Homemade Chicken Soup

I love it when our modern, science-driven society takes the time to confirm that your great-grandma really knew what she was talking about all along: chicken soup is good for you when you’re sick, most notably for its strong anti-inflammatory properties. This stuff is oh-so-soothing for those little tummies you and I are doing our best to take care of.

There’s two ways you can go with this recipe: you can make a traditional chunky soup, or you can make just a basic chicken broth, which is good for cooking, or for drinking out of a cup if your kids don’t like eating soup. I’ve actually mixed it half-and-half with fruit juice before, and mine couldn’t even taste the difference.

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Start with a whole chicken, sometimes called a “fryer.” It should be somewhere between 4 and 6 pounds, not too huge. Make sure you choose one that’s all-natural and hasn’t been injected with any broth, which might contain gluten. “Retained water” is the only phrase you want to see, never the word “solution.”

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Take a pair of sturdy kitchen shears, and carve the chicken up into its typical chicken parts: cut off each drumstick and wing at the joint, then go up the middle and split the ribcage. Your chicken may or may not come with giblets (the chicken’s organs) stuffed inside, but if so, they’re good for boiling, so just toss them in the pot with everything else.

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Cover everything with filtered water and bring it to a boil. Now, there are two types of fat that are going to come off this bird. First is this nasty foamy stuff. Scoop it off with a spoon and throw it away.

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Then a few minutes later, this rich golden layer will start to rise to the top. This is the good fat.

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Good though it may be, you still need to remove it from your broth. Skimming this fat off the surface takes a more delicate touch. You can dip a spoon very shallowly like this, and remove it one spoonful at a time. Or you can just slurp it up with a baster.

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Here’s the awesome thing, though: this stuff is actually useful. Instead of tossing the liquid fat down the sink, you can put it in a tupperware, or use an empty coffee can with a fitted lid like me. Then stick it in the fridge, and soon…

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It will have solidified. Looks an awful lot like butter, doesn’t it? Cooks an awful lot like butter, too. Except of course this is 100% dairy-free, soy-free, chemical-free, everything-free. It’s just pure clean rendered chicken fat, and you can use it in pretty much any recipe that calls for butter. This is old-school pan-greasing material, right here. When the apocalypse comes and we’re all reduced to subsistance farming out of our backyards, don’t say I never gave you any tips.

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Anyway, back to our chicken broth. After the chicken pieces have boiled for 30 minutes, pull them out of the pot with a pair of tongs and set them aside. Once they’ve cooled enough to handle, pull all the cooked meat off the bones. If you’re making plain chicken broth, just save the meat for an easy meal later in the week, like tacos or pasta. If you’re making real chicken soup, just hang onto it for now, we’ll add it back into the soup later. But either way, collect all the skin in a separate little area, because boiled chicken skin is not good in either soup or tacos.

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Put all the bones back into the pot (and don’t feel like you have to pick them completely clean like I got this one, just get the bulk of the meat off and throw anything inedible back into the pot.) It’s important to boil the bones, because they have just tons and tons of nutrients that you can steal away into your broth.

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At this point you want to toss in 2-3 carrots, 2-3 stalks of celery, one teaspoon of salt, and one bay leaf. Leave the carrot and celery pieces very large for now, even if you plan on putting them into your final soup. Add in some more water until the level is back up at the top of the pot. Then let it simmer for… 2 hours? 4 hours? It’s up to you, really. The longer you let it simmer, the more you’ll get out of your vegetables and bones, and the richer your broth will be. I know some people who just let theirs go all day, 8 hours or more. As long as you keep adding water so it doesn’t completely boil off, you can do whatever fits your schedule. (In my opinion it’s a waste to go for less than an hour, though.)

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When you’re ready, scoop out all the big pieces with a slotted spoon. If you’re making real chicken soup, now is the time to take those carrots and celery and chop them into little bite-size pieces. The chicken skeleton has finally worn out its usefulness, so you can toss the rest of that stuff.

Now is also the time to add your final amount of water. I generally fill it almost back to the top of the pot, because I need to feed a lot of people with one batch of soup. But if you are able to leave it more concentrated, you’ll end up with a tastier soup, so lucky you!

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Unless you’ve got a very finely-slotted spoon, you’re still probably going to want to strain what’s left. I use a big pitcher set in the sink with the strainer balanced on top of it, so I can use both hands on the giant soup pot. Rinse the junk out of the pot, and pour the broth right back in, along with your good chicken meat, carrots, and celery, plus maybe some gluten-free noodles or rice if you want to make it a little more filling.

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Of course, if you’re only making plain chicken broth for cooking, you can stick that pitcher of golden perfection right into the fridge the way it is. Or if you’re cooking ahead of time, you can freeze it into ice cubes so you can thaw precisely the right amount as necessary.

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Here’s another handy tip. Remember how I said boiled chicken skin is no good? Well if you’re feeling decadent, you can remedy that sad state of affairs. Throw all your leftover chicken skin onto a baking sheet, and cook it in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, and you will end up with little bits of crispy deliciousness that will go straight to your hips. But you know what? You spent all afternoon making homemade chicken soup for somebody, so you deserve it.

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Happy Eating!

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Homemade Chicken Soup

1 whole fryer chicken (about 4-6 pounds)
2-3 carrots
2-3 stalks celery
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt