smittenkitchen
My Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup
This is my ultimate chicken noodle soup — an afternoon project that rewards you with a depth of flavor that makes everything right.
👥 12 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 4h 30m👤 deb📖 smittenkitchen
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pot
- ●stove
- ●bowl
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Make the broth: [On the stove] Combine all ingredients in a large (6 to 8 quart) stock pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a gentle simmer, skim any unpleasant looking foam (“skim the scum” is kitchen parlance for this step, but I’m trying to be polite) and cover with a lid. Simmer for 2 1/⏱️ 2 hours.
2
[In a slow-cooker] Combine all ingredients in a large (6 quart or larger) slow-cooker. Cook on LOW for ⏱️ 10 hours or HIGH for 5. Strain into a large pot (5.5 quarts or more) and let rest in the fridge until needed, or, if you’re finishing the soup right away, bring to a simmer on the stove.
3
Cook the chicken: [Both methods] Add whole chicken breasts to simmering broth. Simmer for 10 to ⏱️ 20 minutes (10 for boneless skinless; 20 for bone-in, skin-on), until they’re cooked through, then strain broth [for stovetop method] or simply remove cooked chicken breasts [from the slow-cooker method] and set them aside. Taste broth, and adjust seasoning if needed.
4
Finish the soup: Add diced vegetables to simmering broth on the stove and cook for 5 to ⏱️ 10 minutes, until firm-tender. Add soup noodles and cook according to package instructions, usually 6 to ⏱️ 10 minutes. Meanwhile, once chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones and shred or chop into small chunks. Return chicken to soup and simmer for ⏱️ 2 minutes, until heated through. Finish with parsley and serve to some very lucky people.
5
To de-fat the broth: Once the broth portion is complete and the soup has settled a little, you can skim any fat that’s accumulated at the surface with a soup skimmer or spoon, to taste. If you’re going to chill the broth before finishing the soup another day, it’s easiest to take the fat off right before you use it; it will have solidified at the surface. P.S. Don’t toss it, please! It makes for wonderful
6
matzo balls
7
On cooking the noodles separately:
8
One thing to keep in mind when making chicken noodle soup is that the noodles remain “thirsty” — i.e. they’ll keep absorbing broth, getting softer and drinking up the spare liquid — as they rest. If we’re planning on eating the soup over a few days, I prefer to cook and store the noodles separately, adding them to each bowl and ladling the soup (with the chicken and vegetables) over it to serve. I cook the noodles in a mixture of the chicken broth (about 4 cups) from the soup and salted water (2 to 3 more cups) until fully cooked (this is not the place for al dente noodles).
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