Chicken soup made from a leftover chicken carcass can be even more flavorful than soup made from a whole chicken. Simmering the bones and cartilage for an extended time extracts nutrients like collagen, gelatin, minerals and amino acids that create a nourishing, full-bodied broth. With the right technique, you can make a pot of homemade chicken soup that is rich, savory and deeply satisfying.
Ingredients
To make chicken soup from a carcass, you’ll need:
- 1 whole chicken carcass
- 1 onion, quartered
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 8 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
Steps
Roast the Bones
Roasting the chicken bones before making the stock intensifies their flavor, Here’s how
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Place the chicken carcass on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the bones are browned.
- Transfer the roasted bones to a large stockpot.
Roasting coaxes out rich flavors from the bones – don’t skip this step!
Simmer the Stock
Now it’s time to simmer the bones to extract their flavor, collagen and gelatin:
- Add the onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley and 8 cups of water to the stockpot with the roasted bones.
- Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer the stock for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours, uncovered. The longer you simmer, the more rich and flavorful the broth will become.
- Occasionally skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface while simmering.
Strain and Season the Broth
Once simmered, strain out the solids:
- Set a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Carefully pour the broth through to strain out the bones and vegetables.
- Discard the solids in the sieve.
- Add salt and lemon juice to the hot broth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
The broth is now ready to use for chicken soup. At this point, you can cool and refrigerate or freeze the broth for later use.
Turn Broth into Hearty Chicken Soup
To complete the chicken soup:
- In a clean pot, bring 8 cups of the homemade broth back to a gentle simmer.
- Add chicken meat picked off of the cooked carcass. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add chopped carrots and celery. Cook for 3 minutes more.
- Add egg noodles, rice or pasta and simmer until al dente.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.
The tender chicken meat and vegetables turn the powerful homemade broth into a comforting and truly homemade-tasting chicken soup.
Tips for Maximizing Flavor
Follow these tips to coax the most nourishing gelatin and robust flavor out of a chicken carcass:
- Roast the bones before simmering – this caramelizes natural sugars and compounds in the bones to boost flavor.
- Simmer for a long time – at least 3 hours, and preferably 6-8. The longer the simmer, the more collagen and nutrients will be released into the broth.
- Add chicken feet or wings – these bony parts have lots of collagen for a more gelatinous, silky texture.
- Keep the broth under a gentle simmer – a boiling rapid boil can emulsify fats and make the broth cloudy.
- Skim the foam that rises to keep the broth clear.
- Add acid like lemon juice or vinegar – the acid helps leach minerals like calcium from the bones.
Storage Tips
Properly stored, homemade chicken broth will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, or can be frozen for several months.
- Let broth cool completely before refrigerating. Store broth in airtight containers.
- To freeze, portion broth into freezer-safe containers. Leave 1⁄2-1 inch of headspace to allow for expansion.
- Frozen broth will keep for 4-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
It takes time and technique, but simmering a chicken carcass makes a full-bodied, golden elixir loaded with healthful collagen proteins, minerals and gelatin. This mineralizing broth can be transformed into countless easy, nourishing meals like chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice, or use as a base for gravies and sauces. With its nourishing richness and homemade flavor, soup made from a chicken carcass is comfort food at its finest.
How to make chicken stock
Because we’re making a nice clear white chicken stock (see above), there’s no bone-roasting malarkey to take care of first which makes the whole process much quicker and less laborious. Just dump everything in a pot, add water and simmer!
- Put everything in a large stock pot – Place the chicken carcasses, vegetables, herbs and water in a large 7 litre /7 quart stock pot. 3 litres / 3 quarts of water should just about cover everything. If not, do a bit of pushing and poking to rearrange the carcasses and ingredients more snugly in the pot. Try not to break or crush the bones else this will make the stock murkier.We want everything submerged so the water gets infused with flavour. Don’t worry if some of the bones are poking above the water surface. The carcasses will collapse once it starts cooking and end up under the water.
- Scoop off scum – Bring the pot to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. As it starts getting hot, you will see foam on the surface which is the impurities in the chicken. Scoop it off and discard to keep your stock nice and clear.
- Simmer 3 hours – Once the water comes to a rapid simmer, lower the heat so it’s bubbling very gently. Then leave to simmer for 3 hours with the lid off.
- After simmering – The photo above shows the water level after 3 hours. It has reduced by around 1/3.Your chicken stock is done! Now we just need to strain it, remove excess fat (if you want) and store it! Here’s how:
- Strain – Using the lid of the pot to hold back the bones and vegetables in the pot, strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer into another pot or large bowl. I use a pot in case I need to reduce it to the right amount (see below).. If you’re not strong or comfortable with the lid method, just fish out the solids with tongs or a large straining spoon before pouring the remaining liquid through a sieve.The goal: To end up with 2 litres / 2 quarts of chicken stock. In a perfect world, you will end up with 2 litres / 2 quarts of chicken stock. But it is rarely a perfect world! And that’s ok. If you have less, than this just top up with water. If you ended up with more than about 2.25 litres / quarts, then reduce it on the stove, else you run the risk of a weak-flavoured chicken stock.
- Leftover bones and vegetables – These have been well stripped of flavour and nutrition, so they aren’t really that useful. However, I do pick off excess meat for Dozer! But after that, I just discard the remnants.
- Voila! Admire your beautiful and clear chicken stock!
- Divide between storage containers – At this point, I divide the stock up into jars or containers which allows the stock to cool faster.I store my chicken stock in 1 cup multiples which I find quite handy for use. Always label your containers with the quantity of chicken stock and date you made it!
- Cool then refrigerate – Once the stock is cooled to room temperature, place them in the fridge to fully cool. Never put hot stock in the fridge!
- Solidified fat – As the stock cools, the fat will rise to the surface. Once fully cold, the fat solidifies and turns into a white sheet of solid fat on the surface of the stock, like a frozen-over lake.You will also notice that the chicken stock firms up into a jelly-like consistency when cold. This is due to the gelatin. We want gelatin – it’s what gives the stock a delicious, lip-sticking, rich mouthfeel you don’t get in store-bought stock (ever notice how store-bought stock never sets like this in the fridge?) So basically, jelly consistency = good stock!
- Scrape off fat – Scrape the fat off the surface using a spoon and discard. This is actually an optional step. It makes the stock light and clean, making it a great all-rounder that can be used for everything from clear soups (like Chinese Noodle Soup) to rich sauces (like the sauce of a Creamy Chicken Pasta). For a jus or reduction sauces you should also use de-greased stock.But if you are intending to use the stock for things like stews (like this one) and creamy sauces (like Mushroom Sauce) that do not require a clear, de-greased chicken stock like we desire for things like Chicken Noodle Soup, then there is no need to remove the fat.
- Storing – Homemade stock will keep for 5 days in the fridge or for 6 months in the freezer. Fridge-cold chicken stock can be used as is, in its jelly-like state. It melts back into liquid form very quickly as soon as it’s heated.If using from frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge, microwave, or run the container under hot water to loosen, then melt in a saucepan. Though if I’m adding the stock into an already-simmering liquid sometimes I’ll just add the frozen stock block as-is! It melts fairly fast and the result is the same. I use all of these methods depending on how much time I have!
Here’s a jar of refrigerated chicken stock which has had the fat scraped off the surface.
And here it is in liquid form at room temperature. But as noted above, you can just use chicken stock in jelly form as it melts in seconds on contact with heat!
Bones for chicken stock
I use chicken bones to make chicken stock. I find that it makes a great all-rounder, clear stock with good flavour at store-bought strength. Specifically, I use chicken carcasses, also known as chicken frames, (see photo below) which litre for litre are the most economical cut.
What is a chicken carcass? A chicken carcass are the bones and cartilage “frame” of the chicken after all the meat has been cut off (breast, drumsticks, thighs, wings). There’s usually a decent amount of meat left on it, but it depends how nifty the butcher is with his knife skills! The balance of meat, bone and residual fat on a chicken carcass gives an excellent balance of flavour, valuable nutrients and collagen, as well as making a nice clear stock. They’re readily available here in Sydney from butchers and even grocery stores.
Some recipes will opt to use chicken pieces with meat and skin to make stock. I share my thoughts on this below! (Spoiler: I don’t agree!)
Chicken Carcass Soup
FAQ
Can you make chicken soup with chicken carcass?
If you take the carcass of a roasted chicken, cover it in water and bring it to a simmer for 3+ hours before straining off the liquid, you’ll have made a …
What do I do with the carcass of a chicken?
You can make chicken stock very simply using the leftover cooked carcass and bones from your Sunday roast, or you can use a raw carcass, sold cheaply at most butcher’s. If you’ve got leftover chicken bones but you don’t want to make stock straightaway, store them in the freezer in the meantime.
Is chicken carcass good for soup?
This easy chicken carcass soup is a great way to use up leftovers from a roasted or rotisserie chicken. This recipe is awesome for so many reasons. First, because there is just something so satisfying about making a pot of soup from scratch without even using a can of broth!
How long do you need to boil a chicken carcass?
Let simmer uncovered at a low simmer for 4 to 6 hours. Check every hour or so to be sure there is still enough water in the pot.