Overnight Stock in the Slow Cooker -and- World’s Best and Easiest Tortilla Soup Recipe!!

Costco’s Rotisserie Chicken has its own Facebook fan page, I kid you not. There is a good reason why- for $4.99 you get close to a 3.5 pound, nicely roasted bird with better tasting meat than the pre-made, pre-sliced, supermarket fridge section fodder. While it isn’t organic or”free range,” (a nearly unregulated term), it does provide a whole bunch of “clean eating” protein.

From this 3.5 lb bird came a little over 2 pounds of meat… and the skin, bones and junk left over? DON’T THROW IT AWAY!!

If you want delicious, home made soups but don’t have half a day at home to make stock on the stove, your slow cooker is your ace in the hole! I’ve never tried this method, and have let the chicken carcass simmer for anywhere from 2 to 5 hours on my stovetop, and wanted to try this method for once. Is it easier with the slow cooker?

Observe:

Here’s all of the non-meat leftovers- about 1.5 pounds of carcass, in the slow cooker and covered with water to about an inch from the top of the crock…

This muck sat on low for about 12 hours overnight. In the morning I put a pot in the sink, the strainer in the pot, strained the broth, put it in the fridge, tossed the bones in the trash, and washed out the crock. Bonus- if you are trying to cut calories, the fat will float to the top of the pot and solidify, just scoop it off for fat-free stock.

This was by far the easiest and tasted like any of the best broths I’ve made before. I’d say I ended up with close to just under a gallon of broth, too. Broth that tastes better than from a can or carton and nearly free to boot? Can’t beat that with a stick!

P.S.

Wonder what the difference between a Broth and a Stock? Stock is long simmered and has bones, basically. Click here to read about it at TheKitchn.com

As for The World’s Best Yet Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe… turns out I don’t have any salsa, so the soup will be in tomorrow’s post. Whoops.