How to Make Perfect Chicken Noodle Soup

Ahhh, a bowl full of comfort.  This chicken noodle soup has been feeding the two of us all week, and there was even some to spare for one of Jim's bachelor coworkers.  You know how when you eat the same thing day after day you start to get sick of it?  Well, that didn't happen.  It's so good that I'm still looking forward to it every day at lunchtime.  And it's healthy and cheap, too!  Win-win-win.

So, naturally for chicken soup, you start with a chicken.  We got a whole cut-up one, but if I had a cleaver I'd hack it up more so the bones could release even more flavor.  (I guess no one wanted to get us the cleaver off of our wedding registry–can't really blame 'em!)  I love cooking with bones–they add a real depth, and roasting or browning them really brings it out.

So, first, and this was my husband's smart recommendation so I should give him credit here, to get the richest, most chicken-flavored broth, you should start by browning that chicken in a big soup pot or Dutch oven.  Be patient–it takes a while to make a great chicken soup.  Get them good and browned, like this:

Then set the chicken aside.  Then, if you're so inclined, brown the vegetables, too: a big quartered onion (you don't have to peel it, since the broth gets strained anyway), a couple of peeled, halved carrots, a couple of halved stalks of celery, a whole clove or two of unpeeled garlic.  You can simply add these in the next step rather than brown them, but I like that roasty toasty veggie flavor. Set those aside with the chicken.

Look in your pot, and you're likely to see a big mess:

But don't despair.  You won't have to scrub that out of the pot.  That stuck-on mess is called fond, which is a French term for "what makes sauces and soups delicious."  OK, I don't really know how to translate it, but that's what it does!  Turn up the heat and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot by about an inch or so (for me it was about 2 cups).  Then let it bubble away while you scrape and mix the fond into the hot water.  See this?  This is pure flavor:

Now put your chicken back in there, along with the vegetables, a bay leaf, five peppercorns, a couple sprigs of thyme, some parsley sprigs, and about a teaspoon of salt.  If you don't have thyme or parsley sprigs I wouldn't sweat it, but I had them so I added them.  Now cover everything with water.  I used about 10 cups.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat, partially cover the pot and simmer (that means low, slow bubbling) for at least 2 hours (mine went for 3 hours).  The chicken meat should be falling off the bone when you turn off the heat.  Be sure to walk in your kitchen from time to time to enjoy those amazing aromas wafting from the soup pot.  Our windows were steaming up with all that goodness–there's something just so cozy about a pot bubbling away on the stove with something wonderful being created inside of it, don't you think?

While this was going on I cooked a pound of Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles (my favorite brand) in some chicken broth (I saved some of the cooking liquid to add to my soup base later).  Normally I'd just cook the noodles in the soup itself, but since we made this for the week ahead I didn't want to let the noodles sit in there, absorbing broth all the while and turning mushy.  So, cook up some noodles, drain them, then toss with a little oil so they won't clump together.  That would be bad.  Store the noodles in a big zip-top baggie and they'll be ready to add to your soup in individual portions when you're ready to eat (or the morning of the same day you're going to eat it).

OK, so now strain out the chicken and vegetables.  No big deal—just put a strainer over your biggest bowl and dump the pot out into it.  You can fish most of the chicken out first, which makes it easier.  Keep the chicken and discard the veggies.  Don't feel bad–all their flavor and goodness has leached into that gorgeous broth, so you're not wasting them!

Cover your broth and put it in the fridge overnight.  (This is optional but makes a huge difference.  More on that a little further down.)  Set your chicken aside until it's cool enough to handle while you do something else.  Or, wait till tomorrow since you have to wait for the broth anyhow.

Now it's time to pick that chicken clean!  Discard the skin and bones and any nasty bits you don't want in your soup.  If you want a really hearty soup, use all of it.  Otherwise, you can save some of that chicken for whatever you desire.

Take your broth out of the fridge.  See that layer on top?  That's fat!  Normally fat is good for flavor, but in this case the amount of fat would make the broth too greasy and not as yummy.  So that's why you refrigerate it overnight–the fat will congeal on the surface, making it easy to skim off and throw away.  Good news for your taste buds and your waistline–a rarity indeed!

Thinly slice some peeled carrots and celery ribs (I used four each) and chop an onion and a couple cloves of garlic. Saute those for a few minutes in a little olive oil until the onion begins to turn translucent.  Then pour in your lovely homemade chicken broth.  Bring it up to a simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste.  I added a Knorr bouillon cube, too, just like my mom would. Mom always knows best, right?  Simmer till the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes, then add your chicken meat and heat for about 8 minutes, till it's heated through. 

Ours was so chock-full of chicken (and flavorful goodness) we were able to add 2 additional quarts of store-bought chicken broth to stretch it further without sacrificing taste.

And here it is, the final product–a big beautiful bowl of real homemade chicken noodle soup:

It's well worth the time!  While most of my coworkers were eating overpriced New York City lunches, I was enjoying this wonderful soup for a fraction of the price.  Gotta love that something so good is so economical, too.