Game Hen Soup
This soup is a great way to stretch out a whole roast bird of any kind. I make it from Cornish game hens, because they are the closest thing to chicken that Bill will eat. I’m writing this while on the first week of isolations in my state and during spring break for the university I work for. I’m posting it, probably in April as that’s when I plan for the website to go up. The reason this was the first recipe I posted is because I really wanted to share some ways to make food stretch and the corona cuisine moment gives me great grandma in the depression vibes. Other people’s grandmas, mine was a landlord who owned a bakery I’m sure she was fine. Well the one was, the other’s that I mostly about were Native women in Mexico and Peru…
Prep
Say your starting with what’s left from dinner last night or if you’re ambitious to start prep tonight. First things first is to pull all remaining meat that you can off the bones and shred it. This takes time and is messy. Once that’s done set it aside for later (if I’m not going to be make soup in the near future I freeze the bones and meat separate to come back to). This is also great if you don’t like throwing away a lot of vegetable trim; washed carrot skin, onion skins, and celery tops are perfect for stock making. Keeping these in the freezer till use also is a great way to curb your food waste. Mine currently go into the compost as I’m trying to grow food in a place where nothing grows, so that doesn’t feel like a waste to me.
Making the Broth
Broth or stock or “bone broth” seem like the same thing. To be honest the whole “bone broth” craze and how it’s different from broth really just makes a stock and then you use that for broth…. See where I’m going with this? Take your poultry bones, all the veggie scraps and cover in cold water in a pot. Now at school we’d at a sachet of herbs but at home I just throw them in loose. A good start would be a bundle of parsley stems, two stems of thyme, and a tablespoon of pepper corns. It’s a mild blend that will make a solid stock for you to can or freeze for later use in anything. You’re going to want to bring this to a boil and then reduce it down to a simmer and leave it at a simmer for around 12 hours. Through out the simmering process, skim the scum that accumulates on top. After it’s done simmering down strain through a fine mesh strainer (lined with cheesecloth if you feel like being extra clean.)
This is a long con kind of recipe that is probably easier done in stages with each stage done in bulk for future uses.
Finally the Soup
Ingredients
- Left over chicken meat
- 4 cups stock
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 4 medium stalks of celery diced
- 2 medium onions diced
- Starch of your choice (rice, noodles..)
- 1 tablespoon Fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 stems of thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
One things you’re going to hear a lot from me is hot pot/ hot fat. It means what it sounds like. So into a pre heated pot with pre-heated fat, you’re going to toss your carrots and celery. Cook for about a minute and then add your onions. Sweat these veggies together until they get a little translucent. Add in your fennel seeds, mustard, minced garlic, and sage; cook your herbs and garlic till they get aromatic. Pour in your cold stock and deglaze the bottom of the pot; which means to scrub the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to get the good flavor bits up off it before they burn. Add in your shredded meat. Now’s the bougie fun part, take some cheesecloth and some butcher’s twine and make a little sachet around your rosemary, thyme and bay leaves and add that to you pot. Tying the end of the twine to the handle will help you keep track of it. If you don’t have any of that just toss the herbs in rustic style and pick them out later, or don’t!
I make my starches separate from my soup and even pack up the left overs separate so that way the starch doesn’t break down in the soup and you preserve the quality longer.
At this point just bring your soup to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer again. Simmer it for about an hour minimum to get a good flavor profile. I usually go about two hours to be sure. Salt and pepper it to your taste.
Thanks for popping over
In the realm of YouTube video wrap ups I’m going to practice here. Thanks for coming and checking out the new site! I think it’s finally a good representation of who/what I am. Recipe posts are going to continue to be shorter and no longer integrated with lifestyle posts which are going to get their own section so that there’s something for everyone and it’s not being shoved down people’s throats. If you feel so inclined pop on over to the Patreon for exclusive posts and check out the shop so I can continue to fund these projects.