Chicken soup - how do I make it (merged threads)

twink

some onion too if you like them

Bambam

Only just made some chicken and vegetable soup today and it couldn't be simpler. I use chicken thighs(like today)/legs/whole chicken, whatever you have to hand. Remove skin and in a large stock pot seal both sides of chicken. Cover with hot water - quite a bit - put lid on and gently simmer until meat falls off the bone (usually about 1 hour or so). Remove bones from the stock and dispose of & put meat to one side. Thats the stock made. Now prepare the veg. I generally use leeks, swede, carrots, green cabbage, potato. Dice the leeks, but grate the swede, carrots and potato and finely shred the cabbage and add to the stock. It may look like a lot of veg but they do boil down. Season to taste with salt(not too much, you can always add at the end if more is needed) and pepper and simmer for approximately 30 mins adding the shredded chicken meat about 10 mins from the end. If at the end you decide you need more stock just add one or two knorr chicken stock cubes (I usually add one anyway) and some hot water. If you don't want to bother making your own stock just prepare veg, sweat (the veg, that is!) in pot for 5 mins and then add hot stock and simmer for 30 mins. Voila. I make soup every week, spicey parsnip, butternut squash, tomato and lentil, leek and potato etc. Sooooooooo easy. Happy souping people. By the way, if you don't like 'chunky' soup you can always blend it. Enjoy!

tawnyowls

I usually add onion, a stock cube, some herbs and seasoning, and white wine, bring to the boil, simmer for 30 mins or so, add some sweetcorn, simmer for another few mins, then add cream to thicken. I use an old pressure cooker basket to hold the bones, so they're easy to pick out and take the last bits of meat off. You can get these in Lakeland, but they're 23 quid for 3 (eek! would be cheaper to buy a pressure cooker), but you might be able to pick them up on Freecycle or at a tip.

Bambam

What a good idea using a pressure cooker basket for the meat. Saves fishing around for the bones in the stock. Will give it a try! Thanks for that

elljay20

Thanks everyone. Also am i correct in thinking i should just top up with water not stock.

Nosht

Simplest chicken soup is to bring a pot containing the whole chicken to the boil then simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Take the carcase out then place some pre-chopped leeks & some rice into the pot. Simmer again till the rice has softened then eat. Other veg. may be added to personal taste.

Regards,

N.

susank

If you use the above recipe - remember to still boil up the bones again after the meat has been removed to make more stock for the freezer.

PONDSAVER_2

I cooked my chicken ( whole one) in a sc yesterday and saved the stock from it to use when making leek and potato soup.

do I use the stck as it comes or do I scoop of the jelly stuff that has formed on it.....sorry for stock I normally just use a stick cube????

kethry

the jelly stuff on the top is actually fat from the chicken, so yeah, i would scoop as much as possible off it. The recipe i read (and used) advised to put the whole thing in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight, so that the stock sets and it makes it easier to scoop the fat off the top.

if you don't have time for that you could try the freezer for a couple hours?

keth
xx

PONDSAVER_2

Thanks it is in the fridge now so it should be ready to scoop off later when I'm ready to givethe soup a go!!