Why Should You Eat Chicken Feet?
There are a set of truly good reasons to eat chicken feet. First, it allows you to use every column inch of the boo, with practically zero waste. You likely already boil your chicken bones down into standard – or, if you ’ re truly careful, you do that and besides grind them up afterwards to be used as bone meal in the garden. If you ’ re already composting the feathers or using them for crafts or fabric filler, you probably only have the feet left .
Chicken feet don ’ t technically contain any kernel, because they are comprised of zero actual brawn and entirely contain skin and tendons. As a solution, the “ kernel ” is very gelatinous, which is popular in asian cuisine. not therefore much in America .
Chicken feet may have an acquired texture, but the smack is not bad at all. Chicken feet sample like…well, chicken ! When served in asian cuisine, they are normally simmered with a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and other asian seasons to make them reasonably tasty.
And it ’ s not good asian cuisine where chicken feet are normally eaten – they can be found in recipes from Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad, and handful of south american english countries, excessively .
They can be a challenge to eat, though – you ’ ll have to actually good gnaw until you ’ re down to the bone. however, the sample and nutritional respect of chicken feet decidedly make them worth the excess feat !
They ’ ra pretty dear for you, a far as “ meats ” go. Chicken feet have lots of collagen, making them a thoroughly go-to food if you want to improve the appearance and health of your clamber. Collagen besides improves your joint health, meaning it can improve your athletic performance and reduce ignition. It ’ s besides bang-up for weight unit loss .
As a result, there are some beauty companies that use chicken feet cartilage to make their collagen peptide complex ! It can help heal issues like skin sobriety and fine lines, indeed alternatively of buying collagen supplements at the shop, you might just want to eat them rather .
Chicken feet, which normally only have about 200 calories per service, are besides high in the take after nutrients :
- Calcium
- Copper
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Sodium
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B12
You asked, so here’s what to do with chicken feet…
How to Clean Chicken Feet
head to tail animal process is a common process in most areas of the universe, but did you know that, in the United States, most feet from factory farmed chickens is exported to China ?
There ’ s no need for you to dispose of your chicken feet. not lone do chicken feet add a nice ample, creamy texture to stock, but they besides allow you to use up every inch of the bird .
however, you shouldn ’ thyroxine toss them in there angstrom soon as you ’ ve cut up your dame. You need to take some extra steps in order toe ensure you aren ’ thyroxine passing any diseases on through your cooking .
Cleaning chicken feet doesn ’ t take long at all. You can have a twelve all ready within less than thirty minutes. I recommend cleaning them before you freeze them, if you decide to store them that way, because you don ’ triiodothyronine want to forget to do it late .
inaugural, wash the feet. You don ’ t need to use any visualize soaps or detergent, but make indisputable they get dainty and clean. Soaking can help remove excess scandal, as can some gentle scrub .
Boil some water and then drop the feet in for thirty seconds. Use tongs to remove them and then peel them to remove the top layer of lepidote skin deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as the nails. It ’ mho sometimes easiest to start at the nails and then work astir to the knee joint. You won ’ triiodothyronine be able to use the outer nail and peel, so you should throw those out .
Remember, washing your wimp feet is authoritative if you plan on eating them. Think about all the chicken manure your chickens have traipsed through ! Don ’ thyroxine always eat the feet of a chicken who was disgusted in any way, good as you should avoid eating the kernel from a contaminated bird. If you don ’ metric ton know how it died, don ’ thyroxine eat it .
Chicken Feet Soup Stock
My most often use for chicken feet is making an awesome stock with them. They are fully of condroiton that is so well for you. Gut healing and joint alimentary at the same flavorful clock .
Here’s how to make a great stock from chicken feet.
- Start with a bag of chicken feet. We were lucky enough to raise our own, thus having 26 pairs at our disposal. You can always ask a local chicken farmer, or where you get eggs.
- Put them in a pot of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes to make sure they are clean and to help loosen up the pads.
- Cut away any bad parts on the pads of the feet. You want to use a really sharp knife to avoid it slipping, and possibly cutting yourself.
- Put the cleaned chicken feet back in the pot with fresh water.
- Toss in a couple of carrots, a few celery stalks, some salt, pepper, a clove of garlic or two and a bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10-12 hours. This can be done on the stove top or you can use a crockpot on low.
- Drain the broth in a large colander with a towel or cheesecloth. Allow the broth to cool completely.
- The chickens get the rest of the scraps, including the feet. They will actually pick the bones clean, then they can go in our compost since they are soft from being boiled all night.
And, when it’s cool, you have lots of yummy, gelatiny broth to use for soups, gravies, sauces, cooking rice, or teasing your children about! See my post here on how to can broth for longer storage.
Deep-Fried Chicken Feet
To be honest, wimp feet don ’ t have a batch of meat on them, which is why they ’ rhenium best suited to being used in a stock. however, there are a few recipes you can try to get the most out of your chicken feet, besides, besides the broth .
Deep-fried chicken feet makes dependable use of this oft-ignored body part. They ’ re easy to make – all you need to do is simmer them first in a water bathtub with some garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and cinnamon. This will tenderize them and make them easier to fry .
They can be made with a batter for a delectable crunch like fried chicken, or they can be fried up in a manner like to pork cracklings, without all the bread .
You will need these ingredients :
• A egyptian pound of wimp feet ( if you have less barely alter the ingredients in the recipe to suit your desire weight )
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp boodle
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 beat eggs ( for breading )
• 1 cup flour ( for breading )
• 1 quart oil
Make sure you clip the toenails from the feet and wash them thoroughly before you begin. You don ’ thymine want any nasty calluses or bacteria hanging around ! Let your feet simmer in a hot bath on the stove for about two hours .
When they ’ re courteous and tender, remove them and let them cool. Make your buffet, if desired, and dip your chicken feet. then fry them in a pan and serve immediately .
Dim Sum Chicken Feet
Chicken feet are a common food in China – they don ’ t have about angstrom many misconceptions about eating this separate of the shuttlecock as we do !
While making Dim Sum chicken feet is kind of slippery, it ’ s a unique use for this food that you have to try some time .
hera ’ s how you do it .
start by clipping the claw off the chicken feet. As with any early recipe, you ’ ll want to make surely the feet are highly clean. Cut the larger main cram off and divide the foot into two pieces .
Boil some water in a pot, adding about half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. You can besides add half a teaspoon of rice vinegar, which will reduce the likelihood of a dark, foreign discolor. Cook the feet for two minutes and then drain the liquid. then, add a tablespoon of soy sauce and let the feet marinade .
Put the mix in a deep pan after about thirty minutes of marinating. There, you will want to cook them until they are courteous, hot, and fried. Once they are fix, you can transfer them to cold water system and let them soak overnight. This will get the wrinkles out and loosen up the texture so they are a better consistency. You can add the rest of the ingredients as a glaze during the braise process .
When you find this recipe served in restaurants, it ’ second frequently served aboard soaked peanuts. Sometimes restaurants will steam the chicken feet alternatively of frying them, excessively, but this method seems to be a short more time-effective .
These are the ingredients you will need to have on hand for this recipe :
- 10 chicken feet
- Oil of your choosing (preferably olive oil)
- Ice water (for soaking)
- 1 clove of garlic (you can substitute with minced)
- 1 green onion
- 1 chili pepper
- ½ inch root ginger
- ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 star anise
- ½ cup warm water for braising
Feed Chicken Feet to Your Dog
If you have a whelp that has a hard clock chewing on hard bones, you might want to give them a chicken metrical foot to gnaw on. Since these are largely cartilage and joints, rather of actual bone, your frump might have an easier time munching on them. merely keep an eye on your andiron once he gets it whittled down a bit – you don ’ t want to risk any choking hazards .
You can besides make exsiccate wimp feet for your andiron. These are readily available for purchase on Amazon, but why buy them when you already have some on hand after butchering your meat birds ?
Dehydrated chicken feet are a big source of collagen and chondroitin and can help dogs who have articulation problems. They ’ ll beloved snacking on them, excessively, and it will be a treat you won ’ triiodothyronine feel guilty about feeding your pawl !
Save Them for Later
Ok, we get it – you might not be wholly ready to start cooking with chicken feet. And you don ’ t have to ! IF you want, you can well store your chicken feet for by and by. All you need to do is toss them in a Ziplock cup of tea, BPA-free container, or sealable deep-freeze back. Toss them in the deep-freeze, and when you want to make neckcloth or one of the other recipes, you ’ ll be all ready to go with your wimp feet on hand – or…foot ?
Compost your Chicken Feet
You can, of path, constantly compost your chicken feet, excessively. Keep in mind that they will take a long prison term to break down – and you may want to work them into a compost stack that is already decent and hot for best results. otherwise, you risk attracting predators to your place with the olfactory property of decaying chicken feet .
So…
Do you ever use chicken feet to make broth or one of these other unique creations ? How else would you use chicken feet ? Be sure to pin this for former !
Heather ’ s homesteading journey started in 2006, with baby steps : first, she got a few raise beds, some chickens, and rabbits. Over the years, she amassed a wealth of homesteading cognition, cognition that you can find in the articles of this web log.
