I always use a whole chicken for my chicken and noodle soup. This is the original recipe I started with,

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mom-s-special-chicken-soup/

Yes...you want the skin and bones for optimum flavor. You're always good using a whole roasting chicken for soup, but bone-in skin-on parts are fine, too. As albert mentioned, I have used what's left of rotisserie chickens for soup...often. I swear, those $5 rotisserie chickens from Costco and Sam's Club are the best deal ever. I buy them all the time for umpteen things.

You're talking about for making up the soup after the stock has been made? You can use any kind of chicken. Skin on bone-in legs probably have the most chicken flavor, so it's a good choice if the price was good. For making stock, I save up spines, necks and giblets (but don't use the kidneys (if present) or livers in the stock because of the flavors). If I don't have enough in the freezer, I'll buy a whole chicken or two (depending on how much I'm making) and throw them in the pot. Once the stock is made, I'll roast some chicken and cut it up for the soup. By the time I'm done cooking all the good out of the chicken in the stock, there's nothing left that anyone would want to eat.

plllog has a good point regarding stock and soup. Once you've made a tasty stock, using roasted chicken for the soup is good. Or...a rotisserie chicken. I'll often remove whatever chicken meat I want from a rotisserie chicken to add to the soup. I use the rest to include in the stock.

plllog, did you mean skin-on, bone-in legs?

That's why I like the recipe I posted. You are making the stock and then the soup. I use the very thin noodle though and usually add English peas.

Sherry, it sounds really good...love peas! :-)

Just thinking of another good use of mine for rotisserie chicken...Ina G's Chicken Stew with Biscuits. Not exactly a hot weather dish, but a huge favorite of ours in the Fall.

Chickens are like ladies. They are more flavorful as they age.

Spanish stores and Asian stores sell old chickens just for soup making.

Asian stores also sell whole chicken carcass, 3 for $1.00.

dcarch

I either use a rotisserie chicken (remove meat, then make broth with carcass, including skin. Otherwise I roast a couple bone-in, skin-on breasts and do the same.

I also keep a stash of wing tips in the freezer to occasionally add to the simmering broth.

I prefer chicken legs for soups and stews. The meat is more tender than white meat, and more nutritious too.

I usually buy whole organic chickens, roast and eat a breast for dinner, then remove most of the meat and make the stock for the soup, using all the pan drippings. It usually takes two days, as refrigerating the stock overnight is necessary to remove the fat. Then I make the soup adding the reserved chopped chicken at the end. I usually make a big pot and freeze it in individual servings. I don't add any pasta though.

Thanks, Chloebud, yes. Slip of the fingers. I've edited my post to say "bone-in".

Sherry, that looks like a fine recipe. It's of the kind from back when chickens were really expensive and chicken soup was a way to extend a single small chicken to feed a whole family. No one wants to eat the strings that are left of the chicken when I make stock. All the goodness is in the liquid. There is something to be said for soups that make their own stocks, however. My friend's cabbage soup is that way. You put soup bones in it. I understand why you like this recipe.

Noodles.

Now that we've talked chicken.

I know a lot of people who prefer rectangular strings of extruded noodles so it'll be like Campbell's of old. :) That's fine. I like the homemade skinny ones like my Great-Auntie of old. :) She taught me how, but I'm not an expert. I'll try to describe it.

One Eggs Noodles

Dump a cup of flour on your cutting board. Not a cup measure, just a cupful. Spread a little around to flour the board, but keep most of it in a heap in the middle. Make a crater with tall sides, but a good amount of flour on the bottom. Crack your egg into the crater. Use a fork to bring the flour from the outside base into the middle, keeping the crater intact to keep the egg in. Stir a little and keep pulling more flour into the middle until it's all mixed in. Don't overwork. Form into a ball, sprinkle with flour, cover and rest. Roll the dough out very thin. When it's very thin and even, sprinkle a little flour and fold it up into a log so you can slice through it easily. Using a long, sharp knife, cut slices about 1/16"-3/32" wide. Shake them out and lay them on a towel on a baking sheet to dry. If you want to hold them for a few days, after they've dried awhile transfer to waxed paper or parchment and let finish drying out. Otherwise, put them into the soup.

I was thinking like Dcarch. Here, we get boiling fowl. Great for poaching, poule au pot kind of dishes, soup....,any slow cooking. Much cheaper than a roasting bird.

Pillog, It is from Taste of Home back when it was a really good magazine. All of the recipes then where old family recipes (Like your noodle one (thanks for it. I am going to try to make noodles again.)

I forgot to say, I leave the celery and onion in large chunks and the garlic whole, for ease in dipping out. I then pour through a mesh strainer for the tiny bits. It makes a beautiful clear soup. The house smells wonderful while it is cooking.

I love that there are a lot of great ways to make soup, sheilajoyce. It's the simple pleasure of relatively hands-off cooking, finding a great layer of chicken fat (schmaltz?) on top of some beautiful gelled stock after refrigerating.

I usually make my stock in a pressure cooker anymore, but I've found this article interesting as to what pieces yield what type of stock (and taste, but that's subjective and also divisive as the comments sometimes show LOL).

Serious Eats - Chicken Stock

CathyinSWPA

Interesting, Cathy. Thanks.

The best chicken soup is made with the best stock. I use Bubbe/Renee's recipe who used to post here. it's pretty much all but the kitchen sink, celery, onion, garlic, leek, parsnip, sweet potato,carrots parsley....and chicken bits. all in a big pot, covered with cold water and kept at a very slow simmer for hours. and then strained, chilled and skimmed....Oh and salt and pepper of course and I always add half a lemon.
I like wings best for stock....and soup....but they have gotten to be an expensive part of the chicken. The more bones and skin, the better the stock.
Then after the stock is made I add the veggies of choice and whatever chicken I want. Sometimes I slice partially frozen breasts very thinly and add them....sometimes a hind quarter...or just various pieces of chicken....skinless because the stock has already been skimmed of excess fat.
That stock can make a lovely egg drop soup or a hot and sour...or whatever....I like some spinach in it...