How to make chicken soup from carcass

[IFeelLikeChickenTonite]

Currently I'm making a chicken soup for tomorrow from a leftover cooked chicken carcass. I've stripped the chicken meat to add later and am boiling the bones in a saucepan of water. How long would I boil the bones for? and after straining, is it better to leave the stock overnight in the fridge so I can easily remove the fat? Any tips appreciated !

I something roast the bones for flavour so maybe next time. But simmering is still good too without roasting first.

Simmer for quite a few hours and top up the water a bit if it boils down. You can add an onion and bayleaf. If you are making Chinese chicken soup you could add star anise and a cinnamon stick. I do let it cool in the pot and then sieve and put it in the fridge..careful you don't scoop off the collagen along with the fat.

I make this one…
www.kitchensanctuary.com/piled-high-chicken-and-vegetable-soup/

Thanks. I like a smooth soup so is it ok to blend it all at the end and add single cream?

Also I haven't got a few hours, I want to go to bed soon !! Can I stick in the slow cooker overnight?

I would

Can I ask please @Thoughtsonstuff, how so you leave the collagen but remove the fat? I've made chicken stock for years and never considered i might be removing something good when skimmjnv the fat

Same here!

Well I'm now questioning myself but I always thought the collagen was the lighter colour layer after the main stock and the fat was the solid bit at the top. I've got some chicken so will boil it up (I've got a cold so some chicken soup would be nice) and report back.

I'm not sure that you remove collagen from chicken stock unwittingly, when you skim off the soldified fat?
As I understand it, the long slow simmer ( 6 hours plus) of the bones extracts the collagen into the water. After it's cooled, the pale solid fat layer can be removed, but the jellied rest of it is the goodness ( collagen) and what you need for the soup.
I may be wrong, but I've always thought doing it that way, I'd "got the goodness", but not removed it?

Slow cooker would be ideal, OP.

Enjoy your lovely bones...oh, I must try roasting them sometime for extra flavour.

I put the left over roast carcass in the slow cooker with some water, but ds has started buying whole chicken and butchering himself so now I've got uncooked carcass. I freeze them and do 2 or 3 at a time but I'd never thought of roasting the bones first. Will try that next time we have the oven on.

I find left over roasted carcass tastes better than raw- roasted bones better it seems.
I strip then either boil for a couple of hours topping up water and crushing bones- adding a clunky chopped carrot, and a couple of celery sticks.

when it is well reduced I put through a sieve and chill then when it is set remove yellow top fat.
If I am making soup/ broth I still add a bit of bought concentrated stock.
Favourite soups using chicken stock are
broth with chicken veg and barley
cream of celery
chicken and sweetcorn

If you remove the fat from cold jellied stock you are not removing the gelatin- that is what is holding the stock solid

You certainly can, but your house will smell of soup when you wake up. Personally I don't like that first thing in the morning.