There are few things that improve home cooking as much as making your own stocks.
Making them is often free or close to it, and the difference it makes in flavor and texture is immeasurable.
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100% agree. Even the time it takes has a high ROE as the whole house smells wonderful during the process. We have a walkin freezer for storage, but even just a normal one is more than fine if you reduce and store in vacuum sealed bags. Beef stock takes some effort, but chicken stock, if you roast chickens regularly, is a no brainer.
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Also agree enough to quote your post, rather than just thumbs up it. Best example - cassoulet with boxed stock is so awful that Serious Eats recommends adding gelatin to come close to that same browned, crispy skinned goodness that you get with a homemade chicken stock.
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And even if you just eat Costco rotisserie chicken regularly, making your own chicken stock is a complete no brainer. Keep a container in the freezer for vegetable scraps and chicken carcasses and leftover meat, when the container is full, simmer in a big pot, it’s still better than anything you can buy in a store, and not just by a little bit. And it’s free.
Throw in some chicken feet from an Asian market and it becomes amazing.
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I can’t get down with using commercial rotisserie carcasses. They are cooked to total dessication already. But I suppose better than nothing.
Funny you mention Serious Eats and gelatin. Their All-American Beef Stew recipe was the first where I started using gelatin, and it works really well. They use chicken stock, make a slurry of umami bombs, mix it all with gelatin and use that as the braising liquid.
Lets just say the recipe does not work well with homemade gelatinous stock. Imagine a beef stew where the liquid is a very concentrated demi-glace. 
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Its far from ideal, but it’s still better than anything that comes in a carton. Just wanted to point out that even if you are the most low-effort home cook, there is no excuse not to make your own chicken stock.
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Whenever I smoke chickens, I spatchcock them keep the back bone and the carcass after smoking then make broth. I have to agree with you all, home made stock is worth the effort.
Hmm, i just recently carved up a costco rotisserie, and it was quite good. Carcass certainly good enough to make stock with, which I did. There are no doubt better quality chickens to start with, but you can do a hell of a lot worse than a costco, or whole foods rotisserie.
Are you thinking about the roasting of the bones part of the process, or something(s) else?
Getting enough bones in the first place. Chicken carcasses just accumulate in our house, no need to buy anything, but getting a bunch of beef bones takes extra effort.
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I’ve never had a chicken or anything else from Costco, so I won’t argue. The ones we get from various sources are cooked beyond where the bones would yield much flavor. Better than a box for sure, but I’d buy backs and necks and feet from a butcher before I would use any rotisserie birds we get close by.
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When I make stock I usually roast the bones, or back/wings/drumsticks first anyway, so I don’t see that as a disadvantage.
My chickens are roasted, too, obviously, as would parts. The point I am trying to make is that most rotisserie chickens are not just roasted but way overcooked, to the point where the bones are almost falling apart. Most of the flavor and gelatin has been leeched out, and they do not make a flavorful or robust stock, in my experience.
Again, Costco chickens might be better, I don’t know.
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Ahhh, gotcha. Same problem at our address — I usually end-up buying some meaty bones to supplement whatever few I may have at the time.
I had one bun left in the pack, and kinda wanted to wrap-back to smashburgers pretty quickly, anyways. So I did. Got the burgers even better this time than last. The entry-level from Domaine du Bel Air was a great match! It’s nuts how good this wine is, considering it’s closer to $20 than it is to $25 — easily in my top 5 QPR around that price point.
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Last night was my first time making Thai beef salad. I followed a recipe, but kicked-up the Thai chiles about 5x to achieve my preferred level of spicy; also added the carrots, radish, and green cabbage. This was truly excellent, and surprisingly easy. This recipe is getting printed and saved. a 2021 JJ Prum - Bernkasteler Badstube Kabinett paired nicely.
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Is that a triple burger ?
. Looks yum!!!
Well done indeed!!
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Yyyyep! But patties were small, and no starch beyond the bun. <—- that is how I justified the triple to myself. 
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Heck yeah! No justification needed 
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