"sf" > wrote in message
...
> 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.)
>
> My method is entirely different. Simmer (I do it overnight in a slow
> cooker now) chicken with onion, celery and carrot. Strain liquid and
> discard the vegetables, separate meat from bones and set aside.
> Separate fat from stock by whatever method you like.

you made broth, not stock.

To improve on this, make both broth and stock. Debone the chicken and make
stock, taking many hours to do so. Gently cook the meat, making broth.

add the broth to the stock, carry on with the veggies, and add the meat
toward the very end.

Sweet Marjoram would be a good herb to use.



When ready to
> make your stock into soup, add vegetables that have been cut to the
> desired size (staggered according to how long they take to cook) and
> desired seasonings. Simmer until vegetables are tender crisp, add meat
> and serve. Salt is added at the table, if anyone wants it.
>>
>> How can I punch this up to be even better?
>> What herbs/spices would go well here?
>
> The Rotel and corn tells me you're looking for Southwest flavor,
> probably New Mexican because of the potato. So, roasted and chopped
> fresh chili would punch it up. Look up recipes for chicken tortilla
> soup and posole to figure out the seasonings you might like. Oregano,
> cumin and garlic come to mind.
>
> You could use this recipe for ideas because it's pretty close to what
> you're describing except it's not from scratch.
> http://www.elpinto.com/recipes/green...hicken-chowder
>
>> Are there some techniques that would liven it up?
>
> Don't cook the meat to death. Make a basic stock by a long simmer
> with the basics of (tomato) onion, carrot and celery.
>
>> Would roasting the chicken instead of boiling add anything?
>
> You could buy a rotisserie chicken, strip the meat (set aside) and
> then use the carcass to make your stock. There's no law against it.
>
>> How bout roasting some of the vegetables first?
>
> I always "pan roast" my corn (to blacken the kernels, but keep it as
> raw as possible) and cut it off the cob to use in soups, stews or
> salad.
>
>>
>> Help me make this a dish well worth inheriting.
>
> It would help to know what kind of chicken soup you wanted to make.
> There's Jewish Penicillin, American style chicken vegetable soup and
> chicken soup with Southwest flavors. Of course, there's more to the
> world of chicken soup - but your can of Rotel and added corn didn't
> shout Chinese, Thai or Indian to me.
>
>
> --
> Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to
> hold them.