Chicken stock and soup recipies needed.

verbyl.belch

Hi.

Since seeing the channel 4 programme with the battery farmed chickens i have been buying "daylight" chicken (ie RSPA approved, free range or organic depending on what's available in the supermarket).

As this meat is more expensive i've been buying whole chickens and cutting it myself into, breasts, thighs+legs and wings and then throwing away the rest :eek:. Not good! I'm sure there is still lots more i could use.

Can someone explain how to make chicken stock with the carcass (is it just boiling for 4 hours?) and perhaps suggest some recipies, soups mainly, but anything else would be nice.

floyd

I have only just started making my own stock (criminal I know ) but I cover the carcass with cold water and add:

2 small peeled carrots, 2 small unpeeled onions, 1 garlic clove, 2 celery sticks, 1 bay leaf, parsley stalks, a few peppercorns and a few bits of thyme if I have it.

Bring it all to boil then reduce straight away to a slow simmer for 4 hours uncovered topping up the liquid once or twice in the first 3 hours but not in the last hour.

I then strain it through a sieve and let it cool then put in the fridge to let the fat solidify and the stock turn to jelly. The next day I scrape off the layer of fat and throw it away (does anyone have a use for it?). I melt the jelly stock over a low flame then taste and season it before pouring into pots to freeze.

I don't bother reducing mine down as we go through it quite quickly so space is never an issue but you can reduce it right down to save space.

trying-very-trying

floyd wrote: »

The next day I scrape off the layer of fat and throw it away (does anyone have a use for it?).

Floyd, I save the fat scraped off the stock, or collected when grilling sausages etc, and use it as the fat when making a sauce, in the actifry, or for shallow frying onions,potatoes, peppers or mushrooms, or for browning a same flavoured meat before stewing etc.

brownhandbag

You can keep poulty fat in a bowl in the fridge and use it for roast veggies. Also if you have a slow cooker then make your stock in that as it's cheaper than on the hob I use any veggies hanging about for stock and freeze in pint portions. Great for rissottos and soup!

Magpie27

This has got me wanting to finally make my own chicken stock, I've got a slow cooker but I'm hopeless at knowing how long to put things in it for. If I put in a cooked chicken with all the other bits how long would I need to put in my slow cooker for?

Stephen_Leak

verbyl.belch wrote: »

Can someone explain how to make chicken stock with the carcass (is it just boiling for 4 hours?) and perhaps suggest some recipies, soups mainly, but anything else would be nice.

It doesn't take 4 hours.

CHICKEN SOUP

A simple, quick and easy recipe for chicken soup, using a leftover chicken carcass. A basic broth can be made with just the chicken, water, onion and pepper.

4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 onion
At least 2 additional vegetables (see below)
1 roast chicken carcass
1 litre of water
1 chicken stock cube
1 teaspoon of any herb
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Peel the onion and chop it into big pieces. Peel the other vegetables, if required, and chop them into 2cm (1 inch) pieces.

Put the chicken, onion, vegetables, water, stock cube and herb into a large saucepan on a medium heat. Stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering).
Put the lid on and cook for 1 hour. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

Fish out the carcass and put it on a plate. Remove any meat which is still on the bones, Put the meat back into the soup. Discard the bones.

If you have a food processor, put the soup in it and blend it to the desired consistency. If you have a hand blender, put it in the soup and blend it to the desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, use a potato masher, press the soup through a sieve with the back of a spoon, or leave it lumpy.

Season with the pepper.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

You an use carrots, celery, courgettes, leeks, mushrooms, tomatoes, parsnips, potatoes, swedes, turnips, etc. Using green vegetables and mushrooms will give a light and delicate broth. Using root vegetables and tomatoes will give a thick and hearty soup.

Sage would seem to be a good herb to use. After all, sage and onion does go with chicken.

For Chicken Noodle Soup, use green vegetables and add a small pack of noodles.

firesidemaid

i always cook the whole chicken first, using the breast + thigh meat and legs for meal/s.

then i take off as much meat as poss. to freeze/use for curries etc. i take off the smaller bits of meat to add to the soup.

then i boil the carcass as above to make stock with carrots, celery, onion etc.

i then use that to make a chicken soup ie. add diced carrots, celery, potatoes and also pick over the carcass for for small bits of chicken to add to the soup.

there is a 'rubber chicken' thread somewhere which is really good for s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it x

Melonade

Magpie27 wrote: »

This has got me wanting to finally make my own chicken stock, I've got a slow cooker but I'm hopeless at knowing how long to put things in it for. If I put in a cooked chicken with all the other bits how long would I need to put in my slow cooker for?

I made my first nice stock in my slow cooker a few months ago. I just chucked in the carcass with a few peppercorns, 2 carrots and an onion then left it on low over night (12 hours because I slept in ) It was really nice and REALLY easy.

Penelope_Penguin

verbyl.belch wrote: »

Can someone explain how to make chicken stock with the carcass (is it just boiling for 4 hours?) and perhaps suggest some recipies, soups mainly, but anything else would be nice.

Try this thread - How do I make my own chicken stock? There are lots of soup recipes here - Soup recipes.

I'll add this to the Rubber Chicken thread later

Penny. x

milkybars

If you're pushed for time you can do the quick stock version:

Cover carcas with cold water and bring to boil, simmer for 20mins. Ta da.

Its slightly less flavorsome due to no veggies (but then you're not wasting them on stock either!) and less cooking time but still works and tastes good. If you've an extra 10 mins pick off any cooked bits of chicken to use for chicken supreme, chicken noodle soup or another rubber chicken recipie.

Primrose

If you're got a pressure cooker you can make excellent chicken stock in 20 minutes which saves a great deal of time. Chicken stock is ideal for making risottos as well as soup - just fry some onion & mushroom, add the risotto rice and gradually stir in the stock over a period of 15 minutes while the rice cooks and absorbs it. It makes a cheap and delicious meal.