it back into a zip-top bag and put it in the bottom of the fridge. So, roughly around 40 hours ago.
I'd like to make stock with it today. And insight on whether or not I should move forward?
Best Answer
There are two angles to this:
How long before it makes stock taste bad? Smell is a good cue here, but I have made stock even with meat and bones that smell a bit "off." No bad flavor or smell was noticeable in the soup/stew.
How long before it is unsafe? The long periods of high temperature involved in making stock will kill any germs. I have used old meat for this purpose and had no nausea or diarrhea afterwards (the usual signs of food poisoning). At high levels of decay where you notice a rotting or putrescent smell there may be some unhealthy compounds created that are not destroyed by cooking, but I am sure the smell taste will be so bad in that case, that it would be difficult even to swallow.
At normal refrigeration temperatures, it takes much much longer than 40 hours to reach either of these thresholds.
Pictures about "How long can I keep a chicken carcass and still make stock from it?"
How long can you keep chicken bones before making stock?
How many days in the fridge can you keep bones of previously cooked chicken, for the purpose of making stock? According to Google, the same as cooked chicken meat- 3-4 days. You can also freeze the carcass for multiple months and still be okay. Make the stock in one batch, and then pour into ice cube trays and freeze.How do you store chicken carcass for stock?
The chilled carcass can also be frozen for up to 3 months, sealed tightly in a container or resealable bag, then thawed in the fridge and used to make stock at a conveneient time (some people like to save up 2 or 3 carcasses in the freezer and then make stock in larger quantities).How long can you keep bones for bone broth?
Store It. Pour into storage containers and store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. Once chilled, the bone broth should be jiggly with a solid layer of fat on top that can be scraped off with a spoon before using.Can you use old chicken for stock?
Chicken broth isn't a popular pantry staple for no reason! Unopened chicken broth lasts up to one year past the printed date. If you've stored your unopened chicken broth properly \u2014 in a dry and cool place \u2014 and the chicken broth's sell-by date is within a year, cook away!Homemade Chicken Stock From Leftover Roasted Chicken Carcass Recipe
More answers regarding how long can I keep a chicken carcass and still make stock from it?
Answer 2
If your quartering of the chicken was done quickly then you are just asking how long you can keep a chicken in the fridge.
How long will uncooked chicken keep in the fridge?
Your 40 hours is fine.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ryutaro Tsukata, Hank, Andrea Piacquadio, Ron Lach