After youve dined on a whole roasted chicken or even just a few bone-in parts, dont waste the bones! Chicken stock made from the bones is a delicious foundation for soups and sauces. You can freeze or pressure can it for future use. If youre short on time, stockpile chicken bones in a freezer container and keep them frozen until you get around to making the stock.
Besides the chicken bones, all you need is water, a few aromatic veggies, and optional seasonings. Choose one of the two ingredients options below. Then choose either stovetop or slow cooker as the method of cooking. Lastly, choose if you want to freeze your stock, can it, or simply refrigerate it, where it will last for up to a week.
Yes, you can use a raw chicken carcass, but a roasted or cooked carcass often yields richer flavors. Roasting the carcass before making the soup is a common practice to enhance flavor.
Stovetop Method
- Put the vegetables, optional herbs, and chicken bones into a large pot.
- Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Do not let the stock boil or it will become cloudy.
- Reduce heat so there are just a few bubbles appearing on the surface of the stock as it cooks.
- Cook uncovered, topping up with boiling hot water if necessary for 6 to 8 hours.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Blot the top of the chicken bone stock with a clean paper towel or cloth towel to remove excess fat. Or refrigerate and remove the layer of fat that will congeal on top of the chilled stock.
Slow-Cooker Method
- Place the vegetables and herbs (if using) into the slow cooker.
- Put the chicken bones on top of the aromatics. Cover with water.
- Cook covered on high for 1/2 hour.
- Change the setting to low and cook, still covered, for 6 – 8 hours.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Blot the top of the chicken bone stock with a clean paper towel or cloth towel to remove excess fat. Or refrigerate and remove the layer of fat that will congeal on top of the chilled stock.
Chicken Bones Soup/Chicken Bone Broth Recipe
FAQ
Is chicken bone good for soup?
Can you put raw bones in soup?
What to do with chicken bones after making soup?
Do bones add flavor to soup?
Do I need bones & chicken parts when making soup?
Here’s the thing – you want the bones and chicken parts when making the soup because it adds so much flavor. However, I generally don’t use the keep the meat from that process for my soups, because all the flavor from the meat has been extracted into the liquid. That makes things much easier. You can avoid the pieces you don’t want by:
Does bone broth help with a broken bone?
If one’s diet is deficient in minerals relative to bone health, then yes. However, eating a balanced dietary pattern will likely ensure adequate minerals, as well as protein, are consumed which are important for the healing process. Since bone broth contains several minerals, it may be helpful to fill nutrient gaps in one’s diet and, thus, help with healing a broken bone. However, ensuring adequate calorie, protein, and micronutrient intake is essential for supporting healing. Bone broth is low in protein and calories.
Is Chicken Soup a bone broth?
Chicken bone broth is a natural way to heal your gut and improve our health. There’s a reason why people have been making chicken soup for ages when they aren’t feeling well, and if that chicken soup is a bone broth, it is truly a healing food. We use this chicken broth to make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup. This post may contain affiliate links.
Do you need to cook chicken before making chicken soup?
When making old-fashioned chicken soup, you start by boiling a whole chicken to create a rich bone broth from scratch. You don’t need to cook the chicken before putting it in the soup because you’re using it from the very beginning to make the stock. If you’re using a premade broth or stock, you can definitely put the chicken right in.