Recipe: Chicken Soup

Fall colds have threatened to rear their ugly heads here now that the temperature has started to drop. Both Maru and I had been fighting off some mild symptoms, today was a gray, rainy day, and we hadn’t had soup in a while, so we decided to do some chicken soup. There really is nothing like good, homemade chicken soup. In Mexico, they call a good soup a levanta muertos, meaning that it could raise the dead. When you get that nice, hot, deep-flavored broth, it can feel totally revitalizing, even if you’re not sick.

Since there are a million different ways to do it and everyone has their own preferences, I feel like chicken soup is the kind of thing that you don’t really need a recipe for. However, I know that many people feel more comfortable cooking from recipes, and for those who can do without one, maybe there will be a tip or two in this entry that you can enhance your own soup-making with.

This recipe is not fast, and it shouldn’t be. It’s chicken soup! It needs time on the stove to develop flavor, and is actually twice as good a day or two after you make it. While it takes time, it is super-easy. I think it’s almost impossible to make bad soup. Even if it’s not spectacular, it will still be tasty and nourishing, and if you follow the recipe laid out here, it ought to be delicious.

I usually use whatever is on hand in the way of vegetables, but here is a recipe for the standard, go-to chicken soup that I make. Like any recipe, you should make it how you like it. There are just a couple things that I think are non-negotiable, mainly making your own stock by using chicken bones. I think that what makes good chicken soup so comforting and feel so nourishing is a nice, rich broth, which you can only get making it yourself. I also think that bacon is a really important part of chicken soup. Unless you do not eat pork, you should use it. If you are concerned about cholesterol, cut it down to two pieces. The serving size per bowl of soup is minimal, and the flavor boost is worth some indulgence. Another key for me is what you do with the soup once it is done cooking. All of those well-developed, deep flavors are great, but they are truly brought to life when you add some vinegar to the pot, and then add some lime juice and fresh cilantro or parsley at the table. Plus, if someone really is sick, the lime juice and vinegar feel great on a sore throat.

Normally for us, chicken soup will be a follow-up dish to something that used a whole chicken, a way to use up the extra meat and bones, but I’ve written this one up so that you are buying the specific ingredients for those days when you just really need chicken soup.

A quick note on the rice; I have a strong preference for rice in my chicken soup over noodles, and I have found that this is a case where brown rice is far superior to white rice. It is definitely healthier, but because of the outer husk, it also stands up better to the soup and won’t get mushy as easily. And I have decided it is best to cook the rice separately, that way you have more control over how much you get in each bowl, and it doesn’t disintegrate over time.

So, just in time for fall’s entry onto the stage, here is my chicken soup. Enjoy!

Chicken Soup with Rice

8 cups of homemade chicken stock (see below for how I do it)

1 whole chicken breast, split, skinless, bone-in (don’t get confused – this means two pieces of breast meat)

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 bay leaves

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeños, minced

Other veggies as desired (zucchini, yellow squash, corn, tomato, bell pepper, etc.)

1 small bunch fresh spinach, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2-4 T good vinegar (white wine, herb vinegar, apple cider, etc.)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley if you prefer)

2-4 limes cut in wedges (depends on whether or not they are the small ones)

1 cup of brown rice, uncooked

For the stock

1 lb chicken bones, rinsed under cold water (back bones, feet, neck, whatever you’ve got or can get)

1 large onion, quartered

2 medium carrots, quartered

2 stalks celery, quartered (if you have the celery leaves, put a bunch of them in too)

5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

10 whole black peppercorns

Other veggie scraps (corn cobs, stems from herbs, peppers wilting in your fridge, etc.)

1. Place everything in a large pot, cover with cold water (about 10 cups), and place over medium-high heat. Partially cover the pot.

2. You want to bring the stock to a slow simmer, not a boil. The water should just be moving around. Boiling the bones and veggies is too harsh and will diminish how much flavor you get out of them. Adjust the temperature accordingly. Also, do not stir the stock. You want fat and impurities to naturally rise to the surface.

3. Simmer the stock for at least 45 minutes and preferably 90 minutes. As it cooks, foam will appear on the top. Using a spoon, skim off the foam as well as the fat you can see. Doing this will make the stock taste better, and it won’t have a greasy mouthfeel.

4. Once it has simmered for long enough, turn off the heat and remove the large pieces of vegetable and chicken bones. After the bones cool, they will probably have some meat on them that you can throw in the finished soup. Just pull it off.

5. Before adding the stock to the soup, run it through a medium-mesh strainer. I usually just hold the strainer over the soup pot and pour it through.

6. Any leftover stock can be frozen either in small quantities in an ice cube tray or in larger amounts in yogurt containers. Don’t let it go to waste!

For the soup

1. Put the rice in a small saucepan with two cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, turn the heat down to low and cook for 40 minutes. It will be slightly undercooked, but that’s ok. It will soak up hot soup!

2. If it isn’t simmering already, bring the stock up to a simmer and slip the chicken breast pieces in. Simmer them in the stock for about 20 minutes. Remove, let them get cool enough to handle, then shred the chicken with your fingers. Set aside.

3. Heat a large, heavy-bottom pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is all rendered out. This will take about 6-10 minutes. Remove the bacon pieces and set aside. Pour off all but about 2 Tablespoons of the bacon fat. If you are short on fat, add olive oil to equal 2 T.

4. Raise the heat to medium-high and throw in the onions, celery, carrot, and bay leaf. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

5. Add the garlic and jalapeño. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes until very fragrant. (If you are adding other veggies like zucchini or bell peppers, add them at this step too.)

6. Add the cooked bacon, stir, then pour in 8 cups of stock. Add the shredded chicken. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Bring the soup up to a simmer, not a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

8. Add the spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Turn off the heat.

9. Add up to ¼ cup vinegar to the soup. I like to add that much. Start with 2 T, taste, then decide if you want more.

10. To serve, put about ¼ cup cooked rice in the bottom of your bowls and ladle the very hot soup on top. Let it cool for a few minutes in the bowls. At the table, add cilantro and squeeze in fresh lime juice.

If you manage to have leftover soup, it freezes really well. Hope you like my version of chicken soup, and if you have any tricks or tips that you use for this classic, please post them here!