I've kept the chicken carcass - now what?

Debt_Free_Chick

I'm sorry to be contrary, but I'm going to disagree with the suggestions that you boil the carcass. You need to bring it to the boil, but then turn the heat down so you get a very gentle simmer. You really want the stock to bubble occasionally. A long slow simmer will result in more flavour from the carcass. Boiling will work, but the result will be inferior IMHO.

When making a soup, it sometimes helps to think of it as a two stage process - stock, then soup from the stock.

Firstly make a stock from the carcass - place carcass in saucepan or ovenproof casserole/stock pot. Add a few peppercorns
a bayleaf
herbs of your choice (or a bouquet garni)
a carrot
an onion (studded with cloves, if liked)
a clove of garlic
Any other veg scraps & peelings

I don't add salt at this stage.

Bring the boil, reduce to a simmer, put lid on pan and simmer very gently for 1-2 hours. (Or put it in the slow cooker).

Strain the stock, reserve any meaty bits. Now for the soup bit.

At this point, you can simply return the meat to the stock and add diced veg for a meat & veg consommé (consommé being a clear soup). Taste and add salt at this stage, if required.

For a thick smooth soup .. reserve the meat and add plenty of root veg e.g. potato, carrot, sweet potato, parsnip etc. Bring to boil, simmer until soft, blend or mash the whole lot. Taste & add salt at this stage. Return to heat, add meat, heat through gently but thoroughly.

You can add back the veg from the stock if you're being very OS But it should be almost tasteless, as the flavour should already be in the stock.

You can freeze stock for use later either as a soup or for gravy or casserole dishes. Or you can freeze the finished soup.

Chipps

I have 2 different ways that I cook the carcase. One is to do it in the pressure cooker - that way its done in 45 minutes of steaming. The other way is to put it in the slow cooker overnight. I pour on boiling water, turn it onto low and leave it overnight. The flavour is better this way I think, but if time is more important the pressure cooker way is good. My mum does hers in the microwave, which is quicker still, but I prefer the other methods.

JailhouseBabe

Thanks for all your suggestions.

In the end I opted to boil the carcass with a couple of bay leaves, then reduce to a simmer for an hour or so. I strained it, reserving the extra meat that came off the bones, then left to go cold so I could skim the fat off the top.

I then added a couple of carrots, 3 small celery stalks and a leek and put the meat back in. Brought to the boil and simmered for 20 minutes, mashed with a potato masher and seasoned, then returned to the heat for a few minutes.

The resulting soup was nice (but think I'd try debt free chick's thick soup next time) - I was surprised that I only manged to get 2 bowls of soup from it though. Maybe I should have added more water at the stock making stage? I used about a pint and a half.

The chicken and mushroom pie was very successful - I actually got 2 good sized pies using: The meat off the thighs and wings (that we won't eat in a roast dinner), one packet of ready to use puff pastry, one onion, about a dozen small mushrooms and a tin of campbells condensed chicken and white wine soup.

So 4 days meals from one chicken. Very OS!

Thanks again to everyone for their helpful suggestions x

lynzpower

Ive got one here too, carcass ready to be simmered. I have some pearl barley, red lentils, mini pasta shapes. Sorry to be dumb, but shall I wack any of these in the soup after boiling?

JailhouseBabe

lynzpower, go for it. You might end up with a new family favourite (sounds tasty to me).

weegie_2

Me again.

Made my first roast chicken last night - and I didn't posion anyone :-) so impressed with myself.

Picked the bones clean of meat and was left with a chicken carcass which I threw out....

Now I new I could have made something out of it. But I simply didn't have time to do yet more cooking...(I work full time)...and I had been cooking a lot over the weekend. Was all cooked out!

So, my question is. And it's probably a daft one again....can I freeze the chicken carcass, defrost the next weekend and then do something with it?

Cheers!

gwinnie

Yes, you could make a stock out of it, by boiling in a large pot of water. Line a fine sieve with kitchen towel and strain the bits and any excess fats off. The kitchen towel will need to get changed a couple of times. You can't refreeze the stock though if the carcass was frozen.

bootman

I've had my carcass in the slow cooker overnight.

I strain it, and pick off any bits of meat, we only ever eat the breast from the roast so quite a bit left on it.

I then use the stock and chicken bits to make a risoto for tea tonight

thriftmonster

If you make stock, an onion, a carrot and a bayleaf help a lot. You can use the peelings as well or the tops of leeks etc.

liz545

I often throw the carcass in the freezer, if I know I'm going to have another chicken soon to add to it, or until I've got time to make stock. You can chuck whatever vegetable scraps you have in there too - carrot peel etc. I must confess I will often freeze the stock after this - my logic being since I've heated the stock to boiling point, and once I've defrosted it I'll reboil it, so any bugs should be pretty much killed off. I've had no ill effects doing this, and it's easier than trying to use up 5 litres of stock in 4 days!