It's cold season, and everyone's coming down with something. Chicken soup is a nourishing potion, one that seems almost automatic even though I've never really questioned why. Most of the time this tradition involves nothing more than opening a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup: somehow those minuscule pellets of chicken and mushy noodles are okay once your temperature is above 100.
But when my sick wife had asked for chicken soup personally after she woke up with a mad fever and a sore throat, I figured I should make chicken noodle soup from scratch.
Some 5 hours later, my kitchen was covered in flour, I was sweating profusely from kneading dough, and my poor wife still didn't have anything to eat. How could a dish romanticized for its healing powers for the sick be such a horrible burden to the healthy?
Yet when the soup was done I wondered if I had stumbled onto the elixir of life. Rich, slightly sweet, robust, and very fatty, the stock was a whole meal in each spoonful. My sick wife ate this for dinner and then woke the next day cured. I kid you not!
When I started out, what I really wanted was my mom's chicken soup. Considering she's many hours away, I turned to Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking, looking for the ultimate healing recipe, a true shot of what they call Jewish penicillin.
Well, Schwartz is having none of it.
"To put it politely, hot soup, actually any kind of hot soup, promotes sinus and nasal drainage. If that's the case, then chili and vinegar-laced Chinese hot-and-sour soup does a better job."
Yeah, yeah. But my wife and I didn't grow up eating vinegar-laced Chinese hot-and-sour soup. We grew up with chicken noodle soup.
Luckily Schwartz does still have a soft spot for chicken soup, and in his book he explains exactly how to make the soul of chicken noodle soup: the broth. With his advice in tow, I set off to create the healing elixir that resulted.
"Good home cooks add vegetables to their chicken soup for additional flavor."
I'm convinced that the most crucial element of the perfect chicken soup is the stock, and that almost exclusively means homemade stock. Stock is always made with vegetables, but it's the kind of vegetables that really sets this recipe apart. It wasn't just the usually group of carrots, onions, and celery. Celery is traded for celery root, and parsnips and leeks are added to the mix.
"To get the best chicken flavor and a golden color, I have to supplement a whole chicken with an almost equal weight of chicken wings, back, or feet, or all three."
That, my friends, equals a whole lot of gelatin-rich and fat-laden pieces of chicken, and an equally gelatinous and fatty stock. With these ratios, the stock comes out speckled on top with little shimmering bubbles of fat. Of course, you could carefully skim the fat off the top of the soup, but that would be criminally insane. The fat is what sets this thing completely over the top; it's where all the flavor lies.
"...all the flavor of the meat will be boiled out and transferred to the soup, and it is not worth salvaging. You have a choice: good soup or good chicken."
Just understand right now: you need to sacrifice a whole bird plus its weight in trimmings (the backs, necks, and wings) for the stock. Then, they're discarded. You can, like me, attempt to salvage them and use them in some kind of chicken salad, but it will suck, and you'll toss it out. Once they're made into stock, their purpose is through.
That means if you want chicken meat in the soup, you'll need to start with fresh meat. For my soup I bought an extra breast of chicken, simmered it in some water with a little onion for about 14 minutes, then shredded it and added it back to the main pot.
This same rule is true with vegetables: get rid of them once they've done their work. Schwartz does say you can use some carrots leftover from the stock, but he advises against it. It's best to start with raw carrots, slice them neatly, and simmer them in a bit of the stock until they're tender. I also added some potatoes for a little more body.
The only missing piece of advice from Schwartz is on noodles. And that's, incidentally, where my efforts derailed. Not finding a recipe in his book, I picked up one from the Joy of Cooking, and since I didn't have rolling pin I used my pasta maker. The noodles that came out were fine, but they weren't great. My mom's noodles are so superior to the ones I made that I can't really face putting the recipe in here.
I'm just going to buy pre-made egg noodles next time and be done with it. That is, unless I can get my mom to make me some of her homemade kind.
The Best Stock for Chicken Noodle Soup
- 1 chicken (about 4 pounds),
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 14 cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 medium carrots, peeled
- 1/2 large celery root, peeled and hlaved
- 1 medium parsnip, peeled and halved
- 1 large leek, white part and a couple inches of green, halved and well washed
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- a couple sprigs of parsley and dill
Toss all the chicken into a large pot. Pour in the water and the salt. Turn the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
During this time a lot of scum will float to the surface. Skim off with a slotted spoon.
Add the carrots, celery root, parsnip, leek, and onion. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours. With 30 minutes left add the parsley and dill.
Turn off the heat and let the soup cool. Then stick the whole pot in the fridge overnight. The fat will rise to the top. Skim off as much as you like. Not too much. Strain the stock through a colander to remove any vegetables or chicken parts.
Reheat the stock in a pot.
If you want to add some vegetables, simmer some sliced carrots or potatoes in some water until tender. It took me about 20 minutes.
Then add them to the stock and serve.
To add noodles to the soup, either make some at home or do the sensible thing and buy some pre-made egg noodles. If you want a recipe check out the Joy of Cooking.
Boil them according to the directions on the packaging.
Add them to the stock and serve.
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
You may deserve some kind of award for making this for your sick wife—I hope you kept some of this gorgeous stock in the freezer for later…
1. Whenever I make stock I save all the leftover chicken vegetable mush and feed it to my dogs, they love it!
2. You live in Chicago so a good substitute for making your own noodles is to check out Jessica Volpe – Pasta Puttana – she’s at Green City Market, and you can also buy her pasta at the Downtown Farmstand and Dirk’s. Her fresh pasta has ruined me for everything else. Plus you can freeze it so I always have some on hand.
Now THAT is one thoughtful gesture for your sick wife. That soup is terrific whether you’re sick or not.
Allow me, if I may, to give some good upper Midwestern advice on method. I made chicken soup from scratch a couple of weeks ago (and then canned it in anticipation of future need — H1N1’s got nothin’ on my house) but spent less time and probably less money with excellent results.
My advice: use your pressure cooker for stock. I bought an organic free range stewing hen (a retired layer from my egg farmer) at the Farmer’s Market for under $7. A good alternative is to buy a package of wings (for white meat) and/or necks (dark meat) which, even for free range and organic runs under $3 a pound. I put my hen in the pressure cooker with onion, carrots, garlic, etc — all your basic stock stuff and ran it for 2 hours. The meat literally fell off the bones (I shredded it and added it back to the soup later). After straining the wonderful stock, I added the veggies I wanted in the soup itself and cooked them until done. If you need to go faster, pre-cook your veggies in a little water and then add them and their “broth” to the stock.
Voila!
Pam Anderson’s recipe for chicken stock in The Perfect Recipe works really, really well. She chops up the chicken into little pieces and then sweats them over medium heat in a covered pot with no liquid for 20 minutes. She then adds water and simmers it for 45 minutes (I think). The sweating extracts a lot of flavor and gelatin from the chicken in far less time.
Tears, Nick. Tears. I am making this as soon as possible.
Since I am home alone for the weekend and really enjoy doing massive projects (like say making quarts of stock) I might have to add this to the list of things to make. It looks delicious. Although when I’m sick I usually chicken pho to go from the place down the street from my house. I grew up eating the soup so to me its really comforting. One of the perks of living near Little Siagon I guess.
Mmm, homemade soup! I see my problem is that I rush the stock process, usually only using deboned chicken pieces and vegetables, and end up with something needing a boost in the form of chicken bouillon. Homemade noodles are awesome, too, though I’ve never made them since I was a kid.
This is so funny. I just made a big pot of this last weekend. SO GOOD. This soup brings back so many memories of when we were young. Another idea – since I haven’t mastered mom’s noodles – I add a 1/2 cup of rice at the end, just as I turn the heat off. It cooks the rice plenty and adds some bulk to the soup without the work of noodles. Also, I freeze my soup because it is perfect to pull out when I don’t feel well. And, it WILL cure anything!
@Mike – Our great aunt Nannette used to use the pressure cooker for her soup. Boy it was amazing! However, my mom has never used one as she and her mom had a minor “blow up” many years ago with noodles hanging from the ceiling. I guess I’ve been intimidated to use one since hearing that story!
maggie: I think my reward is that I’m sick now.
JT: That’s actually a great plan. I think my dog would eat anything, but might enjoy these scraps more. I have seen Pasta Puttana at a lot of farmers’ market around Chicago, but have never bought any. Now is a good excuse.
Ciaochowlinda: Thanks. Now that I’ve learned this I feel like I’d love it for dinner no matter what kind of condition we were in.
Mike: I have heard about the pressure cooker method. Heston Blumenthal actually prefers that method. Of course, it would help if I had a pressure cooker. But just another reason to get it.
RP: I haven’t heard of this method. Sounds fascinating…
plaidout: I’d send some soup in the mail to St. Louis if you give me your address.
Deanna: I’m definitely in to pho. That’s what I really want to try next.
Christina: Yeah, I always did that, too. But I realize how important it is to have some body to the soup. And that can only be done with actual meat. It means it costs more, but the results are astounding.
two words, chicken feet.
Nobody here is sick or even feeling peckish but I am absolutely certain we need of some that soup, stat! The next sound you won’t hear (you being in Chicagoland and me being in Texas) is the door slamming as I run to the store for pounds and pounds of chicken bits. Just genius – thanks for sharing.
This is the right stuff, Nick. I shall attempt this as soon as the weather here in NYC gets a little more disagreeable with my sinuses. I’ll have to buy the noodles too, I’m afraid.
Nannette would be proud! I’ll teach you how to make her noodles when you are home next time – very, very easy!
Enjoyed reading this post. You are an awesome husband. . .now to get my husband to make this when I get sick!! Will definitely try this recipe soon as I *HEART* chicken soup. You should try making some hot and sour soup. . .that would be a fun post to read.
I am thrilled beyond, beyond that you used my chicken soup recipe, and that it came out as delicious as you wanted it to be. I stick by my contention that’s either the chicken or the soup, but if it is great boiled chicken that you want, check out my recipe, on my website, for Magic Chinese Chicken. Put a whole 3 to 4 pound bird in a pot of cold water to just cover. Cover the pot. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let stand 3 hours. The chicken is divine. The soup lacks, but you can turn it into Jewish chicken soup by adding diced veg with the chicken, then recooking the broth for 45 minutes with the bones, after you’ve stripped off the meat.
My search engine is not working at the moment, but that’s the outline.
Arthur Schwartz
(By the way, my email name, kuker, is pronounced cooker.
I’ve been thumbing between 2 Schwartz recipes – this one and the other “double” chicken soup recipe in his earlier book “Soup Suppers”. My last attempt at chicken soup was a lesson in food safety, and I haven’t tried again in ten years. Your photos are great…. and you can save some of the chicken fat that comes to the top of the soup. Just freeze it! It’s “schmaltz” for matzo balls, frying potatoes… frying anything.
Nick- This was great. I used my grandmother’s pierogi dough recipe for the noodles. fantastic!
• Dough:
• 3 egg
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
This is great and all but my mom’s/grandma’s is still the best!
Thanks for the great post!
ronaldo: Next time, for sure.
TexasDeb: Great. I hope it turns out well for you. Let me know how it goes.
paul: go for it.
mom: Yeah, hopefully this time I’ll pay attention to the recipe. Can’t wait to have it at home soon.
Vanessa: Do you know any good hot and sour soup recipes?
Arthur Schwarz: I’m humbled that you commented. It really is an excellent recipe. But this Magic Chinese Chicken sounds incredible. I’ll definitely have to try that one out, too.
Bronx Briner Gal : I love schmaltz. It’s an excellent cooking fat. It’s especially good in Hainese Chicken Rice. That’s one of my favorite recipes.
Blake Deuser: Wow, thanks a lot Blake. Good to hear from you. I love pierogis. Thanks.
Hillary: I understand completely.
That discarded chicken meat bugs me. I think some barbecue sauce, a slice of onion, and a pickle would make it fit for a good sandwich or two. I would say to my dog “better luck next time.”
Just curious, is chicken soup counter-indicated for avian flu?
“…all the flavor of the meat will be boiled out and transferred to the soup, and it is not worth salvaging. You have a choice: good soup or good chicken.”
Yeah, but so many people think boiling ribs before grilling makes them “tender”. There’s so much badness in this world:)
No sachet? Bay leaves and black peppercorns?
I am constitutionally unable to throw out all the meat from a whole chicken in order to make soup. This is what I do: buy chicken thighs, necks/backs if I can find them, and wings if I can’t find neck/backs. Then I roast them. When done, I remove the larger chunks of meat and put them away. Everything else goes into the stock pot with whatever I can scrap up from the roasting pan and some onion, cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaf, black peppercorns and Italian parsley.
I’ve been following your blog for a few weeks now and really enjoy it- thanks! So this weekend I tried out your chicken soup. The whole family really seemed to enjoy it– though we found we needed a lot more salt to bring the flavor out. Also though the stock was good when we served it- it was phenomenal the night I made it– but the next day after straining and removing all the bits from it- it seems to lose a little something. I wonder if I overstrained? I did not remove too much fat- but did run it through a fine mesh strainer twice. I served it with shredded roast chicken and boxed barilla egg noodles. My father was over for dinner and he thought it criminal that I was throwing out 7 pounds of cooked chicken! Of course after pressing through a mesh strainer the resulting mush was none too appetizing. Thanks again!
Aren’t you supposed to toast the onion (without oil or fat) in a skillet before adding it? To give the soup a nice color?
That’s how we make beef or chicken stock in Vienna (where a lot of Jewish recipes originate).
I commented a looooong time ago about getting a stewing hen from the hutterites and an old timer telling me to cook it reeeally slow on a stick then to just eat the stick… well, anyway the old timer’s wife gave me this instruction for noodles: “It ain’t hard! You just put X amount of flour in a bowl. Beat your eggs with an eggshell-full of water and be sure to salt the piss out of ‘em!” Haha, they really are two of the best cooks I know.
I agree with Heron that it’s verging on the criminal to throw out that much chicken (especially if it’s free range). In my local supermarket in the UK a whole chicken and 4lbs of free range wings/legs will set me back roughly £22/$35.
Would love to try your recipe, but would need to start up my own blog titled ‘the destitute chef with no shoes’
i actually make soup the opposite way: start with simmering the vegetables (1/2 onion, 3 carrots, 2 red potatoes, 1 celery root, 1 leek, and 1 1/2 parsnip) then after 10-15 minutes add a whole chicken plus extra wings and salt and pepper and let it cook up for 3-4 hours (and add dill/parsley about 30 minutes before it’s done). i then strain the soup through cheesecloth the next day, add back in the carrots and some of the shredded chicken (the rest goes to my mother-in-law who loves it) and add either egg noodles or homemade matzoh balls. just made it for rosh hashanah actually, as i do every year, and it was a massive hit.
Awesome!!!!!!!!
Google “Major Award” , because you definitely get one from me for this post.
Had a chicken in the freezer (a bit long=soup) and I tried this, then used the broth to make Italian Wedding Soup (with home made sausage, fresh spinach, and wee pastina) and the broth really stood well all on it’s own. Im not sure where the fat went, I never strained it off, and it wasnt a bit greasy.
Have to say, if you’re serious about some chicken soup, it’s well worth the whole bird (I did salvage a breast early on) . This was outstanding, thank you!
Oh yeah, and that was a $3.88 bird – 4 Lbs.
We raise our own laying hens, and retire the older ones into the soup pot.
One way I make stock is to put the bird in a kettle, cover with water, toss in carrots, soup celery, quartered onions (and leave the clean skins on, it makes a nice colored stock), peppercorns….then I bring it nearly to a boil, drop the temp to the lowest possible (I have a crappy electric stove) and let sit overnight or even 24 hours.
I pressure can all my stock, so sometimes I’ll add a little of the mushy meat to each jar when I want some for chicken soup. Other jars I leave meatless. The veggies & scraps go in the freezer, and when I have a lot of odds & ends accumulated, I make a pot of “stew” and pressure can that to pour over the dog’s food. They love it!