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Your secret for making killer chicken broth for soup


HelperGuy

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I will never throw a chicken carcass away again, having discovered how easy it is to make a soup base. But I'm always looking for ways to crank up the flavour of the broth.

One friend actually bakes the chicken bones, in a light coating of oil, before adding to the pot to simmer, and takes advantage of the scrapings this produces.

I add a tbsp. of vinegar and a tbsp. of tomato paste to the liquid. Neither can be tasted per se, but both add a bit of zip to the broth.

Anyone else?

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Try this one. http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2010/01/caldo-de-pollo-chicken-soup-mexican-style.html

When we have finished the chicken and vegetables in the broth, I reduce whatever liquid is left by half and freeze it in a ziplock bag for use in cooking or preparing sauces.

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Guest RevImmigrant

Use bony pieces (the backs are excellent) uncooked and add feet (our maid used to do something to them before we added them to the pot), add some celery, carrot and tomato, onion and garlic, a bay leaf (small), salt and pepper and a little white wine. We always cooked ours in the pressure cooker for about an hour and a half.

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Thanks so far... looking also for your "secret ingredients" or techniques. The basic broth is always root veggies and bay leaf. Rev, your comment about the bony pieces is interesting, because my notes say: "Chicken broth is usually made with chicken meat and chicken parts, with a high flesh to bone ratio." And chicken stock "is made mostly of chicken parts that have a very low flesh to bone ratio; . Backs, necks and breast bones produce the best stock." A chicken broth will react differently when deglazing a sauté pan than a chicken stock.

I have never tried adding the feet. Some folks say don't add salt at all until everything is finished.

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Thanks so far... looking also for your "secret ingredients" or techniques. The basic broth is always root veggies and basil.

My basic broth is celery, carrots, onions, maybe some garlic, maybe parsnips, fresh parsley and fresh dill.  Basil?  Never.I do, occasionally, add a bit of lime juice and/or a jalapeno pepper cut in half to give it a little extra zing.
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Thanks so far... looking also for your "secret ingredients" or techniques. The basic broth is always root veggies and bay leaf. Rev, your comment about the bony pieces is interesting, because my notes say: "Chicken broth is usually made with chicken meat and chicken parts, with a high flesh to bone ratio." And chicken stock "is made mostly of chicken parts that have a very low flesh to bone ratio; . Backs, necks and breast bones produce the best stock." A chicken broth will react differently when deglazing a sauté pan than a chicken stock.

I have never tried adding the feet. Some folks say don't add salt at all until everything is finished.

I learned it this way: if you want to make a flavorful broth, start with cold water. If you want the chicken to be flavorful, start with boiling water.

If I am just making stock, not caldo de pollo, I buy inexpensive rabadilla (the backs) and feet and start with cold water and the seasoning ingredients listed in the linked article. I wouldn't use strong-flavored herbs like basil, oregano, dill, etc. I do use one or two split chiles serrano instead of whole black peppercorns to add some spice. I sometimes add a few sprigs of mint, which freshens the flavor of the stock.

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Dill? Interesting. I would think that would change the flavour noticeably.

And forgive me; I have changed my post. No idea why I said basil when I meant bay leaf. Using lime juice would probably be equivalent to my using vinegar, but I will try that.

Yep - dill. From the Jewish Mother type of chicken soup. With or without matzoh balls.
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Guest RevImmigrant

And I think you have to begin with fresh chicken, whole or pieces, not some carcass that has already been cooked and picked over for something else.

Not to hijack the topic, but for beef broth I like to use Bein Scheiben (Chamberette) or Ochsenschwanz (beef tails). If you use Bein Scheiben, you want the kind with the bone, not the boneless pieces.

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