Traditional chicken soup

I’ve considered sharing this recipe for chicken soup for some time but was held back by the idea that everyone probably already has their own favorite version. Yet once upon a time, I had to learn to make this soup, along with other customary recipes for Shabbat and chagim, so I decided to publish some traditional recipes for others who are looking to learn them. Perhaps your mother didn’t cook, or you weren’t raised with Shabbat or with a bubbie who taught you how to make the basics. Maybe keeping kosher is new to you or you’re starting your own home and learning to cook for the first time. I wasn’t raised eating matzah ball soup, potato kugel, schnitzel, chopped liver or gefilte fish, but after 20 years of trial and error, I can lay out a strong Ashkenazi Shabbat meal that gives seasoned home cooks a run for their money.

This recipe is versatile because it’s not just about matzah balls. With this broth, you can make chicken noodle soup and chicken rice soup. You can change the spices to make more exotic flavors, like Yemenite chicken soup, or use the leftover chicken and broth to whip up my previously published Greek Avgolemeno soup or my chicken pot pie. Make this your own. If that means adding zucchini or dill, you should do that.

This recipe makes a big pot of soup, but don’t shy away from making it even if you are only feeding yourself. You can freeze containers of it so that you have something nourishing to eat if you’re under the weather. I measure the broth and freeze it in 1- and 2-cup containers so that I can use it as needed when cooking rice or making a sauce or gravy.

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The ingredients used for chicken soup are almost identical in every recipe, but the cooking technique to yield a clear yet golden broth follows.

This is one of the most important cooking staples in any home kitchen, and it’s also one of the meals most appreciated by others.

Chicken stock
Serves 10-12 people

1 3-pound whole chicken or 3 pounds of chicken pieces on the bone
8 quarts water (32 cups)
5-6 small or 2 large yellow onions
5 stalks of celery
5 whole large carrots
3-4 whole cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
7 whole peppercorns
7-10 flat leaf parsley stems
2 cloth Sack’n-Boil bags

Optional:
3 parsnips
2 large cubes of sweet potatoes or squash

This is not difficult to make, it just takes lots of love and a bit of time.

Use Sack’n-Boil bags for this recipe; you can get them online and in kosher stores. They are a game-changer for soups, especially chicken soup. They are stringy, cheesecloth bags that keep the chicken inside while boiling so that there is no need to strain the soup before serving.

Place the whole chicken, or chicken pieces, in one bag and tie the top. You can buy cut-up soup chicken, but if that’s not available and you don’t have a whole chicken, just use the legs and thighs for the soup.

I have a 16-quart soup pot. You can use a 12-quart pot but it will be near to overflowing when full, so be careful that it doesn’t boil over.

Put the bagged chicken into the empty pot.

Slice the ends off the onions but leave the skins on, and put the onions into the second boil bag, tying once. Place them in the pot. Onion skins are the trick to a beautiful, golden broth.

Wash the celery and cut the bottom ends off; you can use the leafy tops in the soup.

Cut the ends off the carrots and peel them. If you have a large pot, you can put the carrots and celery in whole, but if they are too long, cut them into 5- or 6-inch pieces and place them in the pot, then add 3 or 4 whole peeled garlic cloves. If you don’t care for garlic you can omit it.

Add 8 quarts of cool water to the pot; it may seem like a lot of liquid, but it boils down a lot after cooking for a few hours.

Add the salt and peppercorns to the pot and put it on the stove on medium-low heat to simmer covered for 1 hour. Starting the soup on medium-low heat is one of the best tips that I can offer. This allows for the flavor to seep out from the bones and you won’t get that greasy brown foam that needs to be skimmed off the top. When you remove the lid after 1 hour of simmering, the water will look almost clear; there will be some gentle bubbles from the heat, but it will not be boiling.

Add the washed bunch of parsley at this point, and dill if you like.

Keep the soup uncovered and raise the heat to medium; cook for an additional 2 hours. Medium heat will keep the soup at a gentle boil; this is when the flavor and color will start to come out into the broth, but it will remain clear.

Use a spider skimmer or very strong slotted spoon to carefully remove the chicken and onion bags from the broth and put them into a casserole dish to cool.

Strain out the carrots, celery, garlic cloves and any parsley leaves, leaving only broth in the pot. This is the best time to do a taste test. If the broth seems too intense, add 1 cup of hot water at a time to get it where you like it. If it tastes weak, let it gently boil for a half-hour to see if the water reduces and the flavor improves.

When the onions have cooled enough to touch comfortably, wring out the onion bag with your hands over the pot to get every last bit of broth, which will add richness and flavor to the soup, then discard the bag.

If the flavor is not as strong as you’d like, add a cube of consommé or 1-2 tablespoons of the powdered version. This can affect the clarity of your soup slightly, but it’s worth it to get the flavor. If you add consommé, you probably won’t need to add additional salt.

Note about vegetables: If you use parsnips, add them in the beginning. If you prefer a soft carrot, you can serve the carrot that you used for the broth. For those who like firmer carrots and celery, cut the desired amount of additional vegetables, usually 2-3 more stalks of celery and 2-3 whole carrots, and add them into the broth to cook at a gentle boil for a half-hour before making the matzah balls. You can also add squash or sweet potato cubes; both take about a half-hour to soften in the soup, so they are well cooked but not disintegrating. If you’re making this broth for a Yemenite or lentil soup, you can add whole tomatoes to the broth when you put the parsley in and allow them to cook for 2 hours before removing them from the pot.

If you already have a matzah ball recipe that you love, use that. I’ve tried more than 20 different recipes for homemade matzah balls and nothing tastes as amazing as the boxed versions. They come with 2 packets of matzah meal mix per box and each packet makes about 6 nice-sized matzah balls. Make 2 packets if you’re serving more people; just follow the instructions on the box and refrigerate for at least a half-hour before forming and cooking them. You can cook them in plain water and add them to the soup bowl when serving. Doing this is supposed to keep your broth clear, but I love how they taste when cooked in the soup and I don’t find that it makes my broth cloudy. If you cook them in the chicken broth, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the matzah balls to the boiling broth, cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

If you wish to serve your soup with noodles, cook the noodles separately in plain water as per the cooking instructions. Most chicken soups call for some form of egg noodle; I rinse them in cool water after cooking and set them aside to add in later to each bowl. When you cook noodles in the soup, the broth can get a bit gloppy, especially on the reheat. Since I like to freeze a portion of the broth, I avoid cooking noodles in the broth.

As for the chicken that has been cooling on the counter: When it is cool enough to touch, untie the bag and remove the chicken from the bones and discard the skin, bones and cartilage. You can add all of the chicken back into the soup pot or add it into each bowl for those who want it; or, you can wrap it up and use it in another recipe.
Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.