Western-style home chicken soup base

Overview

We make a batch every few weeks and it's incredibly easy to do. Once you taste the difference (and trust me, you will), you'll never want to buy chicken soup again. It's just that great. We use it on just about everything from soups to risotto, and you'd be surprised at how it can transform an ordinary dish into something delicious.

Tags

• soups
• home cooking
• soup
• old man
• lunch
• dinner
• bay leaf
• celery
• chicken skeleton
• chili
• cold water
• dried rosemary
• madeira
• olive oil
• onions
• parsley stalks
• peppercorns
• thyme
• carrot
• garlic
• salt

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Have all ingredients ready. It’s best to cut them into coarse chunks as you’ll need to fish them out and drain them later. Making a home soup base is a great opportunity to put some of those veggies in your fridge to good use. Feel free to throw whatever vegetables you have into the soup. Don't worry that your celery is a little bit bad, and don't worry that your thyme has turned a little white. You can use them in any soup base.

   

2. 2 Heat enjoi extra virgin olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, the oil needs to be hot enough but not smoking.

   

3. 3 Unlike many other soup recipes where all the ingredients are boiled together in water, we recommend sauteing the vegetables in oil first as this will add more flavor and nutrients. Sauté onions, carrots, celery and minced garlic, then drain. It's done when the onions turn slightly translucent and the other vegetables start to change color.

   

4. 4 Time to add the secret sauce: Madeira. Before adding other seasonings, use the wine to quickly stir in all the diced vegetables on the plate and remove any charred vegetables on the bottom of the pot.

   

5. 5 Boiled chicken carcass. We buy a rotisserie chicken every few weeks and after we remove all the chicken we put the carcass in a bag and freeze it. When it's time to make the soup base, take them out, add them to the pot, and cook them with the vegetables. Add water. Add more water, about 1 gallon (3.7 liters).

   

6. 6 Turn the heat to medium-high and begin to simmer. Gradually reduce the heat and continue to simmer for at least 2 hours, preferably 3 hours, stirring occasionally. You don't need to watch it for 3 hours, but don't go too far in case it overcooks. Adjust the heat at any time according to the cooking conditions. After 3 hours, stop heating and let the soup base cool for 20-30 minutes.

   

7. 7 Strain the soup with a straining spoon and remove any residue.

   

8. 8 Let the soup cool longer, even into the refrigerator overnight. When it cools, the fat will separate and float to the surface. Use a spoon to scoop it all out. Of course, generally the skin and fat-containing parts will not be left on the chicken skeleton, so there will not be too much grease to clean up. When the soup base is completely processed, portion it into suitable containers.