Comments on: Building a Better Chicken Soup

By: Joanna

Joanna — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:24:24 +0000

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!

By: Waky from Kaulifornia

Waky from Kaulifornia — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:57:29 +0000

Oh yeah, and that was a $3.88 bird – 4 Lbs.

By: Waky from Kaulifornia

Waky from Kaulifornia — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:54:00 +0000

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!

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:45:22 +0000

Awesome!!!!!!!!

By: jon

jon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:37:11 +0000

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.

By: Luke

Luke — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:06:57 +0000

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’

By: Adrienne

Adrienne — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:48:35 +0000

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.

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:16:08 +0000

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).

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:11:11 +0000

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!

By: Heron

Heron — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:36:55 +0000

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.