Once you've eaten the chicken, don't throw those bones away! Use them to make some of the best broth or soup you've ever had! Same goes for a chicken that you've roasted at home. Those bones have a lot of good stuff left in them.
Here's what's left of the chicken after G.W. and I tore into it like a couple of starving hyenas. It's sitting in the bottom of my stock pot.
I didn't use the pan juices from the roasted chicken to make gravy, so I saved them for making this soup. If you refrigerate the pan juices overnight, the fat rises to the top and hardens...
...which makes it easy to skim off and throw away.
True to form, I got so wrapped up in the project that I forgot to take photos of the chicken bones happily cooking.
So, here's the process...
Put what's left of the rotisserie or roasted chicken into a big pot. Add about 3 quarts of water and the pan juices that you've freed of all the nasty fat that floated to the top. I also threw in an onion that I cut in half, a few carrots and stalks of celery that I cut into chunks.
Bring it up to a boil, then simmer it for two or three hours. Then turn the heat off and let it all cool for about an hour.
Once it's cooled a little, either use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the vegetables and chicken bones or else pour it through a strainer and into another pot or big bowl. Throw away the solids.
What you've just created is the most flavorful chicken broth ever! Launch your creative genius and use that broth in your favorite recipe!
I used it to make chicken and dumplings. I cut up some of the leftover chicken and put it in the broth along with homemade dumpling noodles. Cooking the dumplings in the broth thickened it up into almost a gravy. Yum!
If you're looking for a recipe with precise measurements and cooking time, I'm sorry that this one isn't it. I tend to cook on the fly. If you would like more detailed information/instructions, please ask and I will do my best to help you out!
An easy way to roast a chicken whole is to stand it up. I have a couple of pan/racks designed to do that. If you don't have one of those, use a pop can and a 9 inch square, deep sided baking pan. Put the pop can, filled half way with liquid, into the bottom opening of the chicken. Fasten the legs back so they don't touch the pan when you stand the can stuffed chicken up in the pan.
ReplyDeleteYou can leave pop in the can or use plain water. You can add flavorings to the water. Juices work well as do aromatics like garlic and onion. The added flavor is subtle but unmistakable.
I preheat my oven to 500 and reduce to 375 as soon as the chicken goes in. Cook it for 45 to 60 minutes.
Now here is a part most people think is crazy but isn't. All the drippings in that pan should be reserved. Cover the pan and leave set out on the stove or in the cooled oven overnight. It doesn't turn out the same if you refrigerate it. When you open that pan up you will find it has jelled. there will be a small amount of fat that can be drained off if you choose. I use that gel to cook rice in but have used it as a gravy flavoring, sauce base and browning agent for the pork I put in my green chili.
P.S. The bones are still usable for stock broth. (which freezes in ice cube trays, or in bulk, just fine)
ReplyDelete