Chicken Carcass - Kitchen Gold!

[Geeklove]

I make this 2-3x a month! My family loves it...after roasting an organic chicken and peeling off all of the meat I throw the carcass into a large pot(sometimes I freeze a couple of them to use)...I then throw a splash of vinegar to draw out the minerals(trying to keep it healthy!)...I cover with water and add in any vegetables(carrot, celery with leaves, onion, and garlic all with skin left on).
I bring to a boil and then simmer overnight into the morning. I also skim the fat off of the top a few times. In the morning I strain and take the chicken I peeled off of the roast to make a soup. I keep it simple with chicken, salt, pepper, onion, celery, carrot and sometimes a noodle. Serve with bread and butter! Delicious, healthy and everyone loves it!

 

[Dawgluver]

I make this 2-3x a month! My family loves it...after roasting an organic chicken and peeling off all of the meat I throw the carcass into a large pot(sometimes I freeze a couple of them to use)...I then throw a splash of vinegar to draw out the minerals(trying to keep it healthy!)...I cover with water and add in any vegetables(carrot, celery with leaves, onion, and garlic all with skin left on).
I bring to a boil and then simmer overnight into the morning. I also skim the fat off of the top a few times. In the morning I strain and take the chicken I peeled off of the roast to make a soup. I keep it simple with chicken, salt, pepper, onion, celery, carrot and sometimes a noodle. Serve with bread and butter! Delicious, healthy and everyone loves it!

I'll bet! Sounds delicious! You can also cook the carcass and stuff in the crock pot.

 

[Claire]

Now the cheapest stock material is leg & thigh portions (yes, Mom used to use wings before they became popular). I can still buy them for under a dollar a pound. Unfortunately my husband doesn't like dark meat. BUT, even then, that great, gelatnous stock is worth every dime. Protein in a cup.

 

[FrankZ]

The last time I made stock in bulk it was backs that were cheap. I only find thighs at $1/lbs on deep sale, and since that is what we prefer I go crazy with it.

 

[CWS4322]

Because it was Cdn T'giving Monday, I ran into the local grocery store on Friday and picked up turkey necks and backs for stock. They were very inexpensive (I can't remember the price, sorry). I tossed them in a zippy and then in the freezer for when I make one of the turkeys that is in the freezer--I'll add those bones to the stock. We had ham for T'giving. Which reminds me, I have the drippings and bone with which to deal.

 

[PattY1]

The last time I made stock in bulk it was backs that were cheap. I only find thighs at $1/lbs on deep sale, and since that is what we prefer I go crazy with it.

Back when I had more people to feed, I used to buy Oven Stuffer Roasters on sale for .69$ a pound. I would cut them up and use the parts for all of my Chicken needs. The backs I would wrap in plastic wrap and put in a zip lock bag. Once I had 3 or 4 I would use them to make stock/broth. View attachment 12201

 

[buckytom]

what tatt said, once again. roast the carcass a bit, and sautee the veggiesand deglaze to make great stock for soup.

one extra thing is to leave the skins on the onions in the initial boiling to add a nice, deep, golden colour.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I can buy leg quarters in 10 pound bags for about sixty cents a pound--ocasionally on sale for less. I only eat dark meat, so it works well for me. I cut the legs and thighs apart, and remove the piece of backbone from the thighs.

I use the backbones for stock--I can usually make a couple of quarts just using the backbones and the odd leg or two.

 

[Soma]

Sounds like you're on the right track, Amnesia!

but I consider the stock-making as a separate job from the soup-making. For soup I like to start with fresh veggies: first, onion, celery, carrot, maybe some mushrooms....glaze these in a little olive oil; then I add whatever more substantial veggies I feel like (broccoli, cauliflour, potatoes), before adding the homemade stock.
I cook the vegetables in the stock, before adding the chicken bits. Since the chicken meat was roasted, it only needs to be re-heated in some good hot stock, not cooked again like the new vegetables do.

I also like one or two dry cloves (not garlic cloves but the spice) into my stock. Gives it a nice 'punch'.

 

[CWS4322]

I'm am a believer in "strip the carcass of the meat" process for stock. I crack the large bones and put them in the roaster. I roast the bones to which I add water, carrots, celery, grated fennel, a teaball filled with pickling seasoning, garlic, grated ginger, fresh bay, pepper corns. Or, I don't put anything in. I slow roast the bones for 8-12 hours at 250. Then I strain it and move on to soup, etc. The pickling seasoning adds the 'missing' element. I use the fat from the 'juice' for pan fried potatoes, etc. When I make soup, I add the meat during the last 5-10 minutes so it doesn't get mushy.

 

[spiceoflife]

Back when I had more people to feed, I used to buy Oven Stuffer Roasters on sale for .69$ a pound. I would cut them up and use the parts for all of my Chicken needs. The backs I would wrap in plastic wrap and put in a zip lock bag. Once I had 3 or 4 I would use them to make stock/broth. View attachment 12201

That is exactly what I do. I often do a butterflied chicken on the BBQ. I remove the backs and necks and freeze them. Once I have a whole pot full, I make stock with them. I pack in onions, carrots, celery, pepper, thyme, sage. Cook it for a few hours, strain it. Chill it overnight, remove the fat, bag it up and freeze it in lots.

Much better than store bought. Love the flavor.

 

[my2girls]

Tip: wrap bones/carcass in cheese cloth before simmering. Easy retrieval of miscellaneous bones and what not. Bouquet garni as well.

 

[CWS4322]

what tatt said, once again. roast the carcass a bit, and sautee the veggiesand deglaze to make great stock for soup.

one extra thing is to leave the skins on the onions in the initial boiling to add a nice, deep, golden colour.

I save the onion skins and toss them in a zippie. I add these to stock when I make it.

 

[Andy M.]

Tip: wrap bones/carcass in cheese cloth before simmering. Easy retrieval of miscellaneous bones and what not. Bouquet garni as well.

I just pour it through a strainer into another container.

 

[my2girls]

I just pour it through a strainer into another container.

Pouring that hot liquid through a strainer into another container is very difficult. Lifting a nice, neat parcel of cast-a-ways; gift wrapped for the trash is more suited for me.

 

[TATTRAT]

I just pour it through a strainer into another container.

+1

Pouring that hot liquid through a strainer into another container is very difficult. Lifting a nice, neat parcel of cast-a-ways; gift wrapped for the trash is more suited for me.

To each their own. The cheese cloth also soaks up some of the fat, which I reserve for roux. . .but, to some, a lil fat removal is a bonus, lol.

 

[Andy M.]

Pouring that hot liquid through a strainer into another container is very difficult. Lifting a nice, neat parcel of cast-a-ways; gift wrapped for the trash is more suited for me.

Both ways work. Whichever is easier.

 

[Soma]

CWS4322. That's it!
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
what you describe above, about roasting... sounds to me like the perfect formula for making the richness, the substance, the je-ne-sais-quoi of deep, robust, soup-base taste!
I've been cooking for 54 years, ( since age 10, ;>) and am still learning (and forgetting, and learning-again) that magic happens in the roasting (of meat and/or vegetables)

Thank you!

and 'spiceOfLife': do you barbecue the necks etc before freezing and storing?