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Chicken feet - help!


Jessica Wurth Tiemann

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I have never cooked with chicken feet before, but have long been intrigued with using them to make broth. After visiting a Asian market last night to pick up some more Red Boat fish sauce, I manned up and ordered a pound of feet from the meat counter. I have been trying to search the forums here for tips on cooking them without much luck. Do I roast them in the oven first, like I do with beef and pork bones, or just throw them in the pot as is? Do I add other bones to them for more flavor? (I am cooking up 8lbs of chicken right now to shred/cut up and freeze for quick meals, so I will have lots of bones). Is the fact that I got them from the Asian market and aren't organic mean that I shouldn't cook with them (does it being a conventional chicken lose some of it's health benefits/safety in eating its organs/feet/bone?) Once I figure out chicken feet, I am dying to try duck feet as our market sells all the parts of duck by the pound, even the heads. Thanks for any tips y'all might have!

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Personally, I would mix the feet with other bones to get a variety. As far as browning the feet, I want to say no, but I am only guessing and I could be wrong. Maybe brown them but keep an eye on them so they don't burn. I think you are going to end up with a lovely stock. Don't worry about whether they are organic or pastured. It isn't always possible. Just skim the fat off aft we r you chill the stock.

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What Susan said.

When I make bone broth in a pressure cooker, I like to put enough bones in the pot to get a pile that peaks between half and two-thirds full. Then I add enough water to match the height of the bones. My guess is that I would use more bones with a pound of feet.

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  • 1 month later...

I can only get chicken feet at the Mexican market in my neighborhood, which are sadly confinement animals, but I believe (and Sally Fallon Morel of the WAPF backs this up) that the benefits of the gelatin from the more cartilage feet far outweigh the drawbacks of subpar chicken. I mix feet with pastured chicken bones (or other bones if I've got em) and I love how gelatinous the broth is. So healing for the gut!

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They are delicious to eat.... Pre w30 i used to order them at Dim Sum....Just cut off the talons before cooking!

Years ago we were in China town for Dim Sum. Like maybe twenty years ago. We were offered chicken fig. Yum! How good does that sound? I was so excited. Then these gnarly chicken feet appeared. I swear they still had the toenails on them. Still not over that.

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Years ago we were in China town for Dim Sum. Like maybe twenty years ago. We were offered chicken fig. Yum! How good does that sound? I was so excited. Then these gnarly chicken feet appeared. I swear they still had the toenails on them. Still not over that.

:D LOL I can just picture it, I laughed out loud. Thank you for a lovely start to the day :) Seriously I wish I could find chicken feet over here but I haven't yet

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LOL I can just picture it, I laughed out loud. Thank you for a lovely start to the day Seriously I wish I could find chicken feet over here but I haven't yet

Kirsteen, as horrifed as I was, you should have seen the looks on the 7 and 9 year olds faces. They claim I scarred them for life. Oops. ;0)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I get feet at the farmer's market from time to time and just add them whenever I have other bones for stock. I don't roast any of the bones either and still get excellent flavor. I throw in the bones, feet, backs, whatever, add a quartered onion, a carrot or two, a couple of bay leaves and some peppercorns and just let that slow cooker go for a long, long time. And it is awesome stuff! Very little effort, very high reward. :)

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  • 4 months later...

This looks good.  One of the vendors at our local farmer's market sell the feet and I have been eyeing them for a few weeks now. I'll grab a few pound this weekend and toss them in the crock pot and see how it turns out.  I am not sure if they are prepared or not, if they are not, I will probably just toss them into the crock pot as-is...unless there is going to be a huge difference in the final product.  

 

When I was young and used to go visit my grandmother, she would make a chicken soup out of the feet once in a while, but she would leave them in the broth when she served them.  I remember liking it very much and it's one of those small memories that always stuck with me...so I am looking forward to trying it again after a very long time (of course no where as good as grandma's recipe)

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I am a big fan of chicken feet, both as an ingredient in stock and as a dim sum dish (although I don't eat them at dim sum anymore because they're coated in black bean [fermented soybean] sauce, which I love but have given up because of the soy). They make a righteous chicken stock, just unbelievably rich and savory.

 

The first time I used them, though, I forgot to warn my husband. He innocently went to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich and was confronted by a pot of simmering stock -- which had reduced -- full of chicken talons rising over the surface of the liquid. I think his reaction was "WHOA," only with slightly different words.  ;)

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