Where have I gone wrong with this chicken soup?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Had two boiling chickens, three good sized onions with skins on, a bit fat leek, three chunky carrots and a few sticks of celery (leaves included) couple of bay leaves, two cloves of garlic and I’d say a tablespoon of whole black peppercorns. Chucked it all in a big pot, covered with cold water, brought to the boil and simmered gently for like 5 hours… left overnight, today skimmed off the fat/rubbishy bits, strained, added salt and aromat.

I was hoping for a lovely flavoursome restorative broth, but it’s just… meh.

What do I need to do?

Roast the chicken

Stock gel pot and saute and onion for a long time then add your stock that you've made.

Yeah, I'd have roast the chicken, and the veg and then blitzed it up. Just boiling everything never leads to as much flavour.

Definitely a stock pot.

For now, add a stock pot or two.

Next time, I find salt, a dash of vinegar and not too much water help, and I always use a roast chicken.

How much water - perhaps too much? You could boil with lid off to reduce and concentrate the stock a bit.

I saw a really nice chicken soup on Instagram that I saved

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmzvrUEopb1/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

You’ve basically made a decent chicken stock. I’d strain it and then simmer it to reduce down, sauté some carrot/onion or leek/celery in butter, then add the stock and maybe a chicken stockpot. Small cubes of potato, orzo pasta, red lentils or a tin of mixed pulses will give it substance if you fancy something more hearty.

Did you first skim as it came to the boil? It's the first skim that results in clear broth, if that's what you're looking for?

5 hours is way too long for chicken, 1 1/2 is plenty - you also need to skim the scum off the top.

You need to drain the stock, reduce it probably with a stock cube. Then fresh veg and lastly some of the chicken meat.

You've confused making chicken stock with making chicken soup.

I've made the same mistake too!

My chicken soup I use the left over chicken carcass from a roast, boil it up for two hours. Then let cool slightly and pick all the meat off the bones and discard them. Add the meat back to the stock, shove in whatever veg I have in the fridge, carrots, broccoli, parsnips, celery, peppers, potatoes, peas and any leftover from the roast. Bring to the boil, simmer for 20 mins and then blend it all up. Lovely thick, warming soup.

Stock salt and reduce more.

Wait aren't you supposed to first make stock (carcass of a roasted chicken + veg, herbs, etc). And then once you have your strained stock, you can use that as the base for whatever soup you're making - which may involve a whole fresh bunch of veg, meats, other flavourings.

It sounds like you tried to combine both steps into one?

I agree with the mixing up two steps. I make stock from the roasted carcass with bay leaf, onion, carrot, celery, ( so Sunday's roast dinner makes stock on Monday) then when making soup, use that stock with the mulch from the stock, use potato for thickening, and some of the left over chicken. It's a three stage process really. Roast dinner, stock, soup.

For 2 chickens I’d have used twice as many onions.

I expect it's already all been said, but:

Start with very good quality chicken. Makes a big difference to the quality of your stock.

Definitely roast your chickens first. Remove the meat from carcass as it will be much nicer if it isn't boiled for ages, and it's the bones and cartilage, plus any scraps of meat, you want for nutrition/flavour. Aromatics as you like. Boil for an hour or so, then simmer for hours and hours. Take lid off for the last part of the cooking time and reduce by at least half (depending on how much water you started out with). Don't get rid of the fat! That's where all your flavour, and a lot of the goodness, is.

Don't expect it to be as strongly flavoured as stock cubes/pots. It just won't be. However if you reduce it a lot you will get a very pleasant, nutritious and delicious broth. I usually get about 5 or 600ml from one chicken (estimated off the top of my head).

I also always add any cooking juices, and/or any leftover gravy made from the roast.

Hard to fathom the salt, bouillon quantity but it’s an excellent flavor (similar ingredients to your attempt)
i do use 3 gtts of yellow food coloring