whats ur secret to AWESOME chicken soup?

OldYoung

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 11:09 am

Strudel wrote:

Ladies, all these great soup ideas are making me hungry!

I have a question though- How do you get all the bones, skin, and other stuff you don't want to serve out of the soup?
I use a cheese cloth to put the chicken in, plus I cool in the fridge and skim off fat, but still get icky floaty thinks. I want tasty CLEAR soup.
Anyone know the secret?

My soup comes out very clear and I believe it's due to a trick that a friend taught me. The trick is, don't let it boil for too long. I boil the chicken first and get out all of the brown scummy stuff and then lower the flame and let it cook for a few hours. When I reheat it, I don't let it get to a boiling point, just very hot.

↑ Mrs Bissli ↓

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 11:28 am

Two questions to everyone:

1. How long do you simmer your soup? Mine is about 6hrs overnight.

2. (If you use bones, carcases, necks), do you pick meat from the chicken after it's cooked?
It's messy, v labour intensive I don't enjoy but my family likes little bits of meat.

pinktichel

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 11:33 am

wow, I can't believe ppl put so much money and time into their chicken soup! From my experience, adding more veg does nothing but make the soup cost more and in my family, I'm the only one who eats them so why bother? (Yes, sweet potato adds gorgeous color so if I have one, I'll throw it in.)

I start on Thursday and simply but a bunch of necks and wings into a soup net, add a large onion and sliced carrots. I boil the soup for about 5 hrs to create a stock. I skim the the top of the soup as it's starting to boil. I put it in the fridge overnight and any missed fat congeals at the top for easy removal. I then take out the bones, add tons of water and LOTS of salt to bring out flavor. Reboil and voila!

I have ppl ask for seconds all the time.

↑ blueyes

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 11:59 am

I put a lot of veggies in mine and I make a big pot of soup . We all love chicken soup. My kids eat some erev Shabbos, we have Friday night, and also Motzei Shabbos. A lot of times there's even leftover for Sunday to serve by supper.

↑ Mrs Bissli

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 12:15 pm

pinktichel wrote:

In our house, our kids really enjoy veggies cooked in soup. When I serve the bowl is half full with cooked veggies and I'm not complaining about kids asking for extra vegetables in their diet. I put onions, carrots, celery and parsnip from the beginning but add courgettes later so they don't get mushy.

OOTBubby

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 12:20 pm

I think most of the posts here have great suggestions. A number of them mention garlic. I use a lot of garlic and find that not only does it give a great flavor, but allows me to significantly lower the amount of salt used.

↑ Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 12:26 pm

As OOTBubby just mentioned, to cut down on salt without cutting down on flavor, you can add more of a spice (onion/garlic in their natural forms, but powder if you don't have the real thing) -- pepper adds a lot, etc
It happens to be my in-laws don't put salt in their chicken soup because everyone's tastes (and dietary restrictions) differ and it can be added to the bowl at the table without compromising the taste (not something you can do with challah or rice as easily)...and the cook won't be offended that they didn't salt it enough Tongue Out

poelmamosh

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 2:10 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Also, fresh ginger.

Clear soup:
1)Rinse the chicken or bones well in lukewarm water before adding to the soup. Removing skin & fat beforehand also helps
2)Simmer after bringing just the chicken to a boil and skimming, don't reboil!
3) if all else fails (some bones/chicken are just more scummy) I strain it through a colander lined with (kosher) paper towel before putting it in the fridge overnight. You can rinse the veggies and return them to the broth.

↑ ilovestrollers ↓

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 2:45 pm

I have a special soup pot with a built in strainer. When the soup is done, I just lift the strainer and all I have is clear soup. Then I could pick out what I want to keep from inside the strainer. I make soup for about six weeks and freeze.

↑ Strudel

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 2:52 pm

ilovestrollers wrote:

Thanks for all your clear soup tips.

ilovestrollers, do you recall where you bought this soup pot? Sounds like a great idea to me.

ShakleeMom

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 3:31 pm

Bubbe's Chicken Soup Recipe (from scratch)

I use a 16 Quart pot so that it doesn’t run over.

5 packs of chicken bones
Or 1 pack chicken drumsticks, and 2 packs bones
People also use turkey necks, veal neck bones, kalachel… get creative!

Vegetables:

Peel and slice these into lengthwise strips. The more you cut, the more flavorful the soup. Add the following into a cooking mesh back so you can lift and discard after cooking.

In bag:

1 bunch celery
1 bunch parsley root WITH leaves (picture: http://www.playingwithfireandw.....450wi )
1 green pepper
1 large turnip (picture: http://sciencewins.files.wordp.....1.jpg )
1 large kohlrabi (picture: http://www.diseaseproof.com/kohlrabi.jpg )
1 large onion
3 large leek

Loose in soup for eating with your soup:

1 bunch carrots, peel. Add into pot right away.
4 skinny zucchini, peel, add into pot the last 25 minutes

Optional: 1 bunch dill, rinsed, into the food net bag. Also the Parsley root leaves.

Fill the pot with 8 quarts of water, add the chicken/meat first, vegetables on top, and 3 heaping tablespoons of salt, dash of garlic powder and white pepper, optional. Cook for 2 hours after boiling or total 3 hours. The carrots should be tender. Cool and separate into storage containers. Freezes for like, forever, without the vegetables.

gold21

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 4:05 pm

I use chicken breast cutlets in my soup, to avoid the need to de-fat soup, which is imho yukky and tedious. veggies are zuchinni, carrots, onions, parsnips, frozen garlic cubes. (and sometimes celery, but lately I havent). I make soup usually thursday, then after cooking it halfway, let it cool and refrigerate. then friday let cook again, let cool until we put on blech, and then let it heat on blech again. basically I find the secret to flavor-rich soup is not how long the soup cooks, but how long it seeps. the longer it seeps as it cools on the stovetop or in the fridge, the more the flavors blend, and threfore the more flavorful imho. and its really yum as long as it has enough salt. cant forget the salt.

pobody's nerfect

Fri, Aug 21 2009, 4:16 pm

Everyone always loves my father's chicken soup, so when I got married I asked him for his secret. Aside from the usual stuff, like putting in fresh garlic, parsley, and dill, he has one that nobody has mentioned:
instead of a normal pot, he cooks it in a dutch oven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Creuset

The thick cast iron really locks in the flavors. They are quite expensive, which is why I put it on my bridal registry and waited for some rich relative to buy it! Smile