Using cooked chicken carcass for soup.

[eugenefitzherbert]

Roasted a chicken today and took all the best meat.

If I want to use it for soup tomorrow do I just bung it in a pot whole with veg and water?

How long to cook for?

Any other tips?

Thanks

Yes, bung it all in but don't make the mistake my DP made when doing a soup using a cracass - when you take it off the heat - remove the chicken carcass as well and bin it! DP left it in for a few hours to 'deepen' the flavour and it tasted rank, was so puzzling and annoying as it was such a waste of food. Another friend of mine explained that it was the carcass being left in that spoilt the flavour! I would also shred as much meat off the carcass before it goes in and give it a second going over when you remove it...

Yup. Cooked chicken carcasss doesn't make the greatest soup though. It tastes a bit murky, a bit 'wartime' IYKWIM? my mum does it all the time!

Better soup is if you boil uncooked bones and chickeny bits with carrots onions celery etc. A good thing to do is to freeze raw chicken bones&scraps (like if you bone chicken thighs or a whole chicken stick the bones in a bag in the freezer When you have 2 or three chickens worth do a big pot of stock

Yes, we also freeze raw chicken scraps to make stock later. DH adds leeks too when boiling up the carcass along with celery, carrots, onions, black pepper or juniper berries, bay leaves and sometimes sprigs of fresh herbs like thyme. he stock is also delicious used in risottos.

Thanks for the replies.

Would it be better to use it for stock instead of soup?

I was inspired by a recent thread where people said they got 2 and even 3 meals from one chicken. We usually have just enough left over for sandwiches the next day so not sure how two or three meals is possible!

I routinely make stock from the carcass. IMO it takes some effort to then turn this into really good soup.
I mostly use the stock for risotto.

Add an quartered unpeeled onion to the pan, it adds flavour and colour. If you like a hint of garlic put an unpeeled clove or 2 in. I bung in any celery if I have it, carrot, parsnip etc. One thing I haven't tried but seen suggested is to roast the carcass/bones in the oven first. Simmer in pan for approx 1 hour and strain by putting clean pan in the sink with a colandar in it and tipping it in. This way you can leave for a couple of minutes to cool enough to pick out any solids you may want to put back into the pan with the soup, to leave whole or to blend. I also add a bit of chicken stock (Bisto) for the seasoning at the end. Or, add any cooked pots at this stage to thicken it. Nice with lots of parsley sprinkled into the bowl before serving, it floats to the top and looks lovely and green and apetizing.

Yes, you can make soup and risotto with the stock - we do.

A little bit of leftover chicken goes a long way in a curry with spinach and tomatoes in our house; ditto leftover lamb from a Sunday roastthe curries tend to last us two nights for two if we also make a quick dal to go with it. Left over chicken with green olives, onions, a little stock, lemons, saffron and ground ginger also provides us with another meal for 2.

DH buys a big chicken or lamb to roast on Sundays and we live off the leftovers (admittedly just DH and I for dinner after DD is in bed at 7) for two days, sometimes even three if I've made a curry.

If you have a slow cooker, that's a really easy way to do it. I turn it into soup by adding a packet soup to it. We call it Bone Soup.

I did one on Sunday that i got from a River Cottage recipe that tasted good.

A bay leaf while it's boiling is a good idea.

Add a couple of chicken stock cubes to the stock you've made, otherwise it will taste a bit bland.