Chicken Soup From Scratch
Updated Feb. 28, 2024
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1chicken, 3 to 3½ pounds, with skin, cut up
- 3stalks celery, with leaves, cut into chunks
- 2large carrots, cut into chunks
- 2yellow onions, peeled and halved
- 1parsnip or parsley root (optional)
- About 1 dozen large sprigs parsley
- About 1 dozen black peppercorns
- 2bay leaves
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
- 3tablespoons reserved chicken fat, more if needed
- 3leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, rinsed and sliced crosswise into thin half-moons
- 3large carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
- Kosher salt and ground black or white pepper
- Egg noodles (fresh or dried), such as packaged wide noodles, spaetzle, fettuccine or pappardelle cut into short lengths (see note)
- Finely chopped herbs, such as parsley, scallions, dill or a combination
For the Broth
To Finish the Soup
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
16 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 31 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the chicken, celery, carrots, onions, parsnip (if using), parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a large soup pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch.
- Step 2
Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to very low. Adjust the heat until the soup is “smiling”: barely moving on the surface, with an occasional bubble breaking through. Cook uncovered, until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bone, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Step 3
When cool enough to handle, use tongs to transfer chicken from the pot to a container. Taste the broth and continue to simmer it until it is concentrated and tasty. Strain broth through a fine sieve (or a colander lined with cheesecloth) into a separate container. Discard all the solids from the strainer (or reserve the vegetables, chill and serve with vinaigrette, if you wish).
- Step 4
Refrigerate chicken pieces and broth separately for at least 8 hours (or up to 3 days), until a thick layer of yellow fat has risen to the top of the broth.
- Step 5
When ready to finish the soup, use your fingers to separate chicken breast meat from bones and skin. Discard bones and skin. Use two forks to pull the breast meat apart into soft chunks, or use a knife and cut into bite-size pieces. (Reserve dark meat for another use.)
- Step 6
Skim chicken fat from top of broth and set aside. Place 3 tablespoons of the fat in a soup pot with a lid. Add leeks, stir to coat, and heat over medium heat until leeks begin to fry. Then reduce the heat to a gentle sizzle and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
- Step 7
Add carrots, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover the pot. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes more. (Keep in mind that vegetables will continue to cook in the soup.) Do not brown.
- Step 8
Pour broth into pot with vegetables and heat to a simmer. Add noodles and simmer until heated through, soft and plumped with chicken broth. Add the breast meat, then taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, soup should have some golden droplets of fat on top; if needed, add more chicken fat one teaspoon at a time.
- Step 9
Serve immediately, in a tureen or from the pot, sprinkling each serving with herbs.
- Instead of noodles, almost any starchy garnish can be used here: matzo balls; partly cooked dry pasta, rice or other grains; or cooked white beans. Add them when you would add the noodles and simmer until heated through.
Private Notes
Comments
If you want meat that has been poached but not cooked to death, remove the chicken from the broth after 30 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, take the white meat off the bones, and throw the bones, skin and remaining meat back into the broth to finish simmering. Add the saved white meat, chopped, at step 8.
I'm surprised this calls for peeled onions to make the broth. Do not peel or stem the yellow onions! Cut them in half and throw the whole thing into the pot, paper skins and all. You will not believe the beautiful, deep gold color this will impart to your broth.
This, in my ooinion, is a very complex recipe! My mom, just recently passed at 97, taught me this:
Saute chopped veggies (onions, carrots & celery) in 2tbsp olive oil or butter) for 5 minutes
Add 6 cups water.
Put leftover chicken & bones in a strainer and submerge in pot. Simmer 1/2 hr.
Remove chicken from pot.
Add 2 cups noodles. Simmer 8 minutes.
Removr chrcken from bones and add back to pot.
Add salt (about 2 tsp) and pepper to taste.
Yum!
I like this, it's fast and delicious!
Tried a lot of the chicken soup recipes on NYTimes Cooking. This is the best, most flavorful one with lots of great collagen/thickness.
I don't know about you but it takes me a long time to get the rich flavorful broth, definitely 5-6 hours simmering on the stove. Sometimes I leave it overnight in the fridge (if I get tired!), then warm it up a bit the next day (so the fat will melt back in) and strain out the broth. Seems to give it an even deeper flavor! I always add some fresh herbs to the broth, as well as whole coriander seeds, whole cumin seeds, paprika, and I use aleppo pepper instead of peppercorn because it is less bitter. After reading the other comments, I will try for a stew hen and searing the broth-makings beforehand. Maybe this will give me the flavor that I have been working so hard to create. I don't seem to have enough chicken fat ever on top of the broth, so I cook soup veggies in olive oil until softened a bit then add back the broth. This gives a nice richness and golden top to the broth. Using the skin as well as bones in the broth does seem to give it better flavor. I always salt it at the very end. Bon appetit!
Made this with a roasted chicken, which shortened the cooking time and reduced the amount of fat. I added a handful of dill and some halved garlic cloves. I had reserved some white meat so it would not be overcooked. Absolutely delicious.
Advertisement