2025 Frugal Living Challenge

Bunga12

Hello, me again. You are all truly inspiring so I have another question. May seem silly but I've never done this and Google gives different views.

I want to make some soup. Some chicken soup. I have a whole chicken which I will roast and then carve all the meat off to use for various things. What do I do next? How does the carcass and all the bits you pick off become a soup? 

I need to make a stock from the carcass? Do I pick the chicken before or after? How do I make stock?

Would someone be able to give me the steps I need to follow please? Thank you. 

dND

Bunga12 said:

Hello, me again. You are all truly inspiring so I have another question. May seem silly but I've never done this and Google gives different views.

I want to make some soup. Some chicken soup. I have a whole chicken which I will roast and then carve all the meat off to use for various things. What do I do next? How does the carcass and all the bits you pick off become a soup? 

I need to make a stock from the carcass? Do I pick the chicken before or after? How do I make stock?

Would someone be able to give me the steps I need to follow please? Thank you. 

I'm going to guess that different people do it different ways but I finger-pick the carcass clean of all meat that I can.  There's usually enough for a risotto 😁.  I then crush the carcass and cover with water and pressure cook for 30 mins.  You can boil in a large saucepan but it takes longer and you need to keep adding water as it boils off.  You can add onion and vegetable peelings/left-overs to the stock.  I then strain the first lot of stock off and repeat the boiling process with the carcass.  That's another bonus of the pressure cooker as it's speedy.  When I had a log burner I just used to cook the bones for a few hours on that.

Once I've strained off the second lot of stock I then boil the 2 lots together to really reduce it so that it gels  and takes up less space in the freezer. If I think that there is a lot of chicken fat, I chill the two batches of stock and skim off the chicken fat, (which I use to flavour vegetable oil for frying), before reducing.  I also save all the bones from chicken joints whether raw or cooked and freeze them until I have enough to boil.  It's time consuming but I cut out a lot of salt from my diet and I realised just how salty stock cubes were once I made my own stock! Dx

fionaandphil

As @dND says, there are lots of ways to do it.  Once I've picked off all the chicken, I generally put the carcas in the slow cooker with some water on medium or high for about 4 - 5 hours, smells amazing.  I strain this the next morning and take off any little bits of chicken still on the carcas.  I then either freeze like that or make it into soup by boiling it up with some vegetables.  I have in the past also just put the carcas on to boil, but I can be prone to leaving it on the hob and forgetting it so I find the slow cooker works better 

The stock can also be used for risotto and you could then use some of the bits of chicken you've taken off the carcas.  I think there isn't a one rule suits all and it will depend on what you eat.  In winter I'd always make it into soup, but in summer I'd be more likely to make stock and freeze it for next time.  If you leave it to sit overnight in the fridge you can also skim off any fat.

We had roast chicken last night so are having a baked chicken and brocolli dish tomorrow and the stock is made and on the hob just now with some veg that needs used up.  I will probably freeze the soup as its quite warm this week and more salad than soup weather.

Good luck experimenting with this, you will find a way that works for you

Dizzycap

Major UK supermarkets slash Easter vegetables to just 15p - full list of discounts

Time to stock up for a full fill up freezer batch cooking splurge and then save some the in the shed

dND

fionaandphil said:

As @dND says, there are lots of ways to do it.  Once I've picked off all the chicken, I generally put the carcas in the slow cooker with some water on medium or high for about 4 - 5 hours, smells amazing.  I strain this the next morning and take off any little bits of chicken still on the carcas.  I then either freeze like that or make it into soup by boiling it up with some vegetables.  I have in the past also just put the carcas on to boil, but I can be prone to leaving it on the hob and forgetting it so I find the slow cooker works better 

I hadn't thought about the slow cooker - no need to be around as you say.  I'll have a go at that probably over the summer months as I'm more likely to be outside. 😁 Dx

Nelliegrace

That is good news @Dizzycap, thank you.
Cabbage, onions and root vegetables store well in our cold garage. We still have one and a half mushroom trays of stored, foraged apples left from September.

Some supermarkets have leg of lamb at half price. I shall buy one and cut it into three smaller joints, and freeze two, boned and tied with string. Lamb used to be a cheap meat, with scrag end of neck, shanks, and belly the cheapest cuts, and mutton even cheaper. It is an occasional treat now. 

I was fortunate yesterday shopping at the budget supermarket on the way home from the morning WI meeting. I bought a red stickered, 900g pack of thick pork steaks for £2.35. They are portioned up in the freezer now. 

I had a chicken carcass to use for dinner. I pick off the remaining meat, and simmer the carcass over a low heat in a large, lidded saucepan for about half an hour. I pick the bones over again for the last scraps. I used half of the stock and the meat scraps in a chicken and mushroom risotto with plenty of green vegetables added. The rest of the stock will make an end of the week soup, using up the last bits of vegetables such as the cauliflower stalk in the fridge. I cook a chicken in a covered roaster so there is about half a pint of chicken dripping to use, and the oven needs less cleaning. 

May I recommend this book, @Bunga12? There are second hand copies available. Homemade soup is a mainstay of thrifty cooking. Lentil soup and homemade bread, and porridge got us through difficult times. 

Bunga12

Wow thanks all. I'm going to give it a go. Once I've made the stock, what goes in the soup bit? Anything you want?

@Nelliegrace going to have a look for that book. 

RedLipstick

@Nelliegrace thank you for sharing, found a free PDF online x 

fionaandphil

Anything you want @Bunga12, nothing too strong though. Carrots, onions, squash, most vegetables work. In winter I also like to add lentils so that it's a bit thicker and more filling. Have a look for a basic soup book to start and then you'll learn how to build it from there. Most will have a good stock and vegetables.

I also like the covent garden soup books for some different ideas. They're a bit more complex but once you learn how to build the soup you can mess around with ingredients and quantities. I really like their roasted butternut squash recipe but rarely follow the recipe as it's written.

If you choose vegetables you like that's a good starting point. The 15p veg next week would be a good opportunity to try some different flavours.

Prudent

@fionaandphil I like the Covent Garden soup book too and also work with whatever I have available. 

I am looking forward to the veg offers as I haven’t managed to get a Lidl veg box for a few weeks. I am going to forage for some wild garlic and make a minestrone soup with some cheap veg. I think Lidl will have green beans which always work well.

I am delighted to see the first few seedlings coming through in the trough I have planted with salad leaves. I planted some spring onion seeds and some courgette seeds yesterday. I have some cucumber plants coming on well on a sunny windowsill. Mostly though I am planting flower seeds both to be beautiful pollinators outside and as some cutting flowers. I love having flowers in the house, but they are so expensive now. I am also bringing on some for the allotment plant sale and to share with others.