Roast Chicken Stock and Soup

I like to make a rich, “brown” chicken stock to make my soups with. I save the bones from our roast chickens and pop them in the freezer. When I have two or three, I make a batch of stock by placing 1/2 an onion, 3 stalks of celery, and two carrots (cut into large chunks) into a roasting pan and placing the chicken bones on top. I fill the roaster with boiling water and heat the lot in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 hours. I top up the water as necessary, and when the bones and skin are browning, I flip the chickens to brown the other side, and to get the lovely brown flavour into the stock. I add salt (about 2 teaspoons) and a little pepper.

When it is all nice and brown, use tongs to remove most of the bones and then strain the stock into a bowl. As it is often below freezing here, I like to set the bowl outside at this point so that I can quickly skim off any excess fat. (It saves letting the stock cool enough to put in the fridge to harden the fat.) I like to leave a bit of fat in the stock for flavour, but I don’t like it to be greasy. (Save the skimmed fat in the fridge for making delicious potatoes.) This makes enough for two pots of soup for my family, so I freeze one of them for future use.

If I am making chicken soup, I dice a couple stalks of carrots and celery and sauté them in a tablespoon of oil until starting to caramelize. I add 1-2 cups of chopped leftover roast chicken, and deglaze the pot with white wine (a 1/4 to 1/2 cup), and then add 5 cups of hot stock. I add some egg noodles (5 handfuls) and boil in the stock for the time listed on the package. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Ladle and enjoy!