01/04/10 Karl’s Chicken Soup

Karl Majer — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:52:46 +0000

So my chicken soup recipe is generally a moving target. I tend to use the leftover chicken from either rotisserie or something similar. This time I used the leftover chicken I had from the meal two nights earlier. Although I’ve made this soup quite a few times, this is the first time I’ve ever measured anything.

Karl’s Chicken Soup – Makes roughly 4 bowls.

Ingredients

Half a chicken. Follow the 55 cloves and a chicken recipe from Jan 2nd.
One large white onion
2 large carrots
1 large stalk of celery
16oz of white wine
16oz of water
16oz of chicken stock
salt/pepper to taste
1/2lb of pasta (Farfalle) if desired
cheesecloth

Directions

A traditional Mirepoix has a 2:1:1 ratio of onions, carrots, and celery. While I think they carrots and celery contribute to the taste of the final product, I’m not a big fan of those vegetables cooked so I tend to skimp on them. I dice the onion but the carrots and celery I purposely rough chop so its easy to fish back out of my bowl when I want to eat around them.

Remove all of the meat from the chicken bones. Put the meat back in the fridge and wrap the bones tightly in cheesecloth. I find this keeps the bones in one place and makes them easier to remove as a whole later. Fishing chicken bones out of individual portions of soup is not fun.

Take all the gelled fats/greases from the bottom of the chicken bowl and toss it in a large stockpot. Turn on high heat until it has all degelled and then add the onions and reduce the heat. If you tossed the fat/gell add a few swirls of olive oil to the pot and cook the onions in that.

Once the onions are a nice translucent color, add the carrots and celery. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the liquids to the pot. As to the wine, I use whatever white is currently open. I am always sure to use something that I would actually drink and not a cooking wine or anything ultra cheap. Add the chicken stock and water as well. Let this cook for a few minutes and then drop in the cheesecloth full of bones.

Bring the entire pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let it cook for as long as you’d like but pay attention to the amount of fluid left in the pot. If it gets too low, add some water. I tend to let it simmer for at least an hour, sometimes longer.

About 20 minutes before I plan on pulling it from the heat I add all of the chicken meat back in and let it warm up. If you planned on adding pasta, now is the time to start cooking that in a separate pot, otherwise just turn off the burner and cover the pot when the meat is warm.

Cook the pasta until its al dente. Al dente will be a moving target depending on the type and size of the pasta you chose, but for the Barilla brand Farfalle pasta I used most recently, it was about 7 minutes. Drain the pasta and pour directly into the soup pot. Let the soup simmer for another 10-15 minutes then just turn off the heat and cover.

Serve with fresh bread and top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

01/02/10 55 Cloves and a Chicken

Karl Majer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:38:42 +0000

So we’ve split up chores a bit more at home. I’m doing the cooking now on all odd days. I’ll be posting recipes and reviews of foods as I cook them.

Jan 2 2010

I love Good Eats on Food TV. Its one of the few shows that I watch with any regularity. The first recipe for the year is slightly modified from his episode guide.

40 Cloves and a Chicken.
Ingredients

1 whole chicken (broiler/fryer) cut into 8 pieces - I used an already quartered chicken from Harris Teeter.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 sprigs fresh thyme – I used 3, my wife isn’t a big fan
40 peeled cloves garlic – I used 55 or so, I am a big fan. I took me 20 minutes to peel it all…
Salt / Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. My Jenn-Airre oven seems to take about 25 minutes to preheat. It was the first time I’d ever baked anything in the oven that I was cooking (in 5 years…) and waiting for it to preheat threw off my meal time. Be warned or know your kitchen appliances

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss with a 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide fry pan or skillet over high heat. Remove from heat, add oil, thyme, and garlic cloves. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken from the oven, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, carve, and serve. I let it rest for closer to 20 while I prepped dinner for my 3 year old. I also had some fresh bread from Harris Teeters to go with it.

“You’re cooking more often.”

Total prep time was close to 30 minutes, oven time was 90 minutes and then another 30 to rest. The first dinner of the year was a success. Half the chicken was consumed and I put everything else including all of the delicious oil/chicken drippings at the bottom of the pan into a tupperware container and saved it for the next meal.

Original Recipe Here: link

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01/04/10 Karl’s Chicken Soup

01/02/10 55 Cloves and a Chicken