Chicken Soup
- Who can resist a steamy bowl of traditional chicken soup. I like to add lots of chicken and vegetables to make it really flavorful. When my family eats chicken soup we know that we each get to go and pick out our favorite vegetables – mine are the turnips and onions.
- Serves: makes a lot of soup!
- Prep. Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Tools: large soup pot (16 – 20 qt), strainer
- INGREDIENTS
- 2 chickens cut into 1/8’s, cleaned of fat and most skin
- 4 – 6 chicken thighs or legs, cleaned of fat and most skin
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut in half
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut in half
- 2 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
- 1 –2 large leeks, sliced in half an cleaned
- 2 sweet onions, skin removed
- 1 turnip, peeled and quartered
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and halved
- 2 garlic cubes
- 4 chicken boullion cubes
- 1 bouquet garni – 5 parsley sprigs, 5 dill sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 10 peppercorns wrapped in cheesecloth tied w/ twine. Or just throw all of the herbs and seasonings directly into the pot
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- DIRECTIONS
- 1. Clean your chickens of excess fat and hairs. Leave the skin on most of the chicken pieces, if it falls off some that is fine. Place the chicken in a large pot and rinse two times with cold water. Cover chicken with cold water for a third time and bring to a boil. Using a strainer, skim the fat and impurities off the top of the soup as it rises.
- 2. Add the parsnips, carrots, celery, leeks, onions, turnip, sweet potato, bullion, bouquet garni, garlic, and salt. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 4 hours. Strain the foam and impurities off as needed. Turn off the heat..
- 3. After the soup has cooled begin straining the soup through a fine mesh strainer. Remove any whole pieces of vegetables and chicken that you’d like to keep in your soup and set them aside. Return the vegetables and chicken pieces you want to the soup and season with salt and pepper.
- 4. The soup will get better as it sits in your refrigerator or freezer. To strain off more fat refrigerate the soup and then take paper towels and sit them on the top of the soup to soak up the oil
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