After 4 hours of simmering, the meat-based stocks were
flavorful (the one made with leg meat slightly more so than
the breast) but had no body—even when chilled to
refrigerator temperature, these stocks remained a liquid, a
sign that there was relatively little gelatin dissolved in the
broth. The bones-only stock, as I suspected, was nearly
flavorless, but it had a moderate amount of body. The stock
made with carcasses was both flavorful and rich. This stock
became a solid, rubber-like mass when chilled, due to the
high amount of gelatin extracted in simmering. When sipped
as a hot broth, it coated the mouth pleasantly, leaving the
thin, sticky film on the lips characteristic of a good, rich
broth.
A well-made stock should gel solid.So carcasses are the way to go for the best balance
between flavor and body. In a rare case of reverse
economics, this also happens to be the cheapest way: you
can accumulate carcasses by breaking down your own
chickens (keep them in the freezer until you have enough to