This is my personal recipe for a simple chicken stock/soup using 1 whole chicken. There are 8 million different ways to do it that all work, but this is the one I came up with to make a very strong gelatinous soup that can be eaten as-is or thinned out with water before serving. The ingredient list is short because you can always cook/add things right before serving.
Ingredients:
- 1 roaster chicken (5-7 pounds)
- 6-10 cups of cold water (enough to cover the ingredients)
- 1 large white onion
- 2-3 celery stalks
- 2-3 carrots
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 5-6 thyme sprigs
- small bunch parsley
- 6-7 sage leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cracked pepper (use a mortar/pestle or bottom of a frying pan)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
1. Wash the chicken and remove the giblets packet. Discard the liver (or use it for something else). Butcher the chicken into: 2 breasts, 2 legs/thighs, 2 wings, 1 carcass.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot (I use an enameled dutch oven), heat up 1 tbsp of the oil, then toss all of the chicken parts (including carcass, neck, heart, and gizzard) into the pot and sear until well browned on both sides. Remove the breasts and set aside for later. Remove the meat to a bowl momentarily, drain the oil, and return the non-breast meat to the pot. Add the cold water to cover, and bring it up to a simmer.
3. Over the next 3 hours, keep the pot at a simmer, and add cold water to replace any that evaporates. Use a small strainer/skimmer to skim off the scum that accumulates on top.
4. Chop the carrots, celery and onions into a medium dice. Tie the herbs with butcher's twine into a package.
5. After the stock has simmered for 3 hours, remove the meat/carcass and pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a bowl large enough to accommodate. Shred the meat you've removed and set aside.
6. Clean the pot, heat the other 1 tbsp. of oil, and add the diced vegetables, garlic, salt, and cracked pepper. Saute until just starting to soften, then add the strained stock back into the pot. Add the package of herbs. Simmer for 45m to 1 hour.
7. Take the reserved breasts (which will not be cooked all the way through) and finish them in a covered pan with a few tbsp. of the stock. Cool, then chop/shred.
8. Add the shredded non-breast meat to the soup and check the seasoning. To serve, garnish with parsley and add some of the reserved breast meat.
As I said before, this is a very strong soup and can easily be thinned with up to an equal amount of water.
Ingredients:
- 1 roaster chicken (5-7 pounds)
- 6-10 cups of cold water (enough to cover the ingredients)
- 1 large white onion
- 2-3 celery stalks
- 2-3 carrots
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 5-6 thyme sprigs
- small bunch parsley
- 6-7 sage leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cracked pepper (use a mortar/pestle or bottom of a frying pan)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
1. Wash the chicken and remove the giblets packet. Discard the liver (or use it for something else). Butcher the chicken into: 2 breasts, 2 legs/thighs, 2 wings, 1 carcass.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot (I use an enameled dutch oven), heat up 1 tbsp of the oil, then toss all of the chicken parts (including carcass, neck, heart, and gizzard) into the pot and sear until well browned on both sides. Remove the breasts and set aside for later. Remove the meat to a bowl momentarily, drain the oil, and return the non-breast meat to the pot. Add the cold water to cover, and bring it up to a simmer.
3. Over the next 3 hours, keep the pot at a simmer, and add cold water to replace any that evaporates. Use a small strainer/skimmer to skim off the scum that accumulates on top.
4. Chop the carrots, celery and onions into a medium dice. Tie the herbs with butcher's twine into a package.
5. After the stock has simmered for 3 hours, remove the meat/carcass and pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a bowl large enough to accommodate. Shred the meat you've removed and set aside.
6. Clean the pot, heat the other 1 tbsp. of oil, and add the diced vegetables, garlic, salt, and cracked pepper. Saute until just starting to soften, then add the strained stock back into the pot. Add the package of herbs. Simmer for 45m to 1 hour.
7. Take the reserved breasts (which will not be cooked all the way through) and finish them in a covered pan with a few tbsp. of the stock. Cool, then chop/shred.
8. Add the shredded non-breast meat to the soup and check the seasoning. To serve, garnish with parsley and add some of the reserved breast meat.
As I said before, this is a very strong soup and can easily be thinned with up to an equal amount of water.
