On 8/23/2014 10:16 PM, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Aug 2014 20:57:26 -0500, Pringles CheezUms
> > wrote:
>
>> I make, well, my mother still makes, quite a decent chicken soup.
>> It's ...decent, but I'd like some tips to make it really great.
>>
>> Here's what she does:
>> Boil a chicken the afternoon before, let cool and set in the fridge to
>> congeal the fat.
>> Early next afternoon, remove the fat and debone the bird, and add
>> carrots, corn, potatoes, onions, a can of rotel tomatoes and enuf water
>> to cover. Simmer several hours, and serve at supper. (no salt added,
>> some of the family is salt sensitive, but its still tasty.)
>>
>> How can I punch this up to be even better?
>> What herbs/spices would go well here?
>> Are there some techniques that would liven it up? Would roasting the
>> chicken instead of boiling add anything? How bout roasting some of the
>> vegetables first?
>>
>> Help me make this a dish well worth inheriting.
>
> Simmer, don't boil the chicken with onion, garlic, celery, thyme and
> a bay leaf. Discard the onion, garlic, celery and bay leaf. The
> thyme will almost disappear in the broth. I find it really, really
> easy to de-bone the chicken while it is still quite warm. The meat,
> bones and fat come apart very easily. It's much harder to do when the
> chicken is cold. I still put the liquid in the fridge overnight and
> take the congealed fat off the next day. Cover and refrigerate the
> chicken meat separately. I would prefer to get all the liquid that I
> needed by cooking the chicken in the required amount of water to give
> it flavor. I wouldn't add water the next day because I think that
> thins the flavor. If you are cooking for yourself and no salt
> sensitive folks are eating with you, I would add some salt.
> Janet US
>
Oh, absolutely right! (I might add a bit of sage along with the thyme.)

Jill