Tuesday, January 8, 2013

30 Days of Recipes: Day 8: Cheater Chicken Soup

This is a staple. If you don't already make something similar, I can't over-recommend this. This is a must. make. all Fall and Winter long. And Spring, since Spring in Oregon is so cool and wet. Maybe Summer too..

You'll need:

  1. One rotisserie chicken.
  2. One bunch celery.
  3. 3 carrots.
  4. Any veggies you want- I use whatever I find in the freeze.
  5. 3 cups chicken stock.
  6. Green or white onion to taste.
  7. Salt, pepper and garlic. Plenty of garlic.
Start by ripping up the chicken meat. I pull off all the meat that I can easily remove. I eat lots while I pull it. I usually consider that my lunch. Chop up your veggies, add a liberal amount of salt, pepper and garlic. Then more garlic. Put all of this in your slow cooker, and cover with stock. 

You can also put all of these ingredients in a freezer bag or container, and save for later.

Whenever you cook the soup, cook on low about 3-4 hour. If your veggies aren't soft enough, keep going. If you go too long the soup gets a bit darker and the flavor gets a little too deep for my taste.

Take the chicken carcass, any organ meat that may have come with your bird, and whatever veggies scraps are left, along with a little salt and garlic, and toss it in a pot of water. Just enough water to almost cover the bird. This isn't rocket science. Or, maybe it is and I should be paying closer attention to my stock.

I cook the stock on a low heat (you can use a slow cooker for this) for a few hours. Check periodically. If all the meat fell off, you're good. 

If you haven't make stock before, it's sort of interesting. You can strain what you have in the pan at this point, and collect lots of meat scraps, skin, and fragments of soft tissue. The liquid portion is rich in nutrients from the bone, like gelatin, than are so good for our own bones. After straining your stock, you can freeze it for months, or just store it in the refrigerator to use in a few days. 

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