Chicken Broth Soup Base
by Kimberley S in Rouxbe RecipesThis full-flavored and golden chicken broth can be turned into a variety of soups in a snap.
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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 fresh 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 for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until the chicken has just cooked through.
- salt (1/2 tsp per L/qt of liquid)
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 highly-flavorful stock.
Notes
* To make Chicken Noodle Soup, follow Steps 6 to 9 in the Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe.
