Chicken Noodle Soup
by Kimberley S in Rouxbe RecipesRich chicken broth with carrots, celery, moist pieces of chicken and tender noodles. This homemade chicken noodle soup is sure to warm the soul.
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Step 1: Blanching the Chicken Legs
To blanch the chicken legs, place them into a tall, skinny soup pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water up to a boil over medium-high heat.
Skim the impurities off the top as they rise to the surface. Once the water comes to a boil, drain and discard the murky water. Cover the chicken legs with cold water and return to the heat. Slowly bring to a simmer, skimming any additional impurities off the surface.
In the meantime, prepare your mise en place.
- 5 chicken legs
Step 2: Preparing Your Mise en Place
To prepare the mirepoix, peel and cut the onions into large dice. Cut the celery and carrots into about 1/2" -inch pieces. Peel the garlic. Gather the bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns).
- 2 medium onions
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 large carrot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
Step 3: Starting the Broth
Once the impurities have been skimmed from the surface of the broth, add the salt, mirepoix and bouquet garni. Continue to gently simmer just until the meat is cooked through.
- salt (1/2 tsp per L/qt of water)
Step 4: Removing the Meat
Once the meat has just cooked through, remove the legs from the broth. Set aside to cool.
Once the legs are cool enough to handle, remove the nice chunks of meat from the bones and set aside. The meat can be used in other preparations or it can be added back to the broth later, if making chicken soup.*
Step 5: Finishing the Broth
Once all of the meat has been removed from the bones, return the bones to the broth. Continue to simmer the broth for 1 hour to extract the flavor from the bones.
Once the broth has finished cooking, remove and discard the solids. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
Skim as much fat from the surface as possible. If desired, cool the broth over an ice bath and refrigerate. Remove any hardened fat before proceeding with your recipe.
This delicious, rich chicken broth can be used to make a variety of soups and it can also be used as a flavorful stock.
Step 6: Heating the Broth for the Soup
To start the soup, bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat.
Reserve the rest of the broth for another dish or freeze for future use.
- 12 cups chicken broth
Step 7: Preparing the Garniture
To prepare the vegetables, cut the carrots and celery into 1/2" -inch pieces and add them to the simmering broth. In the meantime, cook the pasta.
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
Step 8: Cooking the Noodles
Place a large pot of cold water over high heat and bring to a boil. Season with salt. Add the pasta and cook until done.
- 1 cup dried egg noodles
- 1 tsp salt per L/qt of water
Step 9: Finishing the Soup & Serving
Once the celery and carrots are almost tender, add as much of the reserved chicken to the simmering broth to heat through.
Once the noodles are done, drain and add them to the broth. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. If desired, add some finely chopped parsley and serve immediately with a nice big slice of buttered bread.
- reserved chicken meat (as much as desired)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
