Soup like a boss! Don’t throw out that chicken carcass—use it with a broth to make a delicious and comforting meal.
If you want to graduate from the college of canned chicken soup, this recipe will show you how.
But first: a history lesson. In the days before refrigeration and easy preservation, home cooks needed to use every bit of food they had at their disposal. So, into the pot went leftover bones and bits of meat from a roasted chicken. Turns out a chicken carcass was and is the perfect base for delicious soup.
Admittedly, “carcass” isn’t the most appealing word on a menu (or cooking blog!) but it’s an important one for flavor. What it lacks in elegance it more than makes up for in taste. The bones themselves, simmered in water with a few basic ingredients, gradually turn into a “golden elixir” of a broth. Then the bones are replaced by yummy veggies and seasonings for one tasty chicken vegetable soup.
So why is this soup better than dumping a canned soup into your pot? The benefits start before you even taste it. The aroma this Chicken Carcass Soup creates is warm, comforting, and fills your kitchen as it simmers. The taste of the broth is deep and rich—not simply salty like a lot of canned chicken soups. Once you remove the bones (much easier than it sounds), adding healthy and colorful veggies will have you giving it the chef’s kiss!
Rotisserie Chicken: a Carcass “Shortcut”
While you may have a large chicken or turkey carcass after a big holiday meal, chances are slim that you roast birds on a regular basis. No problem! If you want the deep, rich broth that cooking a carcass provides but don’t have all day to prep and roast your own bird, consider buying a rotisserie chicken. Sold at most groceries in or near the deli area, a standard rotisserie chicken makes for a perfect starting point. If you’re eating the rotisserie chicken for dinner, just set aside the picked-apart carcass and you can start there. Alternately, if you’re just making soup, simply remove the big pieces of meat and refrigerate or freeze for another time.
FAQs & Tips
How do I store this soup?
Like most soups, Chicken Carcass Soup tastes even better the day after it’s made. To make ahead, simply prepare as directed, let it cool, and store in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator. If you want to freeze it, store in an airtight container with about an inch of space left at the top (it will expand slightly as it freezes) for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and, before serving, continue to thaw in the microwave on the defrost setting. You can then heat to serve in the microwave or on the stovetop. Leftovers can be stored the same way.
Help! The chicken carcass is too big for my soup pot.
That’s how it always goes, right?! There’s an easy solution. First, take out a cutting board and simply cut through any smaller bones so that the majority of the carcass fits in your pot. Layer any bones you’ve cut off on top. As long as you have room for the water, you should be good to go at this point. Eventually, the raw veggies will shrink as they cook, and you remove the bones, which makes more room as well.
What if a layer forms on top of my soup as it cooks?
If a frothy, or even scummy sort of layer starts to form on top of your soup as it cooks, don’t worry. It won’t hurt anything. At most, you can skim it off with a large metal spoon. At least, just leave it alone. It’s most likely to happen during the first hour of cooking and is just part of the simmering process.
Serving Suggestions
A large bowl of Chicken Carcass Soup alongside a loaf of bread is just about perfect. For instance, a delightfully crusty homemade bread (after a few minutes in the toaster) is Honey Wheat Sunflower Bread. If you want to serve this soup as part of a bigger meal, it’s delicious with this Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese or the warm and hearty Twice-Baked Mashed Potatoes. That’s one of the great things about Chicken Carcass Soup: it can be light enough for lunch or really filling when served with any of these sides.
Chicken Carcass Soup
Ingredients Â
- 1 leftover chicken or turkey carcass
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 stalks celery chopped
- 4 large carrots sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- fresh thyme sprigs or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2 medium zucchini chopped
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
InstructionsÂ
- Place the chicken carcass, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, thyme, and bay leaves into a large stockpot.
- Add enough water to cover the ingredients by about 1 inch.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer for 1 to 3 hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful the broth will be.
- With about 15 minutes left in the cooking time, remove and discard the chicken bones, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Shred any remaining meat and return it to the pot.
- Stir in the frozen peas and chopped zucchini, and continue to simmer for the remaining 15 minutes.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm.
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