Making Chicken Soup - Have a question about the water you boil it in.?

Question

I am making chicken soup. The question I have is, do you use the water that you boil the chicken in? Or do you throw that water out and just use the canned chicken broth? Because the recipe says to use celery leaves when you are boiling the chicken. I am not sure about that water that you boil the chicken in.... Help!! Thank you.

The recipe calls for 2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth. So, I am not sure if you just use that as the liquid, or do I use the water AND the chicken broth....

I am so glad I asked this question and I appreciate all your answers. Your answers have helped me a lot. thank you :-)

Answer 1

When you make chicken soup, you put the whole chicken in water and then you add other ingredients to flavor the broth. I put celery, carrots, onion (I stick some whole cloves into the onion) even tomatoes, fresh parsley, etc. As well as some salt and pepper and garlic if you want. You simmer this for a long time (essentially the chicken gets cooked and falls off the bone (btw, be sure to take the gizzards and neck packets out of the chicken before you put it in the pot). Once done, you take the chicken out, and then strain all the veggies that you used to flavor the broth out, leaving you with a clear broth. Discard these used veggies. Sometimes the broth is not as plentiful or as flavorful as you want, which is why you add canned chicken broth to it (get the low sodium kind because canned broth is VERY salty). I then get new veggies (celery, carrots, onions, etc - whatever you want) and chop them up and throw them into the broth to cook for a while. Once the chicken is cooled enough to handle, I pull the chicken off the bone and throw it into the pot in small bite-able chunks. Now you have soup. If you want to add noodles to it, cook them separately in another pot and then add them as needed when you serve. If you cook the noodles in the broth or store the leftovers with noodles, the noodles soak up all the broth and you have very little soup/broth left! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

this is the right way to do it.
Take a 3-4 lb chicken , rinse and remove any extra fat and do not use the giblets, or liver
Place in a large pot of COLD water
Add 2 medium onions 2 peeled carrots and 3 clean stalks of celery all coarsley chopped. This is a classic combination and is refered to as mirepoix. The weight of the onions is twice that of the celery or the carrots
Into that add 6 parsley stems, 6-10 whole black peppercorns,
and 2 bay leaves. If you like the taste of thyme you can add a sprig or two of fresh thyme.
DO NOT ADD SALT!!!!!
As a matter of fact you never add salt to a stock until it is finished and you have reduced it to the point where it tastes like what it's supposed to be[ in this case chicken]
place the pot on high heat and reduce to med/ low when it starts to boil on the edges
simmer for 2 hours removing foam as needed
take off heat and remove and reserve the chicken
place a colander over a large empty pot and pour the chicken stock into it
toss out the contents of the colander- all the veggies, herbs and spices
taste your stock - it should taste like chicken
take a spoonful of it sprinkle a little salt on it , if it tastes like good chicken stock you're almost done
if it doesn't put back on the stove and reduce by 1/3
taste again with and with out salt. When you're happy with the taste [ remember you can put salt in but you cant take it out]
place the pot into a sink of ice water and stir your stock until its below 70 degrees
place in the refigerator
The cold of the refrigerator lets 2 things happen :
it allows your stock to be safe by getting it below 40 degrees and it allows the chicken fat to solidify
You can either keep the chicken fat for another purpose or toss it out
At this point you have fresh low sodium chicken stock
take the chicken that you reserved and remove all the meat.

Answer 3

The making of chicken broth is an art.The most important factor is keeping the heat low! Skim the foam that forms on the top of the water. Seasonings are helpful,like celery leaves,herbs of any kind you like. Salt,pepper,onions,experiment. Success can be measured by the clarity of the final product.Patience is required,it can be a day long process,but when you get it right it's very rewarding.

Answer 4

yes i would use the broth that i cooked the chicken in it has all the flavor that you want i make chicken soup a lot and this is my method its good and you can controle the salt level as you want yeah give it a try good luck

Answer 5

don't throw out the water left from cooking the chicken it. that's the good stuff. just mix it with some canned chicken broth if you don't have enough.

Answer 6

add the broth to the chicken stock (the water you cooked the chicken in)

Answer 7

Don't throw out the liquid, thats where all the nutrients go to. If you want you can add additional chicken broth to it.

Answer 8

Don't waste the water.
Now, it has become chicken & celery stock.
Very tasty.

If you do not wish to use it for your chicken soup, keep it for boiling some vegetables, like carrots, leeks, etc. Adds flavor to your veggies.

Answer 9

i have always used the water i boiled the chicken in and added just enough chicken stock to cover the chicken and veggies

Answer 10

Use the water you boil the chicken in...Season with salt,pepper and a couple of bay leaves.