Chicken stock to soup

juicygirl

Ok, doing that now, think it tastes better already!

So what stage did I go wrong at?

Patchwork_Quilt

Perhaps the pan was too big and that was why you had too much water. Just as an aside, I also save the cooking water from the veg in a roast dinner and the broccoli stalk etc. I add these to the chicken bones, along with any spare gravy, before I just cover with water. I then simmer for an hour or so and strain. When the bones are cool, I go over them one more time for scraps of meat. It's surprising what extra bits you can find. I pull them off with my hands, which sounds unhygenic but then boil the whole thing again for five minutes. The extra meat, the extra veg water and the extra drips of gravy all make a little difference too.

garthdp

i would think you used to much water in the stock for one chick carcass.

bbsparkles

Hi Juicygirl, you're not alone.

I recently made my first batch of chicken soup from a chicken carcass and I did the same thing (added to much water) and you could taste the chicken but only quite faintly (despite boiling it for 2 hours!) I put in 2 litres which was apparently way too much! But I added a stock cube and a hefty shake of black pepper and blended it with some veg, then added some frozen sweetcorn when I reheated it and it was lovely Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup.

You live and you learn right? Next time I will experiment with a bit less water and see what makes the tastiest soup.

On the plus side, I ended up with loads of soup!

juicygirl

Thanks everyone!

Eating my soup right now and it's actually quite nice

bbsparrkles, I think I used at least 2 litres if not more, so it sounds like that was def what went wrong. Like you I've loads of soup now, so all isnot lost!

xx

Stephen_Leak

I know that I've come to this a bit late, but I use just 1 litre of water. That makes for 4 x 250ml bowls of soup. It usually ends up covering the chicken, as I bash it down with the wooden spoon, if it doesn't.

I leave the meat on the bones. Most will come off anyway and I also pick the last scraps off when I fish out the bones.

I add a chicken stock cube, "just in case". However, I do not add any additional salt to any dish where I use one.

Penelope_Penguin

juicygirl wrote: »

Thanks everyone!

Eating my soup right now and it's actually quite nice

Glad it worked :T I'll add this to the exisitng thread, now, to keep ideas together.

Penny. x

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

(Sorry if I've put this in the wrong place or there's already threads about this - I can't get the search to accept "CHICKEN SOUP" as a complete phrase rather than CHICKEN (or) SOUP, if you see what I mean...)

Does anyone have a cheap chicken soup recipe that is good for using up leftovers and the carcass please?

Thanks

socks_uk

No recipe needed as regards quantities... Just throw in what needs using up!

I find a pressure cooker is the best piece of kitchen equipment to use to get the stock from the bones but you can boil them up in a big pan.

After you have got the stock and taken any meat off the chicken carcass put it to one side in a bowl so you can reuse the cooker/pan. Chop an onion and put it in the pan and slowly melt some butter (hmmm... a couple of tablespoons I think) and 'sweat off' the onions. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour and stir well. adding some milk gradually (about 100ml).
Add the chicken stock and meat and any chopped vegetables you have, you could also add a couple of chicken OXOs and a teaspoon of mixed herbs. You can then pressure cook it for about 15 minutes or simmer for about an hour.

I guess I've been making this for so long (about 25 years) so I don't measure, I just throw it all in.
Hope this helps. I made a beef soup/stew today for tomorrows tea... smells good!

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

socks_uk wrote: »

No recipe needed as regards quantities... Just throw in what needs using up!

I find a pressure cooker is the best piece of kitchen equipment to use to get the stock from the bones but you can boil them up in a big pan.

After you have got the stock and taken any meat off the chicken carcass put it to one side in a bowl so you can reuse the cooker/pan. Chop an onion and put it in the pan and slowly melt some butter (hmmm... a couple of tablespoons I think) and 'sweat off' the onions. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour and stir well. adding some milk gradually (about 100ml).
Add the chicken stock and meat and any chopped vegetables you have, you could also add a couple of chicken OXOs and a teaspoon of mixed herbs. You can then pressure cook it for about 15 minutes or simmer for about an hour.

I guess I've been making this for so long (about 25 years) so I don't measure, I just throw it all in.
Hope this helps. I made a beef soup/stew today for tomorrows tea... smells good!

Fab, thanks! I haven't made soup before (:o) so wasn't sure where to start! I'm sick of paying for cans of the stuff, when I'm throwing away perfectly good chicken bones and bits that could be converted into lunch for my hubby.

:T