How To Cook Jewish Chicken Soup So That Its Crystal Clear
Theres a certain pride that a Jewish cook has when the soup has that golden yellow crystal clear tone. It lends legit bragging rights.
To accomplish this, try the following:
How To Make The Perfect Chicken Soup
We love debating sinkers versus floaters when it comes to matzah balls, right? Well I am firmly in camp fluffy. How to make fluffy matzah balls for your soup? Roll them very gently in the palms of your hands, make sure to wet your hands with ice water in between rolls and dont forget the schmaltz. Or you can watch this video to help make the perfect fluffy matzah balls to go with your chicken soup.
A Brief History Of Chicken Soup The Jewish Penicillin
Way before Campbells iconic cans, Jews around the world prepared the savory broth. We take a closer look at its unique origins, just in time for Yom Kippur
Chicken soup is the undoubtable symbol of Jewish cuisine. But the hot broth made of scarce and expensive fresh meat was not always readily available in every Eastern European Jewish community.
However, there was one day a year when every family, rich or poor, prepared the soup: Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
At night, the people of the village would wave fluttering chickens above their heads for the atonement ceremony called kapparot, and right after the ceremony people marched in droves to the slaughterhouse, recalled Shmil Holand in his book Schmaltz. A few hours later, the village was filled with the aroma of fresh chicken soup, which was then served before the Yom Kippur fast.
Much has changed since the days of shtetl life in Poland. In American popular culture, though, chicken soup remains the quintessential Jewish comfort food and a symbol of homemade Jewish cuisine that members of the community long for.
The Chinese chicken soup is usually seasoned with ginger and scallion, but their main claim to fame in the chicken soup department is the addition of noodles. The Chinese actually made the first chicken noodle soup which they referred to as noodles in broth rather than soup centuries before Campbells produced its ever popular version in that can.
Good enough for Golda
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Prepare The Chicken Soup
Before making the soup, boil the turkey necks in three cups of water for 20 minutes. Pour out the murky water and wash off the turkey necks.
Place turkey necks, chicken and herbs in a mesh bag and place them in the bottom of a large pot. Peel and chunk all the veggies and place them in the pot. Add water to fill until two inches below the rim of the pot. Add salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil over high flame, then lower flame and simmer for at least six hours to overnight. The longer the soup simmers, the stronger the color and flavor will be. I like to make my soup on Thursday evening and let it simmer all night.
Once cool, remove the mesh bag. Remove the chicken from the bones. Discard bones and shred the chicken you want to serve in the soup.
Serve soup with veggies and a little shredded chicken with or without a matzo balls.
Note:
You can also use the deboned chicken from the soup to make chicken salad. Follow Rories tuna recipe using hand-shredded chicken in place of canned tuna.
Variation:
For creamier soup, remove all orange veggies and herbs. Place three-fourths of the deboned chicken in a pot . Pour out most of the broth , leaving only enough to cover the veggies and chicken.
Purée the soup with a hand blender. Add additional broth until designed texture is reached. Add remainder of the shredded chicken into the soup and mix with a spoon.
Cover and leave on low on a blech or hot plate until ready to serve Friday night.
Your Secrets For The Best Jewish Chicken Soup
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Chicken soup is one of the most iconic, comforting Jewish foods, and while everyone who makes chicken soup may say that they make it the best way or the right way, there are innumerable methods and recipes that all result in a fabulous, flavorful soup. Theres just no right way, although there are tips and tricks to ensuring great soup every time.
We asked you our readers what are your secrets to the best chicken soup, and wow did you have some fantastic ideas that I cant wait to try. I hope these suggestions and ideas help inspire you in the kitchen.
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Before You Make Jewish Chicken Soup Keep In Mind:
The soup takes a long time to make. It should simmer for a minimum of 2 hours. So its a great way to force yourself to stay home if you have a cold and really shouldnt go out.
This is peasant food. You dont need the most expensive chicken or the fanciest chicken parts. In fact, Jewish chicken soup tastes best if you include giblets , often found packaged in a paper sack inside a whole chicken. Whole chickens are cheaper than cut-up chicken or parts. So if you can bear to reach into the cavity of a whole chicken, pull out the giblet package and open it, youll be rewarded by the taste of the final product and the lower cost of the chicken. If you prefer chicken parts, buy them with bones because the bones will add great flavor to the soup.
Think ahead. The chicken and vegetables will become super-soft after simmering all that time. If you want chicken chunks and slightly crunchy pieces of vegetables floating in the soup, plan on leaving a bit of white meat, carrot, and celery out of the pot to cook at the last minute.
To see how easy it is to make chicken soup from scratch, check out this video:
- 13-4 poundchicken, whole or parts cut-up
- chicken giblets – neck, gizzard, heart, liver,
- 1teaspoonkosher salt + more, to taste
- freshly ground pepper
Ideas For Other Vegetables And Flavors To Add
When I make chicken soup, I use a combination of celery, carrots, onion, parsnips and turnips. But I know each cook has their own combination of aromatics, and several of you suggested adding a wedge of green cabbage to the soup or even some sweet potato. Someone else suggested a large tomato for flavor and color halfway through your cooking time. Another suggestion was leeks instead of onions just make sure to clean them really well!
One reader shared, A little grated ginger and a squeeze of lemon juice brightens up the taste, but also adds to the health benefits!
I loved the suggestion to add pureed carrots to the broth, which will thicken the soup a bit . Someone else suggested adding lima beans, which is a good reminder you can add any type of legumes to your soup for a little vegetarian protein and extra fiber.
And perhaps my favorite suggestion from your emails: I learned to make fantastic chicken soup in Mexico. They use a few sprigs of cilantro, and a whole onion as well as smashed garlic cloves. I agree with the chicken feet as well, they give the soup a good texture and richness. You know the soup is done right when it turns to jelly when it is cooled in the fridge overnight.
If you are looking for a Mexican-inspired chicken soup, try Pati Jinichs mushroom jalapeño matzah ball soup.
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Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe Otherwise Known As Jewish Penicillin
Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup is known for having a golden, clear broth with essential nutrients to revive you right out of your sick bed. It makes sense why homemade Jewish chicken soup is also famously known as Jewish Penicillin. Every Jewish Mama will insist that their chicken soup is the best chicken soup, because it is made with LOVE.
Making your own broth from scratch is very easy. Simply place the whole chicken in the pot with root vegetables, fresh herbs, cover with water, and walk away from the stove for a few hours. You might wonder, Why would you boil a whole chicken with the skin on? Isnt there a lot of fat in the skin? Well, there is a very good reason for that. Chicken skin is actually rich in collagen and not all fat. Leaving the skin on the chicken while it simmers in water will help produce a rich flavor in the broth. The skin will also help produce a beautiful golden color that makes Jewish chicken soup special. The traditional root vegetables that are added to the soup while cooking are carrots, celery, onion, and parsnips. Fresh parsley and dill with the stems on also add a great flavor to the broth during cooking.
Find more Instant Pot Pressure Cooker recipes and check out more outstanding soup recipes.
Learn more about the tradition of Jewish Passover and a Passover Seder Menu with Recipes from Ellen Easton.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions:
Place a trivet with handles facing upwards inside the inner pot.
References:
What Is Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo Balls are Ashkenazi Jewish dumplings made from matzo meal, eggs, fat, water or broth, and salt. They are typically served in homemade chicken soup and a traditional Passover dish. I usually add some minced parsley to give the matzo balls some color, but forgot this time!
If youd rather add noodles or rice to your chicken soup, theyd also be delicious!!!
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Jewish Chicken Soup With Matzo Ballsthe Real Jewish Penicillin
This recipe is what my childhood memories are made of. It is what I need to turn to when I am sick or aching from a bad day. The rich golden broth makes my sniffles melt away and warms my soul. Full of veggies, tender chicken and moist, melt away matzo balls, this Jewish Chicken Soup is the Real Jewish Penicillinthe answer to all of lives hard times.
This post is a recreation of the very first blog post I ever wrote. However, it was so near and dear to my heart that I decided I needed to make it better.
Year after year, the one request I get from my readers and clients alike is to teach them the secret to a real Jewish chicken soup. There are very few rules to a good chicken soup, mine starts with two ingredients, heart and soul.
This Chicken Soup was the ONLY food I would eat as a kid. We had to have it in the house all the time or else I went hungry.
I can still recall that wonderful taste. The best part was when my mother used to hand feed me with it. She would take a bite size piece of bread with some meat on it from the soup and put it in my mouth followed by a spoonful of broth. That taste has been forever imprinted in my mind.
When I am sick, this is my calling. All diets are off when Im sick, I slurp up every golden circle of chicken fat and gobble up every last piece of chicken skin, until my belly smiles with glee.
And so I pass my moms simple recipe onto you.
This soup is ALWAYS a standard in my freezer as well as on my holiday tables.
What Can Be Added For More Flavor
If your chicken soup is bland, it may need more salt. Thats why its important to taste it along the way and adjust the seasonings. PRO-Tip: You can always add more salt, but you cannot remove any excess. Other ingredients you might consider include herbs, garlic, peppercorns, chicken bones, along with more unusual vegetables like parsnips.
Note: do not taste the broth until the chicken has simmered for over an hour to avoid the chance of a foodborne illness like salmonella.
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Tips And Tricks For Adding Loads Of Flavor To Chicken Noodle Soup
When you have a five quart pot of soup, and the main ingredient is water, it takes a specific strategy to get the maximum flavor into your chicken noodle soup, so that each spoonful is loaded with flavor.
You need a LOT of stuff in it.
Basically, instead of calculating a per-person vegetable count, you want to load it with plenty of veggies.
The vegetables you add are based more on what adds flavor to the soup rather than what you prefer. Of course, you can also add in your favorites, however, youre adding in veggies for the sake of the blended flavor too.
Parsnip and sweet potatoes are two of my favorite veggies to add for overall soup flavor.
Even if you dont love to eat them whole as they add nutrition and flavor to the soup. Keep in mind that you can always repurpose vegetables from the soup by making patties, or as baby food I dont touch sweet potato generally speaking but it really adds a delicious flavor to this Jewish chicken soup recipe.
Vegetables like celery are tasty in the soup as well, but I dont find that they contribute to the overall flavor. It makes sense to add things like that when youre specifically looking to eat those textures, but the vegetables you add to flavor your soup are a category of their own
Cook this Jewish chicken soup recipe for a long time.
If you want a delicious slow cooker soup, you can try my crock pot mushroom barley soup recipe, another delicious Ashkenazic Jewish soup.
More is more.
Season it well.
Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe
- 1.4-1.6kg chicken, plus any extra chicken carcasses and bones if you have them
- 2 medium onions
- 3 large carrots, peeled and halved
- 1 parsnip, peeled and halved
- a handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped, the stalks reserved for the soup and the leaves to serve
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp schmaltz or vegetable oil
- 60ml chicken soup
- 120g medium matzo meal,
- 1 tbsp chicken soup powder mix,
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Make The Chicken Broth
Begin by placing the chicken and vegetables in a 12-quart soup pot. Add about 6 quarts of water to fill the pot.
Bring to a gentle boil.
Boil gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes, skimming off any froth or scum as it forms.
Reduce the heat to low and add the bay leaves, parsley sprigs, celery seed, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper.
Cover and simmer 3½ hours more. Let the soup cool on the stovetop until the pot is no longer hot then place the soup pot in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove the pot from the refrigerator and skim most but not all of the fat from the surface of the soup. Using tongs and a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and large vegetables from the soup and discard . Place a fine mesh strainer over a very large bowl or soup pot, and pour the soup through the strainer to strain out all the remaining solids. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve.
A Step By Step Guide To Making This Recipe
Time needed: 4 hours and 10 minutes.
Easy Shabbat Chicken Soup From Scratch step by step.
Add chicken, salt, and pepper to the pot. If you are using chicken pieces then use 2-3 leg quarters or bone-in breast pieces, a package of legs or wings work well too. You can also use 1 bag of chicken bones or 1 whole chicken.
Chop the celery and carrots and add them to the pot.
Add onions, dill, parsley, and fill with water until all ingredients are covered.
Bring the soup to a boil then turn down to a gentle simmer. Cook the soup for a minimum of 4 hours but 8-12 hours makes for an incredibly flavorful soup.
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Prepare The Chicken For The Soup
- Wash and prepare your chicken.
- Cut off the neck and make sure the butcher didn’t leave you any “surprises” inside the cavity.
- I like to take the skin off because it adds a lot of fat to the soup . To be honest, though, it also adds some good flavor. So if you don’t mind skimming the fat from your soup several times before you serve it, go ahead and keep the skin on.
- After you rinse the parts again, take a large piece of cheesecloth and tie the chicken parts in it. This will make it extraordinarily easy to fish out the chicken when the soup is done, and no pesky bits of bone or cartilage will be floating around your beautiful soup.
Naked chicken, ready for soup. This is what my chicken looked like after I wrestled him into submission. It’s a lot easier to start with chicken parts than to try to cut it apart yourself to make it fit into the pot.
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Throw all the veggies into the pot and add the seasonings.
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