Help me get 2 more meals out of my chicken...

[GingerOClock]

I see all the time reference to other people getting 3/4 meals out of one whole chicken and I want to be one of those people. I roasted a chicken for dinner last night. We used the legs and the breasts. Still a fair bit of meat left on the carcass, and I've saved the juices.... what next?!

Don't eat meat anymore but I only ever used to get a roast dinner and a curry the next day out of my chicken (between 3 people) and maybe enough for a sandwich.

We leave in in the fridge for a week or so and then guiltily chuck it in the bin.

Delicious! *Italian kiss of forefinger and thumb

I normally chuck it in with a curry sauce, peppers and onions and have with rice and naan bread. You could mix it in with a fajita seasoning packet and have fajitas with corn and dips, or make a risotto with the juices and extra bits of meat, add peas, broccoli and mushrooms ! It's all dependent on your tastebuds though, the things I've suggested might sound horrid to you ! X

Chicken and mushroom pie or a stir fry

Fab - will strip the meat and freeze for next time we have a curry. What about the carcass - can I get a soup out if that?

My grandma makes a lovely soup with the carcass, I'm pretty sure she puts in boiling water with veggies and stock and just leaves it to simmer. It's amazing every time x

We usually do a curry or chicken pie. The pie we do is from Hairy Bikers Diet recipe and includes bacon, broccoli, mushrooms, leeks, peas and chicken stock, covered with shop bought filo pastry. Very quick and easy to make and very tasty.

You can also boil the bones to make your own stock and then use that to make soup.

How many are you feeding? 3/4 meals out of one chicken if there are 4+ people is pretty hard to do.
However this is what I do: Buy a large (2kg) free range chicken. Roast dinner with just legs. Chicken and mushroom/leek pie with one of the breasts. Chicken stir fried rice with other breast. Then a packed lunch with bits picked off carcass (coronation chicken/ chicken, bacon, mayo/ wild rice mixed through). Some people make stock with carcass but I don't think you get enough flavour but you could make a soup with that - Chicken and sweetcorn or cream of chicken?

Yes strip all the meat and save for curry, then use the carcass to make stock: cover with water and add carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf or bouquet garni, peppercorns. Simmer for a few hours. I try to make enough stock for two meals, ramen/pho and risotto.

Chicken and a lot of mushrooms, leeks and any other veg pie with what chicken you have left
Then make stock out of the carcass and use it in a risotto.

Use the stock to make gravy for a chicken pie with the rest of the meat.

Or make the stock and freeze. Or freeze the carcass till you can be arsed to make a stock. Or wait till you have two carcasses and the stock will be extra chickeny.

If you have a slow cooker sling the chicken bones in there with veg overnight.onluy use for a slow cooker in my opinion.

I normally just get one more meal and a couple of sandwiches.

I strip the meat, make a stock from the bones and use that and some of the meat in a paella with some seafood.

What about the juices?

Put the meat from the carcass in a stirfy with a load of veg.. Boil up the carcass itself - assume you've saved the bones from the legs - and use the stock for soup or risotto.

I use the scrappy meat for quesadillas as you can’t see inside them, presentation doesn’t matter!

Be wary about making stock. You need to strip all the gunge off it before simmering it. The stink will knock you out if you don't.

I boil up carcass, then after an hour of simmering, drain it and pick off all nice meat. Put the meat back in the stock with any veg (I put in leftover roast potatoes, celery, leek, carrots, onion, leftover veg from roast). Simmer about 40 mins then last few mins, add Grace chicken soup mix (basically a chicken noodle soup)
DD asks for roast chicken especially so we can have this the next day and then takes in her food flask for lunch day after

I would have assumed you would have used the juices to make gravy? If not, then it will solidify, but I wouldn't be too fond of the notion of making gravy out of it again.

after a roast, strip the carcass, and make a stock out it, including all juices etc on the plate.
Day two could be something like a chicken and leek pie, using some of the stock. day 3 would be a chicken based risotto, using whatever veg is to hand, even frozen peas.
Of course, it all depends on the size of the chicken and the number of people being fed!

Keep the carcasses in the freezer so you make stock with more than one at a time. Also, roast the bones when you roast your next chicken, it brings out the flavour.

Give less meat from the roast- we major on the veg dishes now, and have a little less chicken. I get two meals for four out of a chicken, then have the bones and scraps for stock for a soup based meal.

Okay. I've skimmed the fat off the juices and added it to the pan with the stripped carcass. Also added a couple of carrots, an onion, a few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves. I'm intending on simmering it for a couple of hours, then straining. I'll add the veg back in, plus a dollop of leftover mash and will whizz up to make soup. Does that sound ok? I might add the meat in at the end to make it super chickeny...

I made a Thai soup with my left overs.
Asda do ready chopped and frozen Thai herb mix (lemongrass,garlic,chilli and coriander) tablespoon in a pan, glug of fish and soy sauce, a couple of chicken stock cube few chopped spring onions. Add pint and a half of water and simmer for half and hour.
It stinks like sweaty feet but don't let that put you off.
Add left over shredded chicken, some veg (I used broccoli, mushrooms, more spring onions, bean sprouts and peppers cook for ten minutes then add noodles few minutes before end.
It is truly the food of the gods.
Top with extra chilli flakes, Coriander, roasted peanuts and lime.

It might be a bit late for this chicken, because what I would do would be:

roast dinner with the breasts - chickens tend to be about 1.8 to 2 kilos, so this is fine for family of 4 with primary age DC. Serve with plenty of veg and roast potatoes.

Thighs to be used for a second meal - pasta bake, curry, pie, that sort of thing.

Then you'll have the wings and bits of meat on the carcass, which can be made into a chicken noodle soup with stock - I don't bother making stock, because I don't like the result and it's messy and time consuming. But I do pull off all the scrappy bits of meat to either mix with mayonnaise for a sandwich or salad, or give to the cats.

Don't add too much water, and leave it simmering as long as you can.