Soup Archive

Home made chicken soup....conjures up a variety of memories and tastes from our respective childhoods - regardless of our ethnicity or nationality!  My memories of chicken soup begin with my mother cooking a large pot of chicken soup with the distinct kitchen aromas of onion, carrots, celery simmering in the pot.  She would add sprigs of parsley, a large pinch of salt. A "soup chicken" also called a "stewing hen" is the chicken-of-choice for soup.  In addition to the whole chicken, my mother also added the chicken feet which were still on the chicken we brought home from a long-gone live chicken market on the upper east side of Manhattan! 

I wish I could find a photo of that chicken market back in the early to mid-1950s where I can remember my mother picking out a live chicken from stacked wooded crates; the chicken was then weighed and she was told the price - in those days you paid for the whole chicken, feathers and innards included! Then the "chicken-man" disappeared in the back and when he returned, he was holding a not-so-live featherless and headless chicken, wrapped in brown paper. 

In my minds' eye, I see my mother in the kitchen opening the brown paper and revealing the still-warm chicken - she removed the innards with her hands - and one time I remember she removed a whole egg in its white shell which I can only assume was about to be laid when the chicken met its demise!  My mother then rinsed the chicken in cold running water until it was cleaned of everything she didn't want in the soup. Of the innards, she would put the heart and gizzard into  to the soup for additional flavor.  The liver was saved and at some point she would fry the liver in bacon fat and sliced onion and then we'd eat it on rye bread.

I've made "my mother's chicken soup" so many times and over the years and I've added and tweaked the recipe to suit my tastes at the time - sometimes I add cut up fresh string beans or another green vegetable to the carrots and celery making the chicken soup more of a chicken/vegetable soup.  Other times, like in the Spring, I'll add ramps, snow peas, or sugar snap peas.  I've also made chicken soup with chicken parts; legs/thighs, wings and yes, if I'm in Chinatown I'll pick up a package of chicken feet to add to the soup.  Chicken feet may gross you out, but believe me, they add an incredible flavor to the soup. If you just can't bring yourself to add chicken feet, a few extra chicken wings will also add flavor to your soup.  Chickens in the past had a LOT more flavor than the chickens of today - even if organically grown and fed.  To add even more flavor to your soup these days, add a couple of good quality chicken bouillon cubes by Knorr.

One more thing....my mother always served us chicken soup with long grain rice that she cooked separately and then added a portion of rice to each serving.  Chicken soup with noodles just doesn't appeal to me.  Long live our childhood taste memories!

Here's a listing of poultry names/ages for a quick reference when cooking any chicken dish - a stewing hen is recommended for soup:

• Broiler-fryer - a young, tender chicken about 7 weeks old which weighs 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds (1 to 2 kg) when eviscerated. Cook by any method.
• Rock Cornish Game Hen- a small broiler-fryer weighing between 1 and 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kg). Usually stuffed and roasted whole.
• Roaster - an older chicken about 3 to 5 months old which weighs 5 to 7 pounds (2.25 to 3.25 kg). It yields more meat per pound than a broiler-fryer. Usually roasted whole.
• Capon - Male chickens about 16 weeks to 8 months old which are surgically unsexed. They weigh about 4 to 7 pounds (1.75 to 3.25 kg) and have generous quantities of tender, light meat. Usually roasted.
• Stewing/Baking Hen - a mature laying hen 10 months to 1 1/2 years old. Since the meat is less tender than young chickens, it's best used in moist cooking such as soup and stews.
• Cock or rooster - a mature male chicken with coarse skin and tough, dark meat. Requires long, moist cooking dishes such as Coq au Vin.

	snow peas	sugar snap peas
ramps (wild leeks)

SPRINGTIME CHICKEN SOUP

 

1 whole	stewing chicken about 4 or 5 pounds, cleaned and rinsed
8 cups	water
3	Knorr chicken cubes
1 medium	onion, halved (with skin left on)
6 medium	organic carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 ribs	celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
18 pieces	snow peas or sugar snap peas
6	ramps, ends trimmed, left whole (optional)
8 sprigs	flat leaf parsley with stems
2 cups	cooked long grain rice OR cooked thin egg noodles if you're more of a noodle person

In a large soup pot (at least 8 qt. size) add the chicken, water and chicken cubes.  Cover the pot and over medium/high heat, bring to a low boil.  Reduce the heat to low/medium and cook the chicken for 20 minutes with the cover partially on the pot.

Add the onion, carrots, celery and parsley sprigs.  Cook the soup for an additional 30 - 45 minutes.  About 5 minutes before the cooking time is finished, add the snow peas or sugar snap peas and ramps if using.  Adding these vegetables towards the end of cooking will ensure that they remain crisp-tender and not get mushy. Taste soup and add more salt if needed.  Carrots and celery should be tender to the bite. Remove onion and discard. Turn off heat.

Remove chicken to a cutting board with sides.  Let cool for 15 minutes or until cool enough to de-bone the chicken.  Discard the skin and cut the white and dark meat into pieces large enough to fit on a soup spoon.  Return chicken meat and any juices released on the cutting board to the soup pot. 

To serve, add a portion of cooked rice or thin egg noodles to a soup bowl.  Add an equal amount of celery and carrot to each serving.  Add a ladle or two to the bowl.

Yield:  about 6 servings

Note:  If you have more chicken left over than soup, make a simple chicken salad with the cooked meat chopped into smaller pieces. Add mayonnaise, finely chopped celery, onion, parsley.  Salt & pepper to taste. Quantities depend on how much chicken you have left over.