Essentially in the last post I showed you how to roast a whole chicken. Now I'm going to tell you how to use the rest of the bird to make chicken stock and or chicken noodle soup. It's good for the soul - or so they say.
Let's start with the fact that you've picked as much of the meat off as you want to eat. Don't pick it off to put it in the soup, it will naturally come off when you prepare your stock. Just pick off what you plan on eating or saving for sandwiches then you can go ahead and get ready to make your soup.
First let's cover what you'll need:
1 large onion, chopped
2-4 stalks of celery, chopped
2-4 peeled carrots, chopped
chicken bouillon
water
salt and pepper to taste
noodles of choice (I like egg noodles) or you can use rice
Step 1: in a large pot, place your entire chicken. Yep, you heard me, put the whole sucker in there. I like to remove the stuffing (the lemons, onion, etc.) before putting it in the pot because it fits better. Cover it with water to almost the top of the pot.
Step 2: chop your vegetables listed above (celery, onion, carrots) and put them in the pot. The size is up to you. I like my celery and onion more finely chopped and the carrots more chunky. Also put a generous tablespoon of chicken bouillon in the pot. I use Better Than Bouillon because I think, as the name suggests, it's better than the cubes.
Step 3: cover and cook everything at a slow boil for 40-60 min. I honestly throw it on and forget about it. You'll know it's done when your vegetables are super tender and the meat is falling off the bone.
Step 4: let the soup cool enough that you can put your hands in it. I put mine outside on the back steps when it snowed last week to expedite the process. Putting pots of hot boiling liquid in the fridge. Not OK. Outside on a concrete slab...no problemo.
Step 5: once it's cooled sufficiently, with your hands, pick out all the bones and skin while leaving all the meat. This is gross. I'm not going to lie. But if you do it gently, the bones tend to stay together fairly easily.
You'll see that the meat comes off in chunks so I go ahead and shred it in my hands while I'm at it.
And the skin is the slimy part that you feel.
In the end you'll have a pot like this...
and a bowl of skin and bones like this...
Step 6: this step you can do now or you can do later. Because the chicken had some fat in it, you may have noticed that the broth is a little oily feeling. Usually there is only a little. I like to put my pot in the fridge overnight and let the fat harden, then I can scoop it off.
That top layer is just the leftover fat and it's easy to scoop off. It's also what has helped flavor your stock. Daniel thinks it so gross but it's just part of working with a whole bird so don't let it wig you out.
Speaking of stock, if you had no intentions of making chicken noodle soup and just wanted to make chicken stock for other recipes, when you are scooping out the bones, go ahead and scoop out all the vegetables too. Then you're left with just liquid, which can be frozen and used as needed. I've heard that freezing it in small bags (measured cups) or in ice cube trays are a great way to store it so you can use only what you need for each recipe.
What's the difference in stock and broth you ask? Stock is usually made from the bones and other scraps but not seasoned. Broth is made similarly but with the addition of salt, pepper and other herbs so that it has lots of flavor. Sometimes broth is just made with the meat and not the bones whereas stock is made with the bones and meat. In all honesty, they can be interchangeable in recipes.
Just a little trivia for you.
If you plan on freezing your soup for later - do that now. I don't like to add the starch (noodles or rice) until it's time to serve. If you are making it to eat immediately, move to step 7.
Step 7: now that you have your meat and veggies, it's time to add your starch. I tend to like egg noodles in my chicken noodle soup but my mom always makes hers with rice. I tried quinoa one time. Me = not a fan. Daniel loved it. It really is a personal preference. Since I'm the one cooking it, we use noodles. Simply bring the soup back to a boil and add your starch of choice.
Be sure to taste it - sometimes it needs more salt and pepper...sometimes it needs a little more bouillon added. It's really up to your taste buds.
Viola! Homemade chicken noodle soup! I promise you this will taste soooooo much better than any can of soup you can get. And it doesn't have all the preservatives and salt that you get in the canned stuff.
I like to add a little fresh lemon juice to each bowl as I'm serving it. I think the acidity brings out the flavors a little better. My mother in law loves to put hot sauce in hers. Either way...
Bon Appetit!
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