Question regarding homemade chicken broth.

[legend_018]

I've made homemade chix broth. Usually using the carcass from a chicken that was previously roasted. I have read many times how some people use chicken parts. To try something different - I bought a whole chicken already cut up into parts.

If I make chicken broth out of it - do I or can I still use the chicken? I've read some people say since your cooking the heck out of the chicken the flavor is in the broth and the chicken itself is no good to you.

[Andy M.]

You can simmer the cut up chicken in water for about 45 minutes to cook the meat through then take the meat off the bones and return the bones to the pot and continue simmering for 3-4 hours. Strain and reduce the broth. Use or freeze for later use.

If you leave the meat in the pot for the whole 3-4 hours, it will be pretty tasteless as the flavor is now in the broth.

In the future, use a combination of roasted carcasses and raw parts. For raw parts, check at the market for the cheapest bits, not whole chickens. If you could buy a bagful of chicken necks and backs, that would be ideal.

[legend_018]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

You can simmer the cut up chicken in water for about 45 minutes to cook the meat through then take the meat off the bones and return the bones to the pot and continue simmering for 3-4 hours. Strain and reduce the broth. Use or freeze for later use.

If you leave the meat in the pot for the whole 3-4 hours, it will be pretty tasteless as the flavor is now in the broth.

In the future, use a combination of roasted carcasses and raw parts. For raw parts, check at the market for the cheapest bits, not whole chickens. If you could buy a bagful of chicken necks and backs, that would be ideal.

Ahhhhh. I was also thinking of taking some parts and not even cook them and others use for the broth. Since it is a whole chicken. Well at least I'm learning.

Funny I was talking to a friend earlier and I said I'm pretty sure if you make broth and cook and simmer the chicken for many hours - it is no good since it will be blah. She kept on saying that she has spent many hours cooking chicken before and usually it's very tender and juicy and how she remembers loving it that way.

[4meandthem]

When I was making stock regularly I would take my empty milk cartons and keep them in the freezer.
Whenever I had a carcass or bones they would go in there.I also saved all my onion, carrot, celery trimmings and threw them in there.When I would fill three half gallons it was time to make stock or demi.

[legend_018]

Originally Posted by 4meandthem

When I was making stock regularly I would take my empty milk cartons and keep them in the freezer.
Whenever I had a carcass or bones they would go in there.I also saved all my onion, carrot, celery trimmings and threw them in there.When I would fill three half gallons it was time to make stock or demi.

I'm having a hard time picturing this. All my milk cartons have small holes on the top where the cap is. Although I guess you could squeeze some stuff through the hole.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by legend_018

I'm having a hard time picturing this. All my milk cartons have small holes on the top where the cap is. Although I guess you could squeeze some stuff through the hole.

I use plastic bags, the cheap ones for bones and scraps of veggies. It's just something to store the small amounts of bones and parts until you have enough to make a batch of stock.

[4meandthem]

Originally Posted by legend_018

I'm having a hard time picturing this. All my milk cartons have small holes on the top where the cap is. Although I guess you could squeeze some stuff through the hole.

I open them up!(undo the folds)
re close or refold until full.

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by legend_018

I'm having a hard time picturing this. All my milk cartons have small holes on the top where the cap is. Although I guess you could squeeze some stuff through the hole.

You're thinking of plastic milk jugs, legend. He's talking about cardboard milk cartons. No wonder you're confused.

[letscook]

I use a clear plastic container like ziploc or glad storage containers
i also add skin, fat, and bones that i trim of chicken and when it fill up I make a pot of broth. Adding celery,carrots, onions, salt pepper.
I don't add any other seasonings as I don't want to over power the stock due to it depends what i will end up using it for. I store in 2 cup containers in the freezer.

Forgot also I do this with beef bones and fat/trimmings and when i see that they have a sale on beef bones in the store I stock up.

[LPBeier]

I regularly get stewing hens from our local grocery store when they are on sale for next to nothing. It isn't so much about the price, but they make the best broth as I don't worry about the meat, just leave it in and let all the flavour come out of bone and meat into the broth. I add a mire poix (chopped onion, celery & carrot all about the same size), pepper and a bouquet garni (or just some dried thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf) but no salt until I use the broth as the salt will intensify as the broth reduces.

I freeze it in different sized Ziplock freezer bags and also in ice cubes for when I just need a little broth in a recipe. I keep some on hand all the time.

[Robo410]

I save the meat. No it's not great for chicken salad, but if you toss it in with peppers onions hot sauce salsa and cheese etc etc, you can get a dish of enchiladas out of it. Or maybe some quesadillas, or a quick soup of some sort. I just don't throw food away if I can find a use that is reasonable.

[sparrowgrass]

I use the method Andy mentioned--cook the chicken in the water with the veggies, and when the chicken is just done, I pull it out of the pot, take the meat from the bones, and reserve the meat for another use. The bones and skin go back in the pot for a couple more hours.

I cut the raw chicken into pieces before I start--the chicken cooks more quickly.

[legend_018]

I made the most bestest "lol" homemade chicken noodle soup. I probably took the long road, but it helped me learn a lot. I have made it before, but I used some wisdom from here and from some other blogs during the process. This is what I ended up doing.

1. I took a small carcass from the freezer from a bird I roasted in the near past. carcass being very small.
2. I bought a package of chicken parts "came with the breasts, legs, and thighs basically".
3. Put these "MINUS the 2 BREASTS" in a pan and added the following: carrots, onions, Parsnips with whole cloves poked into them, red onions, celery, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns.
4. I filled the pan with water. I think I might of filled it to the 8/9 quart mark
5. Brought to a boil
6. Put back down to simmer and cooked with cover on for a good 2 hours.
7. Cooked with cover off for another 2-3 hours. This is where it's suppose to reduce and darken and intensify.
8. strained and cooled off - put in refrigerator
9. took layer of fat off the best I could this morning.

PART TWO: The soup.

1. Put oil in pan and put chopped onions in for a few minutes. Seared the 2 chicken breasts. Filled with part stock from night before and part water. Brought to boil and brought down to a high simmer for 1/2 hour. Took chicken off and put bones back in. kept on simmer with cover on for awhile and than eventually took cover off and kept it simmering for another few hours " goal ......more broth for later".

2. Back to soup.....Chopped up potatoes and carrots and onions. Put in pan. Covered with the broth made from the night before. Brought to boil and cooked until all was soft.
3. Added Orzo and let cook
4. Added small amount of frozen peas and corn and the cooked chicken pieces.

added spices along the way too long salt, pepper, thyme, parsley!!.
Had to add more of the broth from the night before as I put too much stuff into the pot and the broth wasn't high enough. : ).

[danpeikes]

ahh boiled chicken from the soup. A not so fond memory from my childhood. It has no texture or flavor. I would just leave it in the soup or use it as baby food for any infants in the house

[legend_018]

ok forgot something with my steps and forgot picture.

I made the most bestest "lol" homemade chicken noodle soup. I probably took the long road, but it helped me learn a lot. I have made it before, but I used some wisdom from here and from some other blogs during the process. This is what I ended up doing.

1. I took a small carcass from the freezer from a bird I roasted in the near past. carcass being very small.
2. I bought a package of chicken parts "came with the breasts, legs, and thighs basically".
3. Put these "MINUS the 2 BREASTS" in a pan and added the following: carrots, onions, Parsnips with whole cloves poked into them, red onions, celery, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns.
4. I filled the pan with water. I think I might of filled it to the 8/9 quart mark
5. Brought to a boil
6. Put back down to simmer and cooked with cover on for a good 2 hours.
7. Cooked with cover off for another 2-3 hours. This is where it's suppose to reduce and darken and intensify.
8. strained and cooled off - put in refrigerator
9. took layer of fat off the best I could this morning.

PART TWO: The soup.

1. Put oil in pan and put chopped onions in for a few minutes. Seared the 2 chicken breasts. Filled with part stock from night before and part water. Also threw in a little of each "carrot, onion, celery, bok choy, broccoli, salt and pepper. Brought to boil and brought down to a high simmer for 1/2 hour. Took chicken off and put bones back in. kept on simmer with cover on for awhile and than eventually took cover off and kept it simmering for another few hours " goal ......more broth for later".

2. Back to soup.....Chopped up potatoes and carrots and onions. Put in pan. Covered with the broth made from the night before. Brought to boil and cooked until all was soft.
3. Added Orzo and let cook
4. Added small amount of frozen peas and corn and the cooked chicken pieces.

added spices along the way too long salt, pepper, thyme, parsley!!.
Had to add more of the broth from the night before as I put too much stuff into the pot and the broth wasn't high enough. : ). Especially since some of it boiled off from cooking the potatoes, carrots, pasta etc. I cut everything up real small since that is how I like it.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

In Asian culture, any broth made with bones by which collagen is extracted is considered very healthy and is often referred to as "soup of the gods". To get the most collagen and nutrients from the bones, crack them and add a bit of acidic food such as celery. The broth will taste richer and have a better mouth feel as well.

There are a thousand different ways to make a great broth, and everyone has a favorite. I would say that most of them a perfectly valid. Here's how I do mine. It gives me tender and flavorful meat, and a rich and healthy broth.

Purchase one whole chicken. Bone and skin it. Fry the skin in a dry pan until browned and crispy and throw it into a pot with a quart of water. add the bones and a stalk of sliced celery to the water, with any meat still sticking to it. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer over low heat until the broth has reduced by about half.

Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl. Refrigerate over night. The fat will float to the top and harden. This makes it easy to remove. When ready to make soup, reheat the broth and add your veggies, typically, carrot, onion, and celery. Some people add frozen peas and/or other veggies. Celery root is great in chicken soup. Chives is also a great addition. Season with garlic, salt, pepper, and onion to taste. I like to add a bit of thyme as well. When the veggies are nearly cooked, add the noodles, or rice, or barley, whatever you like in your soup. For a treat, make up some biscuit dough for dumplings If you are making dumplings, place spoonfuls of the dough into the soup and cover. Cook at a rapid boil for about seven minutes. Dice the chicken meat into half-inch cubes and saute' in a bit of butter until lightly browned. Put the soup into serving bowls and evenly distribute the chicken meat between them. Then everyone gets a wonderful broth with tender and succulent chicken meat, great veggies, and healthy noodles (I make my own from whole wheat, egg, salt, and water), nutritios pearl barley, or brown rice. And who can resist those wnderful dumplings if that's the route you take. Jsut remove the dumplings to a seperate bowl when they are done to keep them from getting soggy.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North