Classic Chicken Soup
Food. It’s a true passion for me. I love to look at food, shop for it, buy it, smell it, read about it, make it, eat it and yes…I absolutely love to talk about it. So much so that my wife tells me “instead of talking my ear off all the time, why don’t you start a food blog?” Great idea. Well, after five years of her “encouraging” me, here we go. For everything she has done to support me and make this happen, I felt it fitting for my first post to be one of my wife’s favorite things I make…although her list is probably longer than Rapunzel’s hair. Chicken Soup. So simple yet so complex and wonderful. Aside from its obvious appeal as a classic warming comfort food as well as a general cure all when sick, there are many other reasons for making your own. And believe me; once you make a batch you’ll probably never buy chicken soup again. Chicken soup is a wholesome one pot meal that can fit any budget. Not only is it economical, but it can be made ahead of time, actually tastes better reheated and freezes extremely well. It is incredibly easy to make up a large batch, eat several meals and freeze several more all for a few dollars. There are also many ways for variations allowing for your personal creative juices to flow. While I will give you the recipe that I have perfected over the years, even just switching up the staple carb can create variety of taste and texture. Just the act of cooking a whole chicken and making stock is an immensely useful and transferable skill from Central American to European to Asian cuisines.
What you’ll need
Approximately 3 hrs. total time
Large stock pot
1 3-4 lb. chicken*
2C chopped red onion
2 C chopped celery
2 C chopped carrots
10 cloves garlic peeled
3 bay leaves
1 T salt
1 tsp. pepper
½-1 tsp. ground pequin pepper, cayenne will work as well
1 tsp. dry thyme or three sprigs fresh
¾ C milk
3 T corn starch
32 oz. chicken stock (optional)
Starch of your choice (think one of the following; fingerling potatoes, wild and whole grain rice blends, barley, noodles, white rice, etc.)
*You can use just about any chicken you like from air chilled organic to commercially mass farmed and processed birds. Honestly, I usually go with what is cheapest for this application, typically the local store brand, and notice little difference.
Personally I like to chop the produce first; celery, carrot, onion, garlic and put into a large bowl. You want somewhat chunky, about ¼ in pieces. I have a set of nesting Pyrex bowls that my mother gave me over ten years ago that I honestly don’t think I could live without.
Take your bird and put it breast up in your stock pot. Please do not rinse the bird, just put it in. Rinsing poultry is not only absolutely useless in my opinion; it can actually help SPREAD salmonella around your kitchen…yuck! If you are fortunate enough for your bird to include the giblets, be sure to toss them in the pot too. They can always be discarded at the end if you are not inclined to eat them and they will definitely impart extra flavor and richness to the stock.
Dump in the bowl of vegetables as well as the bay leaves. Give the pot a bit of a shake to settle things and level out the surface. Add the chicken stock if using then fill the pot with water just until everything is completely immersed. If not using stock, just replace with water.
Add the remaining spices and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours, the chicken should be so tender it falls apart as you attempt to remove it from the pot.
Remove chicken and put into a bowl, or even better, a colander over a bowl. Be sure to search the broth for any stray pieces of skin or bone and fish them out. Now, for the love of God, go sit down or something for ten minutes. Please resist the temptation to immediately proceed with the next step. I’ve been in a hurry and tried to rush many times when making this and have also paid the price. Unless you want the tips of your fingers seared, filling you with a murderous rage while you holler all manner of unpleasantries, wait for the chicken to cool slightly.
Ok, get right in there and remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones and cartilage. I usually work over the colander and separate the refuse into the vegetable bowl while placing the meat on a cutting board. When finished, return the liquid that accumulated in the bowl under the colander to the pot.
Coarsely chop the chicken, not much effort should be needed at all as it should be fall apart tender at this point, and add back to the pot. I feel it somewhat important to mention at this point that I have not, nor will not, skim any fat from the broth…were you even thinking about doing that?! Shame on you. Fat is flavor my friend…remember that.
Now let’s make a slurry, which I happen to think is a fun word to say…slurry. Say it out loud…slurry. Ok, back to task, slowly whisk the milk into the corn starch…you have a slurry. Pour this into the pot and stir.
Congratulations, before you stands a magnificent cauldron of happiness, enjoy. Except you are not quite finished yet. To make things complete, you need a hearty carb. Now the choice is yours, be it classic noodles, fingerling potatoes or barley. However, in my humble opinion, you can’t beat a nice whole grain rice mix. Most Asian markets carry a “9 grain” blend that works perfectly. Or you can get crazy and make your own…whole food markets usually have many many varieties of rice and whole grains that can be purchased in the bulk section. Even just a mix of wild rice and brown rice will do. The reason I feel this works best is the firm texture and slightly nutty taste. Regardless of which choice you make, I recommend you make the starch separately following the normal cooking directions. Then simply put the desired amount in the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle the soup over. That way, you don’t impact the leftovers by having carbs that have turned to mush and soaked up all the liquid.
