Chef Thomas
A Proper Chicken Broth
Sunday's roast chicken, simmered slowly on Monday with carrots, celery, leeks, and thyme into a bowl of clear, golden broth that smells like the kitchen is paying attention.
Culinary Explorer
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Game Broth
Created by Chef Thomas
A slow, savoury broth built from game bird carcasses, pearl barley, and the last of the autumn roots, the kind of bowl that turns a dark November evening into something you chose rather than endured.
Soups & Stews
British
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
30 min
Active Time
3 hr cook•3 hr 30 min total
Yield6 servings
The first pheasants arrive at the market in October, and by November the stall has grouse and partridge too, hanging in a row with their feathers still on, looking like a painting from another century. I buy a brace when they're going, roast them simply, and then the carcasses go into the pot. This is the soup that follows.
Game broth is not a recipe you plan. It's a recipe that happens because you kept the bones. That's the kind of cooking I trust most: the meal that builds itself from what's left over, from thrift and instinct and the knowledge that a carcass still has something to give. Two hours of gentle simmering turns stripped bones into a stock that smells of woodsmoke and cold weather and something ancient. Pearl barley swells into it, the leeks soften, the carrots and parsnips bring a sweetness that balances the deep, mineral savour of the game.
I wrote it down in the notebook years ago: game broth, pearl barley, rain against the window. That's all I needed to remember. The rest is just paying attention. This is a November supper for when the evening comes early and you want something in the bowl that feels like it belongs to the season. Right food, right evening.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
pheasant or grouse carcasses
Quantity
2
roasted or raw
leftover game meat (optional)
Quantity
any scraps
shredded
pearl barley
Quantity
100g
leeks
Quantity
2 large
white and pale green parts, sliced
carrots
Quantity
2 medium
peeled and diced
parsnip
Quantity
1 large
peeled and diced
celery
Quantity
2 sticks
sliced
onion
Quantity
1
halved and studded with 2 cloves
bay leaves
Quantity
2
thyme
Quantity
a few sprigs
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
butter
Quantity
30g
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
small handful
roughly chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
crusty bread
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pheasant or grouse carcassesroasted or raw | 2 |
| leftover game meat (optional)shredded | any scraps |
| pearl barley | 100g |
| leekswhite and pale green parts, sliced | 2 large |
| carrotspeeled and diced | 2 medium |
| parsnippeeled and diced | 1 large |
| celerysliced | 2 sticks |
| onionhalved and studded with 2 cloves | 1 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| thyme | a few sprigs |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| butter | 30g |
| flat-leaf parsleyroughly chopped | small handful |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| crusty bread | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Large stockpot or heavy-bottomed saucepan (at least 4-litre capacity)
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Build the stock
Put the carcasses in your largest pot. Cover with cold water, roughly two litres, and bring to a gentle simmer. Not a boil. A boil makes stock cloudy and harsh. You want the surface barely trembling, a few lazy bubbles breaking now and then. Add the halved onion with its cloves, the bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns. Let it murmur away for two hours, skimming any grey foam that rises in the first twenty minutes. The kitchen will start to smell like November.
Roasted carcasses give a deeper, more savoury stock. If you've had a roast pheasant earlier in the week, this is where the bones go. Raw carcasses work too, just with a lighter, cleaner result. Either is fine. Both are good. - 2
Strain and pick
Lift the carcasses out and strain the stock through a sieve into a clean pot. Discard the onion, herbs, and peppercorns. When the carcasses are cool enough to handle, pick off any remaining meat. There's always more than you expect, tucked along the backbone and under the wings. Shred it and set aside. This patient picking is the quiet work that makes the broth worth eating.
- 3
Soften the vegetables
Melt the butter in the same pot over a moderate heat. Add the leeks and celery with a pinch of salt and let them soften for five or six minutes, stirring occasionally. They should go translucent and smell sweet, not catch any colour. Add the carrots and parsnip and stir them through the butter for another minute or two.
- 4
Add barley and stock
Pour in the strained stock and add the pearl barley. Bring back to a gentle simmer and cook for forty-five minutes to an hour, until the barley is tender and has swelled to twice its size. The broth will thicken slightly as it cooks, the barley lending a quiet starchiness that makes it feel substantial without being heavy. If it reduces too much, add a splash of water. This is a broth, not a stew. It should be loose enough to ladle generously.
Pearl barley absorbs liquid as it sits, so the broth will thicken if you're making it ahead. Keep some extra stock or water to hand when you reheat. - 5
Finish and serve
Return the shredded game meat to the pot and warm it through for a few minutes. Season with salt. Taste it. Then taste it again. The broth should be deeply savoury, with a clean, mineral note from the bones and a quiet sweetness from the root vegetables. Ladle into warm bowls and scatter the parsley over the top. Bring good bread to the table. This is the kind of supper that doesn't need a pudding after it.
Chef Tips
- •A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. If you only have pheasant, use pheasant. If someone gives you a brace of partridge, even better. The method is the same. The market decides.
- •Don't throw the stock away if you've made too much. Strain it, cool it, and freeze it in old containers. Good game stock is hard to come by and too valuable to waste. It's the foundation of a dozen future suppers.
- •This wants bread, not wine. A proper crusty loaf, still warm if you can manage it, torn rather than sliced, to drag through the last of the broth. There are few better feelings than putting a warm bowl of this in front of someone on a cold night.
- •If you have no game carcasses, a good butcher may sell them cheaply, or give them away. Ask. The worst they can say is no.
Advance Preparation
- •The stock can be made two or three days ahead and refrigerated. Any fat will solidify on the surface overnight and can be lifted off easily.
- •The finished broth keeps well in the fridge for three days and improves as it sits. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if the barley has absorbed too much liquid.
- •Freezes well for up to three months. The barley softens further on reheating, but the flavour only deepens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
210 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
770 mg
Total Carbohydrates
29 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
11 g
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