Poultry Soup Recipe

I only say "Poultry" soup because typically I make this with whatever bird carcasses (Carcii?) that I have laying around.

Yes, I have bird carcasses stashed in my freezer. Every time I make a chicken, or duck, combined with the turkey carcasses I abscond from my in-laws after Thanksgiving (or Christmas) I wrap them in foil and shove them in the freezer for *just* the right moment. Everyone thinks I am a little strange, but I am the one who winds up with a delicious pot of soup at the end. :-D It's a great way to get even more out of that holiday bird.

Now, I will mention that you can always purchase a few whole chickens at the store to make this if you don't have any frozen birds. Sometimes if I don't have enough carcasses I will get a split chicken or chicken parts at the store to add to the pot. Heresy I know! Also? Don't clean the bird if there are any herbs and spices/onions/etc in the bird since it just adds to the flavor.

Anyway, it's so easy, and the results are so delicious. If you are going to use a turkey carcass, you will either need a pot large enough to accommodate the leftover bird, or you will need to use a cleaver to cut it into pieces large enough to fit into your pot. I use a 16 Qt stock pot that I got cheap at Bed Bath and Beyond. It's sole uses are for making soup of this nature OR for making end-of-summer tomato sauce to put up.

Put your bird in the pot, and then cover the carcass as much as possible with tap water (obviously if your bird exceeds the pot size you will not be able to cover it all the way). And by this I mean if your whole bird fits in the pot, then just cover the bird with water. If your bird sticks out of the pot, just add water up to about an inch and a half from the top of the pot. This makes the soup so flexible. You can do it in a small pot or a large pot. As much or as little as you want.

I usually start this the night before because I make such a large pot of it, and because my birds are generally frozen. I find that the longer I cook this, the more likely it is that the bones will begin to disintegrate, letting the marrow into the broth, and thus adding WAY more flavor.

Bring your pot to a boil, and then as soon as it boils, bring it to a low simmer. Put your lid on as soon as it simmers, and then leave it to simmer. Like I said, because I make such a big pot, and because I like the bones to disintegrate, I will let it simmer overnight, but you do not necessarily need to do so - it just depends on how much you are making. Check on it every so often to make sure that your water is not evaporating or boiling too hard (add more water or chicken broth if you want/need to).

There is no specific time frame for letting it cook. If you are doing a big pot like me, I will generally let it go for almost 24 hours. Depending on how much bird you are using will determine how long it will take you to strain the bird. That is the no fun part. I generally use a spider to just pull out the bones and the meat. You can discard what is left of the bones, making sure to remove all of the useful meat into a separate bowl. After you have strained out your bones and meat, add into the pot as much celery, carrots and chopped onion as you want. This adds more flavor to the pot. They will need to cook through, so make sure you give it enough time.

At this time you will also want to make a pot of pasta (if you want to add any kind of noodles with your soup), but do NOT add it to your soup. Make it on the side, otherwise if you are storing any, the pasta gets nasty and mushy.

Once you have separated out your meat, add it back to the pot, and then as soon as the veggies are cooked to your desired tenderness AND your pasta is done, you are ready to eat!

This freezes well, and is great for all winter long!