From Chicken to Stock to Soup

This batch of chicken soup was inspired by the fact that all of the ingredients for it were ridiculously on sale in my local supermarket. I planned SOUP DAY when I planned my shopping trip and since I knew it was going to be a long one I did some stuff the day before as well.

For instance I measured out the water for the stock so that it would be at room temperature instead of cold when I started it boiling. (Yes I could have filled the pot with hot water the next day but I don’t trust my hot water heater.) I also chopped all of the veggies that would go in both the stock and the soup. I would have chopped up the chicken but it fit better in my fridge as a whole.

The stock recipe called for 4 stalks of celery but since none of the vegetables in the stock make it to the soup appearance doesn’t really matter. I used several smaller celery stalks from the inside of the bunch and some of the thicker parts of the leafy tops which came out to roughly ten 3-4 inch pieces. The celery plus 4 quartered onions and I was set for stock veggies. For the soup I ended up needing 1 big bunch of celery for my 3 c diced, 3 onions to get 2 cups diced and one bag of baby carrots for 3 cups chopped.

1. Soup Ingredients

On Soup Day morning I switched the burner on under my already full pot and brought the water to a boil while I went about my other morning business (like caffeinating myself). I also started my jars washing in the dishwasher because I knew I would forget about them otherwise.

Once I was fed and caffeinated, I started deconstructing the chicken. This was a hefty bird at 8.83 lbs and it was fattier than your average roaster but since it only cost me $6.35 I am not complaining. First I took off the skin and as much fat as I easily could. Next I haphazardly cut it in to pieces. (I ended up with legs, thighs, wings, breast meat, front/sternum and back. I was shocked at how easy it was to cut up the rib cage to get the front and back of the bird apart.) I didn’t go out of my way to break the bones to help release the marrow flavors but plenty of breaking happened anyway.

I added the chicken and the veggies to the pot (2A) and had it boiling by 10 am (2B). I let it boil until 12. I pretty much walked away from the pot but I probably should have stirred it a little more often as I had some chicken burn on the bottom of the pot.

After the 2 hour boil, I removed the pot from the heat and stuck it in the sink. This served 2 purposes. First it made it easier for me to reach in and scoop out the chicken (2C) and second I could fill the sink with cool water to speed up the fat separating process. I used a spaghetti scoop to pull out as many of the chicken and veggie chunks (2D) as possible from the stock (2E) and set them aside. Then I put the lid back on the pot and put it in a snow bank on my deck to coerce the fat to congeal at the top (2F).

Back in the kitchen I sorted through the steaming bowl of chicken mess (2G). I tossed the bones, skin, connective tissue and overcooked veggies and broke up the chicken for the soup. But really after 2 hours boiling the chicken practically shredded itself when I picked it up. This whole sorting task could have taken half an hour but I would stop shredding when my fingers started to burn and do something else (like switching laundry) for a few minutes while the chicken cooled more. I finished after an hour and then I brought the pot in from the cold and skimmed off a layer of gunk (2H). However I could still see tons of fat floating at the top of the pot. It wasn’t ready to congeal and trying to get it out with a ladle stirred it up and lost a lot of broth. It needed to cool more but I needed my pot back to wash it.

My solution was to switch the liquid to our brew kettle for temporary storage and while I was at it I filtered out the remaining chunks. I used pairs of rubber bands looped together and secured around the kettle handles to hold the cheese cloth in place and slowly dumped out my stock (2I). The stock (2K) went back in the snow for an hour. While I waited, I looked for any salvageable chicken bits in the goopy mess that got caught in the cheesecloth (2J) and took a break to eat lunch, wash dishes and reclaim my kitchen.

2. A. Starting the stock. B. Boiling the stock. C. Removing chicken chunks. D. cooked chicken and vegetables. E. Stock before straining. F. Stock in the snow. G. Shredded chicken ready for soup. H. Removing the nasty grease. I. Stockpot strainer set up. J. Chicken bits removed from stock. K. Cleaned up stock. L. Soup finally ready to boil.

All told I got 9.5 c of cooked chicken from my almost 9 lb bird. Since I only needed 6 c I froze the rest for a dinner next week (can you say enchiladas?).

Another hour in the snow got much more of the fat but not all of it. I could have put the pot back in the snow but I really wanted to get on with my life so I gave in to soup fat. Instead of pouring the stock from the brew kettle directly back into the stock pot, I took the time to measure my yield. I only came up with 25.5c instead of the 32c that the stock recipe is supposed to yield and that the soup recipe called for. I am used to my yields not matching the book so I planned ahead. Earlier in the week I made stock in a super easy but low yield way as a backup. I used this stock to bring the volume up to 33 cups with an extra cup thrown in for boil off.

I dumped in the shredded chicken and the new batch of veggies and spices into the stockpot and brought the soup to a boil (2L). My burner deficient stove took an hour to get to boiling. I let the soup boil for another half an hour and pulled it from the heat for canning.

While the soup was doing its thing I got my pressure cooker and everything else ready for the canning process. My jars were already clean in the dishwasher from earlier so I just turned on the plate warmer setting to get them prepped for the addition of hot soup. I put my lids in a small saucepan of water and got them simmering (not boiling) on the stove.

I made sure everything was set up before I pulled the soup from the heat. (3A). For each jar I would give the soup a good stir and simultaneously scooped the soup from the pot with a glass measuring cup. The veggies and the chicken would sink very quickly so if I wanted anything more than broth I had to be hurry. I put the soup in the jar, probed for bubbles, checked the headspace (3B), wiped the rim with vinegar (3C), put the lid on (3D) and tightened the band to finger tip tight (3E).

3. A Prepared canning counter. B. Checking headspace using mark on lid lifter. C. Wiping rims with vinegar D. Lid lifter in action E. Tightening bands

Once I had 7 jars ready I loaded the canner using a jar lifter, adjusted the water level to about halfway up the jars and sealed the lid (4B). I turned up the heat and waited for steam to start coming out of the vent hole. Once I saw steam I set a timer for 10 minutes to let the steam vent. After 10 minutes I put the weight on at 10 lbs (4C) and waited for the gauge to read 10 (4D-4F). Then I set a timer for 90 minutes and went on with my life. By this I mean I finished packing the jars and cleaned up.
Insert Picture of Canner (Caption Picture 4. A. My canner B. Ensuring proper alignment of lid C. Weight set at 10 lbs D. Starting to gain pressure E. Almost there F. Finally at 10 lbs.

After 90 minutes I turned off the heat and let the canner sit until the pressure on the gauge returned to zero. I unscrewed my lid and gently used a screwdriver to pry it from the bottom to break the seal. I removed the jars with a lifter and set them on the counter where they wouldn’t get bumped then I reloaded the canner for round two. I removed the last jars at 10:55 pm. Total time 13:25 plus some prep the day before. But keep in mind, if I had a better stove this would have gone much faster and much of this was walk away time.

I checked the seals the following morning and everything was perfect. I loosened the bands, labeled the tops, and put the soup in storage.

4. Finished Soup!

My last jar wasn’t quite full enough to have the proper headspace. I canned it anyway but I planned to use it in the next 2 weeks or so. In this case the concern was that over time the extra air would oxidize the food and reduce the quality, but I wasn’t worried about a few weeks.

5. The not quite full jar. No idea why the picture flipped sideways???

We ended up cracking open the jar 2 days later with grilled cheese for dinner. IT IS FANTASTIC. The chicken shreds do clump and knot together obnoxiously but the flavor was great.

Special Equipment: Stock pot, Stock pot, Pressure canner, jars with lids and bands, canning funnel, bubble removing tool (for soup only)

Remember, you can’t use a water bath canner for either the stock or the soup. If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can freeze the soup or invite an army over for dinner.

(Original recipes from the Ball Complete Home Canning Book. I doubled everything but the chicken in the stock recipe and some spices.)

Chicken Stock

1 chicken, in pieces (original recipe calls for 1 chicken as well)

32 c water

4 stalks celery

4 onions quartered

20 black pepper corns

4 bay leaves (I added 6)

2 tbsp salt

1. Bring chicken and water to boil then add other ingredients and boil gently for 2 hours.
2. Remove chicken and save for soup or another purpose. Also remove and discard other ingredients. Strain stock through cheesecloth.
3. Cool until fat solidifies and remove from stock.
4. If proceeding to make chicken soup, measure yield and move to Chicken Soup recipe. Otherwise return stock to boil before placing in jars.

5. While stock is cooking prepare pressure canner jars and lids
6. Put hot stock in jars leaving 1 in headspace
7. Wipe rims with paper towel dipped in vinegar before placing lid on jar
8. Screw bands on until fingertip tight and place jars in canner
9. Adjust water level in canner (follow canner manual for this) and seal
10. Vent steam for 10 minutes then close vent and continue heating until 10lb pressure is reached (or whatever pressure is required for your altitude)
11. When pressure is reached start timer for 20 minutes (pint jars) or 25 min (quart jars) as appropriate
12. After time has elapse turn off heat (but don’t move hot and very heavy canner) and let everything cool and depressurize naturally. (= be patient and don’t touch until you are sure the pressure is 0)
13. Remove the lid and wait 10 more minutes before moving jars to a safe place to cool
14. Check jars after 24 hours to ensure proper seal. Label and store.

Chicken Soup

32 c chicken stock (Above recipe plus additional if required)

6 c diced cooked chicken (From above recipe)

3 c diced celery

3 c diced carrots

2 c diced onions

1-3 bouillon cubes optional

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prep canner, jars and lids before you get started
2. Add all ingredients to large stockpot and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes.
3. Put hot soup in jars leaving 1 in headspace
4. Use plastic utensil to remove air bubbles and check headspace.
5. Wipe rims with paper towel dipped in vinegar before placing lid on jar
6. Screw bands on until fingertip tight and place jars in canner
7. Adjust water level in canner (follow canner manual for this) and seal
8. Vent steam for 10 minutes then close vent and continue heating until 10 lb pressure is reached (or whatever pressure is required for your altitude)
9. When pressure is reached start timer for 75 minutes (pint jars) or 90 min (quart jars) as appropriate
10. After time has elapse turn off heat (but don’t move hot and very heavy canner) and let everything cool and depressurize naturally. (= be patient and don’t touch until you are sure the pressure is 0)
11. Remove the lid and wait 10 more minutes before moving jars to a safe place to cool
12. Check jars after 24 hours to ensure proper seal. Label and store.

My yield: 11 quart jars (+ 3.5 cooked chicken in freezer)

Start time: 9:30 am

End time: 10:55 pm

Total cost: 0.85/jar (not including jar/lid prices)