ISO tips on homemade chicken soup?
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I just use the chicken itself to make the broth, bone in skin on, along with whatever vegetables I'm using, water, and salt. You can also use bullion instead of the salt.
When the chicken is cooked (about an hour), remove it, cool it and strip and cut it up and add back to the soup when the vegetables are all done.
PS: It usually takes a little longer than 5 minutes to get replies here. Just be patient.
When the chicken is cooked (about an hour), remove it, cool it and strip and cut it up and add back to the soup when the vegetables are all done.
PS: It usually takes a little longer than 5 minutes to get replies here. Just be patient.
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Bolas De Fraile
Executive Chef
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Buy an old boiling fowl ( an egg laying hen that has grown to old to lay anymore) put it in a big pot with lots of root veg and onions, cover with water bring to the boil and skim off the scum, turn to a simmer for 3 hrs.
Take the bird out and use the meat for pies, rissoles ect (the meat will still have good flavor and texture if it is a boiling fowl) put the stock in the fridge so the smaltz hardens and can be removed to add to your matzo balls then pass the stock and put the veg in your pie mix, heat your stock and clarify with egg white, make your matzo bolas drop in the simmering stock, when they rise to the surface Dov 3 times and serve.
Haim chicken soup with matzo balls as taught to me by my Grandma who made Golda Meir look like the tooth fairy.
Vermicelli noodles may be added if you wish to induce a coma.
Take the bird out and use the meat for pies, rissoles ect (the meat will still have good flavor and texture if it is a boiling fowl) put the stock in the fridge so the smaltz hardens and can be removed to add to your matzo balls then pass the stock and put the veg in your pie mix, heat your stock and clarify with egg white, make your matzo bolas drop in the simmering stock, when they rise to the surface Dov 3 times and serve.
Haim chicken soup with matzo balls as taught to me by my Grandma who made Golda Meir look like the tooth fairy.
Vermicelli noodles may be added if you wish to induce a coma.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
I always add a 1/4 cup of apple or white vinegar to the stock at the start. It smells like a mistake at first but then the smell and taste go away. This helps to give you a stock that will set up when it is cold.
justplainbill
Executive Chef
Big mature chickens make the best soup. Bolas has it nailed. Cooked out meat makes a passable chicken salad with mayo, celery and onions.
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Josie1945
Head Chef
Welcome to DC.
Josie
Josie
There are obviously different levels to homemade, larryP. Don't get all flustered just because a recipe calls for so many cans of this, or a package of noodles... You can use packaged products to get a homemade end result as long as the soup itself didn't come from a can. It's all up to the cook how "from scratch" they want to go. It sounds like you want to go all the way from scratch, so yeah, buy an old chicken and start from there. I have one walking around outside right now I could let you have.
I reckon I ought not to say this but..........
if you are gonna be that particular about canned broth, did you grow the veggies and such at home? Just askin', mind you.
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
Good point, Hoot.I personally have nothing against canned chicken broth, consider myself a durn good cook by the way. I do my chicken soup like everyone else, but just use canned broth instead of water, and to me I end up with double the flavor.
Larry, I think everyone has already given you all the advice I would have given. I would do some celery, onions and garlic in the water with your chicken. The apple cider vinegar leaches the calcium from the bones and that makes your soup "set" in the fridge.
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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Some of the best stock I have made came from a rotisserie chicken carcass (skin included) cooked on low in a crockpot. Check out www.soupchick.com for the recipe. Some folks freeze a bunch of carcasses and cook in a bigger crockpot. Use as is, or freeze in ice cube trays and bag 'em.
Costco, when we can get there, has excellent stock, lower sodium than my usual go-to Swanson reduced sodium or organic. I also will add a bit of bouillon to make it more chickeny.
Costco, when we can get there, has excellent stock, lower sodium than my usual go-to Swanson reduced sodium or organic. I also will add a bit of bouillon to make it more chickeny.
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Rocklobster
Master Chef
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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Soupchick's recipe:
Every week I buy a rotisserie chicken at the market. After I've made a few days' worth of sandwiches and salads, I turn the carcass into the world's easiest chicken stock. Lately I've been using my four-quart slow cooker, which makes exactly 1-1/2 quarts of stock. You can make this on the stovetop, too.
1 rotisserie chicken carcass, including any bits of skin and meat still adhering
1 medium onion, not peeled, cut in half
1 stalk of celery, cut in half
1 small carrot, cut in half
12 black peppercorns
Slow cooker: Place all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover with water to within 2 inches of the top of the cooker. Cover, set cooker on LOW, and cook for 6 hours.
Stove top: Place all ingredients into a 4- or 5-quart stock pot or Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours.
Pass the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, or through a larger strainer lined with cheesecloth, into a container (or into more than one). Cover, and let cool on the counter top. Refrigerate or, if not planning to use within 3 days, put into the freezer.
Whether the stock has been refrigerated until cold, or stored in the freezer, there will be a thin layer of chicken fat that has congealed at the top. Remove that by scraping it off with a spoon before you cook with the stock.
I found the key was leaving the skins on the onion. I did cut off the root end.
Every week I buy a rotisserie chicken at the market. After I've made a few days' worth of sandwiches and salads, I turn the carcass into the world's easiest chicken stock. Lately I've been using my four-quart slow cooker, which makes exactly 1-1/2 quarts of stock. You can make this on the stovetop, too.
1 rotisserie chicken carcass, including any bits of skin and meat still adhering
1 medium onion, not peeled, cut in half
1 stalk of celery, cut in half
1 small carrot, cut in half
12 black peppercorns
Slow cooker: Place all ingredients in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover with water to within 2 inches of the top of the cooker. Cover, set cooker on LOW, and cook for 6 hours.
Stove top: Place all ingredients into a 4- or 5-quart stock pot or Dutch oven. Add 2-1/2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1-1/2 hours.
Pass the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, or through a larger strainer lined with cheesecloth, into a container (or into more than one). Cover, and let cool on the counter top. Refrigerate or, if not planning to use within 3 days, put into the freezer.
Whether the stock has been refrigerated until cold, or stored in the freezer, there will be a thin layer of chicken fat that has congealed at the top. Remove that by scraping it off with a spoon before you cook with the stock.
I found the key was leaving the skins on the onion. I did cut off the root end.
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Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
By the way friends, just wondering here.......what's with the big old fat chickens?
Where does a city slicker find big old fat chickens ? I don't think my local supermarket has them.
Where does a city slicker find big old fat chickens ? I don't think my local supermarket has them.
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Fat young chickens will work, too! Sometimes you can buy 'roasters'--slightly older, larger chickens. In my store they are sold near the frozen turkeys. They are more expensive, so I just use the cheap frozen leg quarters in the 10 pound bag.
Or, I could go out back and murder one of my hens, but that is a lot of trouble.
Or, I could go out back and murder one of my hens, but that is a lot of trouble.
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
By the way friends, just wondering here.......what's with the big old fat chickens?
Where does a city slicker find big old fat chickens ? I don't think my local supermarket has them.
I think the legs end up in those 10 pound bags that go for $0.49/pound.
Dawgluver save that layer of fat. It is great for frying!
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
Chicken Soup, Goodweed style.
Purchase a good fryer (and yes, I'm going against everyone else here, but you will see why.). Cut all of the meat off of the carcass and set aside. Place the carcass, the neck, and any giblets into a pot, cover with water. Slice one stalk of celery, and chop one onion and add to the pot. Simmer for two to three hours. Taste the broth. You will notice a mild chicken flavor.
Strain the liquid through a fine mesh colander to remove the bones and veggies. Discard the veggies as they were used to flavor the broth and pull out the collagen from the bones and bone marrow.
Place the liquid back into the pot and season with salt, pepper, and turmeric. Go lightly, a little at a time. Stir and taste. Continue adding salt until the broth tastes right to you. Peel and chop 2 carrots into little rounds. Peel and coarsely chop one onion and add it. Add one chopped stalk of celery. Cover and let simmer for twenty minutes. Now is the time to either add egg noodles, rice, or dumplings.
While the noodles are cooking, Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat. While it's heating, dice the chicken meat that was set aside (1/2 inch cubes). Add 1 tbs. cooking oil to the pan and spread it around with a spatula. Add the diced chicken and stir it around to distribute it evenly over the pan. Sprinkle a little garlic powder and salt over the chicken. Let cook for about a minute, then stir again so that the uncooked sides are against the pan. Continue this process until the meat is lightly browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a suitable bowl.
If you placed dumplings on top of the soup, remove them to a bowl. If you added rice, it needs to cook for at least 30 minutes, preferably, 40. The noodles will be done by the time the chicken meat is cooked through.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve. Distribute the diced chicken evenly into the bowls.
This technique gives you a great soup broth, with yummy veggies that aren't cooked to mush. Also, by cooking the chicken outside of the soup, it doesn't get overcooked and dried out. It has wonderful flavor and it supremely tender. This is a little more work, but it makes a truly gourmet chicken soup.
There are two ways to make this soup even better. both are time consuming.
1. Grill the chicken to perfection, then remove the meat and follow the above directions. This will give you a great, grilled smoke flavor in the soup.
2. Remove the meat from the carcass, then roast the carcass in a 350'F. oven for 40 minutes before adding to the boiling water. This will give you roasted chicken flavor in the soup.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Purchase a good fryer (and yes, I'm going against everyone else here, but you will see why.). Cut all of the meat off of the carcass and set aside. Place the carcass, the neck, and any giblets into a pot, cover with water. Slice one stalk of celery, and chop one onion and add to the pot. Simmer for two to three hours. Taste the broth. You will notice a mild chicken flavor.
Strain the liquid through a fine mesh colander to remove the bones and veggies. Discard the veggies as they were used to flavor the broth and pull out the collagen from the bones and bone marrow.
Place the liquid back into the pot and season with salt, pepper, and turmeric. Go lightly, a little at a time. Stir and taste. Continue adding salt until the broth tastes right to you. Peel and chop 2 carrots into little rounds. Peel and coarsely chop one onion and add it. Add one chopped stalk of celery. Cover and let simmer for twenty minutes. Now is the time to either add egg noodles, rice, or dumplings.
While the noodles are cooking, Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat. While it's heating, dice the chicken meat that was set aside (1/2 inch cubes). Add 1 tbs. cooking oil to the pan and spread it around with a spatula. Add the diced chicken and stir it around to distribute it evenly over the pan. Sprinkle a little garlic powder and salt over the chicken. Let cook for about a minute, then stir again so that the uncooked sides are against the pan. Continue this process until the meat is lightly browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a suitable bowl.
If you placed dumplings on top of the soup, remove them to a bowl. If you added rice, it needs to cook for at least 30 minutes, preferably, 40. The noodles will be done by the time the chicken meat is cooked through.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve. Distribute the diced chicken evenly into the bowls.
This technique gives you a great soup broth, with yummy veggies that aren't cooked to mush. Also, by cooking the chicken outside of the soup, it doesn't get overcooked and dried out. It has wonderful flavor and it supremely tender. This is a little more work, but it makes a truly gourmet chicken soup.
There are two ways to make this soup even better. both are time consuming.
1. Grill the chicken to perfection, then remove the meat and follow the above directions. This will give you a great, grilled smoke flavor in the soup.
2. Remove the meat from the carcass, then roast the carcass in a 350'F. oven for 40 minutes before adding to the boiling water. This will give you roasted chicken flavor in the soup.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
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sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Ya know, we have been giving our all to these recipes and methods, but I believe larryP has moved on to other boards where he can get an answer in less than 5 minutes.
Too bad, it takes patience to be a cook.
Too bad, it takes patience to be a cook.
Thanks for the tip, Alix. I'd rather get my calcium from a natural source, as I have osteoporosis, but I can't take calcium tablets. The calcium just builds up on my shoulder joints causing lots of pain. I'll definitely try this.
Do you think Balsamic vinegar would work?
