Chicken stock to soup

CCP

Twinny - as long as your kitchen isn't really hot I don't think it will be a problem. Give it a sniff and taste a bit - as long as it smells/tastes OK I'd go with it.

Icey - the answer to making soup thicker is potatoes! You just cook them and your other veg and the meat in the stock - when the potatoes are done they'll start breaking down a bit and thicken everything nicely. The stock will also have reduced a bit during the cooking, concentrating the flavour, so it shouldn't be too watery. (There are other ways of thickening soup, too, but that's the one I usually use for rubber chicken soup.)

Twinny99

Icey77 wrote: »

No idea on the "OK to eat question" but I have a really dumb question ... how do you turn the stock into soup?

Do you bung in some veg and some bits of meat left over etc but how do you make it thicker? Isn't it a bit watery and thin?

Thanks

I just cook some onions, potatoes, carrot, parsnip, anything I've got really and chuck in into the stock, boil it all up then leave to simmer for a while. Then add the chicken and leave that to warm up then blitz it with the stick blender...hey ho - soup!

CCP wrote: »

Twinney - as long as your kitchen isn't really hot I don't think it will be a problem. Give it a sniff and taste a bit - as long as it smells/tastes OK I'd go with it.

My kitchen is quite warm but I'll heat it up anyway...Im sure it wont kill me :T When I think of some of the rancid old burgers/kebabs etc I ate in my youth from filthy vans outside pubs if they didn't kill me my soup should be OK LOL!

valk_scot

Sniff/taste it and if it seems okay boil it up and give it ten minutes at a good rolling boil just before you eat it. That will kill most things. I wouldn't keep it for another day though, unless your kitchen is a sub-arctic one.

valk_scot

Icey77 wrote: »

No idea on the "OK to eat question" but I have a really dumb question ... how do you turn the stock into soup?

Do you bung in some veg and some bits of meat left over etc but how do you make it thicker? Isn't it a bit watery and thin?

Thanks

Potatoes or a handful of red lentils will thicken soup.

foxgloves

I find the best way to thicken soup and get a nice texture is to cook up the stock, with whatever meat, veg, lentils, etc, you want in it, then when it's done, blitz up about half of it in the blender & return it to the pan with the unblended half. That way, you get a thick soup, but it still has some bits in.

juicygirl

Ok,

So I am fairly new to this whole oldstyle way of using leftovers. Normally after a roast chicken I make some sandwiches for the next day and the rest (with a lot of waste) goes in the bin. Tonight, however is different! Going to try making some soup from the bones/leftover meat.

Unfortuantely I am a liitle clueless on how to go about this. I have searched the forum and found loads of chicken soup recipes but none that explain how to use the carcass. So what do I do?

Do I cover the chicken with water completely?
Do I remove the excess meat and add it later or just leave it on the bones?
Do I add a stock cube as well?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

redruby

Hi hun,

The amount of water you add depends on the amount of stock you want, but yes you can cover the whole bird with water.

If there is a lot of excess meat I would remove the main bulk of it and use this in another dish, the odd little bits left on the bones will be enough to flavour the soup.

You will not need to add a stock cube, there will be plenty of flavour in the bones, in fact it will be much nicer than stock from a cube.

Good luck

juicygirl

Thank you for that!

There are only two of us, was hoping maybe to make enough for lunch tomorrow and possibly to freeze some for another day? How much water would you recommend?

And also - how long do I simmer it for to make the stock?

garthdp

Remove the excess meat from the carcass and reserve.You can simmer the carcass for about an hour, add a bay leaf , pinch of thyme or tarragon to add to flavour.as well as onion trimmings carrot peelings celery trimmings.Strain off the stock andd add a couple of ounces of lentils or pearl barley and simmer until cooked.Using pulses adds body and volume to the soup so it goes further.
Chop onion carrot celery having peeled and trimmed ( and use the trimmings in the stock as above) fry gently in a little oil until softened and add to the stock pulse mix.Chop the meat saved from the carcass and add.Simmer for 5 mins adjust the consistancy ie add more water if it is too thick, season and serve .Very simple very tasty and very cheap

redruby

If it was me I would put water in up to the top of the pan, and keep topping up as it evaporates, you can always freeze any leftovers, so you may as well make a big pan.


I would simmer it for at least an hour, more if you have time, chop up an onion and put it in with the water and a carrot if you have one.

Let me know how you get on