If you roasted a whole bird, pause before throwing away the bones. They're ready to be simmered in water with vegetables or spices, or both, to make a tasty stock.
Cook’s notes
On Christmas Eve of 2019, we had roast duck. We were left with a generous amount of duck meat and all the bones from which the meat had been carved. The neck was intact; so was the back. Both were covered with fatty skin that browned during roasting. In short, there was still a lot of flavor that could be squeezed from what was left of our roast duck.
So, the duck bones went into the slow cooker overnight to make broth. The next day, the duck bones were scooped out and the broth was strained into a pot.
Even if you’re not into roast duck, the same technique can be used with almost any leftover bones. If, let’s say, you had roast turkey, a crown of ribs, a leg of ham or lamb, you can use that to make stock.
You may freeze the stock, in portions, for future use, or you can make this lovely egg drop soup.
Leftover roast duck egg drop soup
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- bones from a whole roast duck
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup finely sliced scallions
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms (any variety)
- cornstarch
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the duck bones in the slow cooker, add salt and pepper and pour in enough water to cover.
- Set the slow cooker to LOW and leave for 10 to 11 hours.
- Strain the broth, measure and pour into a pot.
- Bring the broth to a gentle boil then add the scallions and mushrooms.
- Disperse one teaspoon of cornstarch in one tablespoon of water for every two cups of broth.
- Pour into the soup and stir until the broth is no longer cloudy.
- Simmer the soup for about five minutes.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl.
- Turn off the stove. Drizzle the eggs in a circular motion directly into the soup. Leave to solidify for a few seconds then stir.
- Taste the soup. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.
- If you want to add any meat that can be plucked from the duck bones, stir them in for a meaty egg drop soup.
- Enjoy!
Japanese-style spinach and mushroom salad