First posted on December 26, 2009 by Alan revised and rewritten July 2010, after further experimentation.
It came about thus:
I needed the container the smoked chicken was in, for biscuits, so I stripped the meat off and put it in a smaller container.
What to do with the carcase? It was quite a hefty bird, Would probably make two of those little smoked chickens we buy in NZ.
My little old Irish Grandmother taught me one important lesson: Waste not want not!
So
Bones make soup, right?
What I did:
Cover one (or two) smoked chicken carcasses, with just a little meat left on them, and with as much skin as is available, with cold water – about 2 litres – and bring to the boil. Make sure you include the jelly from the middle and the smoked skin.
Add a bay leaf and a pinch of white pepper
While it is heating, chop an onion and add it, then chop up AT LEAST TWO whole corms or bulbs – or whatever they are called – of Garlic chopped as finely as possible. LOTS of garlic. As I chopped it I added a little black pepper, a pinch or two of curry powder, a dash of chilli powder and a quarter teaspoon of brown sugar. I also added a dash of worcester sauce while I was chopping. And a dash of bitters. It felt right. The garlic odour was heavenly.
Add the chopped garlic to the pot.
Bring to the boil and simmer for a few hours until the carcass is falling apart and the garlic and onion are pulp.
Cool, and extract all the bones and skin, returning any meat and pulp to the pot. Bring the stock back to the boil and add one or two chicken stock cubes.
Add some pieces of smoked chicken meat. and some chopped celery
Simmer for a bit more while you mix a cup of water with three heaped tablespoons of full cream milk powder, (or a cup of milk) and three tablespoons of flour, making sure there are no lumps.
Stir the flour and milk into the stock with a whisk and bring to the boil. As soon as the chowder has boiled and thickened, throw in a handful of frozen corn to take it off the boil. Throw in some chopped red capsicum for colour. I chop mine and freeze them as they are so expensive here, and I don’t want them to waste away in the refrigerator.
Bring back to a simmer and turn off the heat. Do not let it boil again. Add some cream or sour cream. Serve sprinkled with a little paprika and garnish it with chives or parsley
Kummerspeck. 