To make chicken soup, is it really necessary to boil bones for an hour?

[Sheree Bobbins]

There's got to be a point of diminishing returns. Like the best part of the broth must be made sooner than an hour. What do you think? Can we have fast food chicken soup?

 

[kathie859]

There's got to be a point of diminishing returns. Like the best part of the broth must be made sooner than an hour. What do you think? Can we have fast food chicken soup?

Do you mean to boil/simmer the previously cooked chicken bones to make stock? It can be done in an hour--but I would think of it as "broth light". The flavor will be more pronounced if you simmer your stock for a few hours. Be sure to add an onion, celery, carrot, salt and peppercorns (a sprig or two of parsley is nice, too) to the brew for a well flavored stock. I usually reserve this treatment for the Tgiving Day turkey carcass. You could also boost the flavor by substituting chicken boullion cubes for the salt.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Ahmmm. . .I'm from the "use broth from the paper box" school. . .but from my forays with turkey bones and shellfish, isn't it more that you should cook broth until it rarifies and until the flavors are fully absorbed?

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

I going to try making my stock light! And compare it to slow-cooked broth.

 

[Imzadi]

Ahmmm. . .I'm from the "use broth from the paper box" school. . .

I use one of the cans of broth.

Otherwise, I have also found I can make fast food chicken soup in 25 minutes by tossing in a few chicken thighs & spices into water. About 5 -10 minutes before I think it's going to be done, I add veggies & more spices. Once the thighs flake off the bones, (which also means the bones are cooked throughout,) soup is done!

It may not be as subtle and delicate as a soup that's simmered for hours, but I'm not that much of a chicken broth connoiseur. The chicken meat flavors the soup, not so much the bones. It's hearty, flavorful and hits the spot.

 

[princess momma]

I think it's also a food safety issue. I don't normally make my own stock - way too much work and yuckiness involved.

 

[kathie859]

I think it's also a food safety issue. I don't normally make my own stock - way too much work and yuckiness involved.

Just wondering.....Why do you think that there's a food safety issue making one's own broth?

 

[princess momma]

The food safety issue is about cooking the chicken completely to eliminate the bacteria.

From the USDA:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp

Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees. Whole fryers should be simmered (not boiled, that will cloud the stock) for 60-75 minutes. Whole roasters for 90-120 minutes.

 

[manning]

Pressure cooker

 

[kathie859]

The food safety issue is about cooking the chicken completely to eliminate the bacteria.

From the USDA:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp

Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees. Whole fryers should be simmered (not boiled, that will cloud the stock) for 60-75 minutes. Whole roasters for 90-120 minutes.

Thanks for the link--some good information....I guess I assume that people know to cook food (especially poultry) until it cooked thru. The OP was talking about cooking up "bones"--which I assumed was from a previously cooked carcass. To the point of food safety, properly prepared stock/broth doesn't seem any more dangerous than canned or boxed. Don't get me wrong, I certainly use the occasional box of broth; however, store bought broth pales in flavor to home prepared and is worth the trouble in some cases (especially risotto!!!.....I LOVE risotto made with my own chicken broth)

 

[Imzadi]

Thanks for the link--some good information....I guess I assume that people know to cook food (especially poultry) until it cooked thru. The OP was talking about cooking up "bones"--which I assumed was from a previously cooked carcass. To the point of food safety, properly prepared stock/broth doesn't seem any more dangerous than canned or boxed. Don't get me wrong, I certainly use the occasional box of broth; however, store bought broth pales in flavor to home prepared and is worth the trouble in some cases (especially risotto!!!.....I LOVE risotto made with my own chicken broth)

Yes, when I make my 25 minute chicken soup, I boil the chicken to make sure there is enough heat to cook the bones all the way through and to make sure the stock is hot enough to kill bacteria. I really don't care if the stock is cloudy, although, now I know why it is. I can see, that if I'm cooking at a lower temp, I'd have to cook longer. I'll have to try it that way.

 

[punkin]

Chicken broth is simple but it does need to simmer for a long time. Luckily you hardly even need to watch it. Just set it up, skim and let it simmer for hours:

Ingredients

* 2-1/2 pounds bony chicken pieces
* 2 celery ribs with leaves, cut into chunks
* 2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
* 2 medium onions, quartered
* salt to taste
* 2 quarts cold water

Directions

* Place all ingredients in a soup kettle or Dutch oven. Slowly bring to a boil; reduce heat. Skim foam. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
* Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones. Discard bones; save meat for another use. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Skim fat from surface. Yield: about 6 cups.

 

[crazelion]

WOW making stock is hard work. It is not idiot proof.

What is a carcass? Is it part of chicken like the wing and thighs.

Can someone give step by step directions on how make stock. It needs be idiot proof and dumb proof.

I don't have clue what y'll talking about.

 

[crazelion]

What do mean by simmer? What is skim?

Okay official lost. Read the recipe and don't have clue what talking about. What is a soup kettle and dutch oven.

Time me google. Too many terms I don't know.

Chicken broth is simple but it does need to simmer for a long time. Luckily you hardly even need to watch it. Just set it up, skim and let it simmer for hours:

Ingredients

* 2-1/2 pounds bony chicken pieces
* 2 celery ribs with leaves, cut into chunks
* 2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
* 2 medium onions, quartered
* salt to taste
* 2 quarts cold water

Directions

* Place all ingredients in a soup kettle or Dutch oven. Slowly bring to a boil; reduce heat. Skim foam. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
* Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove meat from bones. Discard bones; save meat for another use. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Skim fat from surface. Yield: about 6 cups.

 

[Imzadi]

WOW making stock is hard work. It is not idiot proof.

What is a carcass? Is it part of chicken like the wing and thighs.

Can someone give step by step directions on how make stock. It needs be idiot proof and dumb proof.

I don't have clue what y'll talking about.

A carcass is the whole chicken skeleton, intact with the meat removed. Or to put it another way, it's that thing left in your refridgerator, the day after Thanksgiving, after everyone has gone in and slowly picked the turkey clean.

 

[GoodFairies]

Ahmmm. . .I'm from the "use broth from the paper box" school

Same, I like the Wolfgang Puck kind.

I put a little bit of olive oil in a pot, add onions, carrots, and celery and season well (I use not only salt and pepper but also a lot of dried herbs) When the veggies are cooked just right, add 2 boxes of the stock, cooked chicken, and bring to a boil. Then add the egg noodles and cook however long the package says. I believe the good ratio is 2 boxes of stock to 8 oz of egg noodles. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives. It's fast(er) and just as delicious.

 

[powellrj]

What do mean by simmer? What is skim?

Okay official lost. Read the recipe and don't have clue what talking about. What is a soup kettle and dutch oven.

Time me google. Too many terms I don't know.

Simmer is where the food gently cooks, but doesn't boil. Like when you heat something, its gets hot, but doesn't bubble and boil.

Skim is where you take the foam off the top. When you simmer chicken bones, you will get a foam, you just take that off the top and you have skimmed it off.

Soup kettle is a large kettle and a dutch oven is a smaller pot that has a lid. I would google them to get a better picture of what they are.

Notice I have a tag about turkey bones, I use to always cook the turkey bones after the holidays to make a wonderful broth, not so often these days!

What I do more often now is use Costco or Sams Club rotisserie chickens. Note sure how healthy they are, but they are wonderful tasting!!

I will buy a couple of the whole chickens and take the skin and bones and put in a large pot. I put the actual chicken back in the refrigerator. I always separate the meat and put the dark in one container and the white in another and use them differently. I love dark meat and DH loves white so I use the white things like chicken salad and tacos and the dark in things like noodles and soup.

I take the bones and the skin and then I have also been saving celery tops and carrot skin and add an onion to the mess with a few peppercorns, and some parsley. I don't add salt because of the seasonings of the skin.

I put the mess in a large pan and simmer on the stove for a couple of hours. I then strain the broth and its a rich deep dark color. When it cools, put it in the refrigerator. It will be almost like a chicken jello when it gets cold. Its wonderful in soup, noodles and whatever you need broth for.

 

[punkin]

What do mean by simmer? What is skim?

Okay official lost. Read the recipe and don't have clue what talking about. What is a soup kettle and dutch oven.

Time me google. Too many terms I don't know.

simmer: very very very low boil. The top of the stock should just tremble and not really boil.

skim: when you boil a protein, a dark, nasty scum appears on the surface of the stock. All you have to do is skim it off with a slotted spoon. This takes about 2 minutes. After that, you really do not need to watch the pot at all.

Soup kettle or dutch oven is a heavy, big pot: a soup kettle is usually narrow and tall while a dutch oven is wider and short (and frankly more suited to making stews). Any big pot will do.

 

[punkin]

powellrj, we cross posted the same thing.

I would like to point out that your product will be different depending on if you use a previously roasted carcass like you suggest or fresh raw chicken. Either one is good, just different. I prefer raw chicken for a clearer and more concentrated broth, but I have certainly used leftover carcass, particularly after Thanksgiving for Turkey.

The clearer broth is pretty much required if you are making a matzah ball soup.

 

[Tazicket]

I make a 30 minute version, too.

I cut up some onion, garlic, and carrots into bite-sized pieces and cook right in the soup pot with a little bit of olive oil. When the onion is almost translucent, I toss in some chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces. When the chicken is cooked, I add in a couple of boxes of Swanson chicken broth, a small can of corn, some dried spices (usually parsley, thyme, savory, pepper, and a little onion & garlic powder). Once it gets to a boil, I toss in the egg noodles and boil for the amount of time the noodles need to cook.

When I make a chicken in the slow cooker (super easy - just stick a whole chicken, and some cut up onions, carrots, and celery in a slow cooker and let it go on low for about 8 hours. You don't even have to add water!), I save the broth that it makes and use that as part of my chicken broth for my chicken noodle soup the next day.