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Chicken soup -- how long to cook?
(N T) wrote in
om:
> There's a complaint in my house that I overcooked chicken in the soup.
> There are so many recipes for chicken soup. I did this:
> Put about four thighs and legs (organic) in the pot with 4 quarts
> water and some vegetables -- carrots, celery, onion, etc. Brought it
> just up to the boil, about to boil, then turned it down to simmer.
> Stopped it at 1 hour and 15 minutes. The complaint is that the chicken
> is tasteless from being overcooked. Needless to say, my overcooking is
> the constant complaint. I try to keep it to the minimum time but can't
> seem to find the borderline. What do you think it is?
When I make Chicken Soup, I use "Chicken Stock", pieces of cooked Chicken
Flesh, mixed veggies, and noodles or rice.
When I make "Chicken Stock" I use the boney parts of several chickens,
water, spices, and several flavourfull veggies like onions, celery,
parsnips etc. The trick is to use enough boney chicken parts (necks, back
bones, wings, left over carcasses) and not to use salt. Usually water to
cover the boney bits by a inch plus garlic cloves,onion halfed, bay leaf,
10 or so peppercorns, several carrots, several ribs celery, and a parsnip.
This gets simmered for several hours till the veggies are mush or extremely
soft. Strain this and chuck all solids as they have given up all flovour to
the stock. Next cool this in the fridge (usually over night) till you can
remove any fat easily as it will harden into a sheet. If the stock is
thickened and like partially set jello (while cold) you have made a very
good stock. Roasting the chicken parts and the veggies, before you start,
makes for nice brown stock. Using ginger and other spices or sherry/wine as
well works well. But leave off using salt untill you turn the stock into
soup.
--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
and water.
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FIELDS, W. C.
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