Time to Make Your Own Chicken Stock

mirepoix for chicken noodle soup

A whole chicken from the grocer costs less than four chicken breasts. Did you know that?

I didn’t know that, and I was pleasantly surprised when I bought a completely gutted and ready-to-go chicken for a batch of chicken soup I made recently.

I’m not crazy about canned chicken soup. In fact, I don’t like it at all. That’s why I normally use store-bought stock to make my soups.

But on this day I was feeling adventurous. On this day I wanted to boil Ms. Cockadoodledoo down to the bones instead. It was very rewarding to actually SEE the flavor floating in the stock.

whole chicken for stock

By the way, stock is made by boiling bones, and broth is made by boiling meat. The stock versus broth topic seems like it could easily fall into a heated culinary debate about how to make sauce properly, so I won’t get into too much detail here. My only point is that I’m calling this stock, because I boiled bones.

The recipe for chicken and noodles on the Pioneer Woman looked just about right, so I chose to follow that one relatively close. Here’s the abridged/modified version.

How I Made Chicken Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup

 

Ingredients:

*1 whole chicken

*1 yellow onion, chopped

*3 large carrots, chopped

*3 large celery sticks, chopped

*1tbsp dried Italian seasoning (parsley, oregeno, etc.)

*1 tbsp. dried thyme

*salt and pepper to taste

*1 package egg noodles

 

Directions:

1. Boil your chicken for 30 minutes in four quarts of water.

2. Remove chicken from water.

3. Use a fork (or fingers) to take the meat from the bone. Return the bones to the bubbling water and boil for 45 minutes.

4. Remove ALL bones from water. (I ran the stock through a strainer to be sure.)

5. Add your mirepoix to the bubbling water. Mirepoix = one onion, three carrots, and three pieces of celery (chopped).

6. Add the spices of your choosing (I chose Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper, but I don’t think you can ever go wrong. Use the spices you have on hand and prefer with your chicken soup.)

7. Return meat and add noodles to stockpot and simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Eat.
how to make homemade chicken noodle soup

ps – I am not ashamed that I ate THREE rolls that came out of can! 🙂 A pregnant lady knows what she wants.

7 comments

  1. There’s nothing better than homemade chicken stock! Last weekend I pulled a turkey carcass and chicken carcass from the freezer and made a chicken-turkey stock. It turned out great! Your soup looks like a perfect match for it! Glad to see that you have taken the plunge into making your own stock. Great post!

  2. Homemade is always the way to go when it comes to such things! I keep trying to tell my mother this, but no luck. I should just show her this post!

  3. I’ve heard homemade chicken stock can make all the difference. I need to do this! Thank you for sharing your savory broth and words my friend. No better way to end my weekend. I hope you have a week full of family and feasting. Blessings from Austin!

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