Chicken Soup from Roast Chicken

Chicken soup from roast chicken is richer, more robust, even slightly more bitter (from the twice-cooked herbs, spices, and potatoes), and more buttery — see how the chandelier shines back in the photo — than soup made with a fresh raw chicken.

I roasted two chickens, so we didn’t quite finish them. Post-roast chicken dinner, I pull off the nicer breast and dark meat and set it aside, then simmer the still-meaty bones, including some of the pan vegetables and herbs. In a fresh pot, I sauté fresh diced onions, carrots, and parsley, add the shredded chicken, and pour the stock in. This soup was delicious, but it’s different, and mostly I prefer a clean, clear chicken soup made by poaching one whole fresh bird.

Chicken stock two ways from “The Real Food Cookbook”

Poached Chicken Stock

This yields a nice clear broth, good for matzo ball soup, chicken soup, and for thinning light dishes such as pea soup. Poach a whole chicken in cold water with a peeled carrot, a stick of celery, a bay leaf, and a few peppercorns for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. (Poke it with a skewer.) Lift the chicken out; strain and reduce the liquid by half or more. Skim off the foam the whole time, from poaching to reducing. Use the poached chicken for soup, chicken salad, Cobb salad, rice, or burritos.

Rustic Chicken Stock

Make a roast chicken and eat the meat. Remove any aromatics from the carcass, like garlic, lemon, or rosemary, and smash it up a little. Cover it with cold water and simmer for 1 hour or so, skimming off the foam. When the water is below the chicken, it’s done. Strain. This broth will be darker, with a more intense flavor, than the Classic or Poached Chicken stocks.