When buying chicken with bones, what is the best way to maximize your dollar with chicken bones? Would it be helpful if we showed you how to prepare the bones to make yummy Vietnamese soup and maximize your dollar? In fact after you review this article, you will learn invaluable tips for preparing chicken bones with my Vietnamese chicken soup recipe.

In one of my prior articles, I shared a recipe on how to stretch a chicken over several meals. In that article, I briefly mentioned the chicken bones. In this article I will go into deeper details and fun tips for preparing chicken bones. Welcome back!

After removing the skin from the whole chicken, I debone the meat as much as possible. I use the bones to make chicken broth. Frequently, it is difficult to remove all of the meat from the bones. I usually boil the bones and whatever meat attached. I add a dash of salt to bring the water to boil quicker under high heat. Once the water boils, I allow the pot to simmer under medium low heat for 40 to 50 minutes or until the left over meat easily slides off the bones.

I remove the bones from the broth. Put the broth aside and allow it to cool. If the broth is not used right away, refrigerate or freeze it. You can use the broth to make Vietnamese soups from my Vietnamese chicken soup recipes. We can create different types of Vietnamese soups such as Bún M?c (Meat Dumpling Noodle Soup), Vietnamese Egg Drop soup, a starter for Chicken Pho, or any chicken flavored soup.

Pull all the remaining meat from the bones. The meat removing process should be effortless. I hate to waste any part of the chicken including the bones. However once the bone is stripped of all flavors and juice, throw them away. Avoid giving the bones to the doggies. Chicken bones are sharp. Dogs, like my basset hound, prefer to swallow instead of chew. They can choke on the sharp part of the bone.

I shred the left over boiled chicken. I remove any unwanted ligaments and cartilages and give them to my cousins when they are around. My cousins love to gnaw the ligaments and/or chewy part of the bones. The tail bone and the neck of the chicken are considered to be the yummy parts. My cousins can eat those parts all day long. The shredded chicken can be prepared as a yummy Vietnamese salad. Another option is to mix the shredded chicken with steamed rice and fish sauce or soy sauce. My kids love it!!!