Hi debs75 - have only just seen your message. If you want to make soup I suggest you make a tasty stock from the carcass, then use this stock to make a soup incorporating the bits of meat you have put to one side.
To make stock:
- Firstly, is the carcass cooked? i.e. did you roast the whole chicken? If not, put the carcass in a little oven dish with tin foil over and pop in a hot oven for 40 mins or so. If already cooked ignore this step.
- Break up the carcass and put it into a very large pot. (The greasy jelly-like meat will add much flavour to the stock, but pull off the really fatty skin if you prefer.) Cover generously with cold water.
- Add any or all of the following - note they can be very roughly chopped and don't really need to be peeled as they they will be removed at the end of the stock making.
Onions, garlic, carrots, celery, plus any other sad looking vegetables or offcuts that you would otehrwise throw away, e.g. leeks.
- Add a very generous grind of salt and pepper along with herbs like bay leaf, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme.
- Put a lid on and bring to a slow boil on the hob, then put the heat right down and simmer slowly for 1 to 3 hours.
- Allow to cool down then strain the liquid and throw away all the solids. I do this in two stages - firstly through a colander to get rid of the bulky stuff, then through a sieve. (If you want a clear stock, scoop the scum off the top during cooking, and sieve through fine muslin - not necessary for soup IMHO.)
- If you end up with more stock than you need for the soup, put the rest in the freezer and use for future souops, casseroles, cous cous etc.
To make soup:
There are loads of recipes and the sky is the limit! Basically you want to heat the stock in a pot with the shredded chicken you put to one side before. Other bits to add can be cooked in the stock to absorb the falvour, e.g. if you are adding noodles, etc. Important step is to taste carefully for seasoning as it usually needs salt and pepper.
Possibilities for flavours to add include:
- Chicken noodle soup - add broken up fine pasta, and sweetcorn if you wish.
- Chicken and white bean - add white beans (usually need to be soaked over night before cooking) plus finely shredded cabbage if you like.
- Chilli chicken - add finely sliced chillies, plus ginger, spring onions, coriander etc.
- Thai style - use a few spoonfuls of curry paste and maybe some coconut cream added at the end.
etc.
(If none of the above appeal you tell me what flavours you like and I'll see if I can think of something.)
Oooo, I love cooking! You are lucky I don't know where you live as I would be round in a flash and taking over your kitchen by now!
carriebo how did the house viewing go?