The next time you have a Sunday chicken roast, keep the carcass and make a batch of stock. The best stock starts with the finest ingredients. Choose a free-range chicken, available from your local butcher. Free-range birds eat a superior diet to commercially reared hens. As a result, the bones are stronger and thicker, packed with far more gelatin.
Collagen is a protein found in gelatin, and it’s the cornerstone of any nutritious and delicious stock. Cook a whole bird, including the meat to add extra flavor to your broth. Chopping up the carcass allows you to fit more than one chicken in a large pot, producing a collagen-rich stock.
For your stock recipe, place the chicken in a crockpot with a few bay leaves, some chopped carrots, onion, leek, and celery. Toss in a few sprigs of parsley, some rosemary, thyme, and cracked black pepper. Add 12-cups of water and bring to the boil. After reaching boiling point, reduce the heat and simmer the stock for 18 to 24-hours until the meat falls off the bones and the carcass reduces.
Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth, discarding the chicken, meat, vegetables, and spices. Your final stock will have a transparent appearance with a slight yellow tinge. Pack into mason jars for storage in the fridge or freeze it in ice-cube trays for use in these 15-chicken soup recipes.
1. Chicken Broth Breakfast Soup
Start your day the right way with this nutritious recipe for breakfast soup. This protein-packed both gives you all the energy you need to perform in the morning. It’s an ideal meal for school kids and keeps them focused in the classroom.
INGREDIENTS
2-cups chicken stock.
Juice of two lemons.
1-large free-range egg.
2-slices whole-wheat or rye bread.
¼-cup grated parmesan cheese.
1-tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.
Cracked black pepper and crushed Himalayan pink salt to taste.
METHOD
Heat the stock with the lemon juice in a pot over high heat. When the stock and juice boil, reduce heat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Let the soup simmer and crack the egg, slowly lowering into the broth to avoid separation. If the white begins to run, fold it back in with a spoon until it sets.
Toast the bread and place it in a wide-base bowl, sprinkling the parmesan on top of the toast. Pour the soup over the toast, add a dash of olive oil and serve.