Chicken stew

[Midlifecrisisxamillion]

I've just made my first chicken stew. What would people normally eat with it? Would you normally cook the chicken in the stew or separate and then add later? If you cook it in the stew, how do you stop all the chicken gunk spoiling the stew?

The chicken gunk is what makes the stew good. It's what stock cubes are made of!

😮

Chicken gunk! I used diced chicken breast,any vegetables to hand, I like a french chicken casserole. Leeks, carrots, potatoes thinly sliced, chicken or veg stock, slightly thickened with cornflour. Dash of white wine or cider,layer of apples on top, normally goes in the oven 180c for 90 minutes,then lid off add Herby dumplings. I will do the same these days in a slow cooker. Everything chucked in ,in the morning.served with warm crusty bread if I leave out the dumplings.

Chicken gunk? I use chicken thighs and it's lovely! I serve mine with dumplings and mash with cabbage and peas in the winter and new potatoes and spring greens in the summer.

What gunk are you talking about, let's clarify. Do you mean the juices that come off chicken as you cook it?

No all the froth bits that fall off when chicken is boiled.

Ooo mash or dumplings are a good shout.

What are you boiling ?

Boiled? Am I the only one who browns the floured chicken and onions, then the rest of the veg (carrots, celery, and herbs with some garlic), add stock and wine and let simmer. It doesn't boil.

The chicken

You don't boil the chicken. It cooks on a simmer.

Ah ok. That makes sense. I think I need a different recipe next time.

There will sometimes be froth - just remove it into a little bowl and discard. 🙂

You can skim off any froth from a stew in a saucepan with a tablespoon (it is what I do when boiling a gammon joint), and if it is very fatty, then you can submerge a ladle in gently till it is level with the top of the liquid. The fat then runs into the ladle and you can remove it.

Boiling the chicken...? 😱 I would just brown it off in the frying pan with the onions and some seasoning and then bung all the other ingredients in and leave it to simmer

(But that goes for boiling such as when making stock - if browning/simmering in a casserole that wouldn't happen)

Thanks everyone. I'm not the best cook as you can probably tell.

Even if you are boiling/poaching a chicken, I save all the liquid for stock. I dont skim anything off

Are you boiling the whole chicken or just bones / leftovers? I make chicken soup by boiling the bones. I then drain the liquid into a different pot, add some leftover chicken and veg. I love it as comfort food.

I don't like the scum - usually comes up in the first few minutes. I prefer a cleaner broth.

Looooove a properly gelatinous stock. 🙂

Yeah chicken is much better if browned off first which releases all the “ gunk .” Actually feeling a bit bilious …

What recipe did you use?

Brown floured, seasoned chicken (preferably joints on the bone), brown onions (& any other veg), slowly add stock, add some herbs, bring to a simmer, stick in the oven for about 1.5 hours.
Serve with mash and green veg.
Yum.

please do not boil raw chicken.
To make a stew either -
use portions of chicken or cubed chicken browned in oil and then add wine and stock and veg and simmer
or
use left over bits of roast chicken- make a stock from the bones simmer veg in it then add in the left over cooked roast chicken

to answer the original question what you serve with it depends on the veg you add in- I add carrots, parsnips, celery, barley and lentils for a basic chicken stew and serve with bread.
If I am making a more sophisticated chicken stew- such as portions of chicken sauteed then cooked in wine and stock and herbs (poss tomato if you want to go spanish) then once stewed and thickened I would serve with new potatoes and green beans

Can you talk us through what you have done/ how you have cooked it? What recipe have you followed?