Chicken Soup (Deb's)

Nothing like chicken soup for what ails you.

  1. In a 10-quart stock pot, add:

5
lbs
chicken thighs (wings and necks together are good too). Roast them first to enhance the flavor.
4
t
coarse sea salt


water: In my favorite stock pot, I cover the chicken in water up to the bottom handle rivets in the pot. The chicken and water together make 9 quarts.

  1. Bring to a boil and skim the top.
  2. Add the following:

3/4
lb
carrots, peeled and halved
5
stalks
celery, halved. Try celeriac for a more subtle, earthy celery flavor (about 6 oz for this recipe).
2
cloves
garlic, peeled
2
med
onions, quartered
2
sprigs
parsely

  1. Lower the heat and let it simmer. Skim the top as necessary.
  2. When the chicken is cooked, remove and allow to cool down enough to handle it.
  3. Pick off the meat, and return the bones and skin back to the pot and continue to simmer for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and reserve on the side.

  1. When the flavor is to your liking, remove from the heat, and strain the stock through a colander into another pot.
  2. Strain the stock again through a fine mesh sieve into another pot or bowl.
  3. To make this a "reduced fat" recipe, skim the fat from the top. This task is greatly simplified by using a gravy separator. Another option is to refrigerate the stock overnight until you can scrape off the fat, then resume with the recipe.
  4. Return the stock to the stove and bring to a simmer.
  5. Add the following to the simmering stock:

1/2
lb
carrots, cut in fine slices
3
stalks
celery, cut in fine slices
1
med
onion, finely chopped
5
sprigs
parsely, just the leaves

  1. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
  2. Return to the pot and allow to come to temperature:

3
c
the reserved chicken meat

  1. Serve with rice or small bow-tie pasta. It's also nice with a little grated Parmesan cheese on top.

 

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