Tried to stretch a single chicken into three meals and ended up with soup for a week

Got a whole chicken on sale for $6 at the market, figured I'd be smart. Roasted it Sunday, made sandwiches Monday, then boiled the bones for stock Tuesday. The stock was so weak it looked like dishwater, so I dumped in all the leftover veggies and rice. Now I've got a giant pot of bland, greasy soup that's all I've eaten since Wednesday. I guess I learned you need more than just bones to make good stock, maybe some onion or herbs. Anyone have a better way to use up a chicken without ending up in soup jail?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.henry20d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, that's the classic rookie move, we've all been there. You're right about needing more than bones, a whole onion, a couple carrots, and a few stalks of celery makes all the difference. Next time, try shredding the last of the chicken meat into a pot with some jarred salsa and black beans for a quick chili, it breaks the soup cycle.

the_kai9d ago

People talk about stock like it's a science project. An oily sheen? Just call it extra flavor and move on. Boiling bones with a bay leaf for hours sounds boring, but it's still just hot chicken water in the end. The whole "rookie move" thing makes a simple pot of broth feel way too serious.

emery_carter20d ago

My uncle used a whole rotisserie chicken carcass for stock once but forgot to skim the fat. The resulting soup had an oily sheen that reflected the kitchen light like a weird brown pond. We still ate it, but everyone moved a little slower for the rest of the day. It taught me that even good ideas need a basic follow through step. His next attempt was just boiling the bones with a single bay leaf for three hours, and it was somehow worse.