Chicken Soup Recipes Alton Brown Food

CHICKEN SOUP A LA PRESSURE

Steps:

• Park a 6- to 6 1/2-quart pressure cooker pot on high heat. Place the onion, cut-side down, on the bottom of the cooker and sear until well-charred - 5 minutes.
• Add the 2 halved carrots, 2 halved celery stalks, leek tops, and dried mushrooms to the pot along with the peppercorns and bay leaves. Follow with the chicken legs, thighs, wings, and finally the carcass. Add the water and use tongs or a large spoon to push as much of the chicken under water as possible.
• Attach and lock the cooker's lid (according to the manufacturer's instructions, of course) and bring up to pressure over high heat. When the cooker's whistle blows (it's typically annoying and discordant...all the better to get your attention), back off on the heat until the cooker just barely hisses. This means you're maintaining pressure but not just dumping a lot of steam into the room, which would waste moisture, not to mention energy. Cook for 30 minutes.
• Remove the cooker from the heat and either vent the pressure by opening the pressure relief valve or simply place the covered vessel in the sink and pour running water over the lid for about a minute. At that point the pressure should have abated and the safety lock on the lid will open.
• Strain the broth first through a colander set over a large bowl to remove large solids. Place a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth over the now-empty pressure cooker. Strain the stock a second time through the lined sieve into the cooker. You should have 8 to 9 cups of stock/broth. (It's stock because bones were involved and broth because there was meat as well. So it's...brock.) At this point you can stop, cool the "brock," and then refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for pretty much forever.
• To make the soup, add the shoyu, salt, and 1 teaspoon of the togarashi to the "brock." Taste and add additional togarashi as desired. Add the chicken breasts to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through - 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl using tongs or a slotted spoon.
• Add the remaining carrots and the parsnips to the broth and simmer for 3 minutes, then add the remaining celery and leeks. Continue simmering until the vegetables are just tender - 3 to 5 minutes. Kill the heat and season with lemon juice, if desired.
• While the vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken breasts with forks or with a hand mixerThe mixer quickly produces a very fine shred. on low.
• To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the chicken, reserved celery leaves, and another grind of pepper.

CHICKEN STOCK

Steps:

• Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Bring stock to boil for 2 minutes in a large, non-reactive stockpot with lid on, over high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add noodles and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add herbs and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with lemon halves and add squeeze of lemon juice if desired.

CHICKEN AND DROPPED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Special equipment: 7-quart pressure cooker
• Put the hen and 3 teaspoons of the salt in a 7-quart pressure cooker. Add water just to cover the hen. Do not fill above the cooker's "maximum fill" line, or 2/3 full. Cover and lock the lid. Bring to pressure over high heat, approximately 20 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low, so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Release the pressure using the cooker's release device (read the manual!) or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Open carefully. Remove the hen from the broth and set aside to cool. The meat should be tender and falling away from the bone. Once the hen is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones in small pieces, cover and set aside. Discard the skin and bones.
• Set a cheesecloth-lined colander in a shallow, wide, 6-quart pot and strain the broth, discarding the solids. Taste and season the broth with additional salt, if needed.
• Put 1/2 cup of the broth, the butter, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a 2-quart saucier, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add all of the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and mix, on low speed, for 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer. Beat until cool and there is no more steam rising. Continue to mix on low, and add the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding another. You may need to stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Before adding the last egg, check the mixture for consistency: It should tear slightly as it falls from the beater, creating a "V" shape. Transfer the dough to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Cut off 1 corner of the bag to make a quarter-sized opening.
• Bring the broth to a slight simmer over medium heat. Pipe 1-inch of the mixture and cut with kitchen shears directly over the broth. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the meat and wait for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. Serve in bowls with freshly ground black pepper.

CHRISTMAS SOUP

Steps:

• Place the kielbasa into a 7-quart Dutch oven and set over medium-low heat. Cook until the kielbasa has browned well and rendered its fat, approximately 15 minutes. If you do not have at least 2 teaspoons of fat, add enough vegetable oil to make 2 teaspoons. Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the beans and the chicken broth and cook, covered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, add the potatoes, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Wash, rinse and trim the kale and tear into bite size pieces. Add the kale to the pot, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or just until it is tender, but not mushy.
• Add the red wine vinegar and black pepper and stir to combine. Evenly distribute the kielbasa between 8 soup bowls. Laddle the soup into bowls and serve.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Put the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large soup pot and cover with cold water. Heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken meat falls off of the bones (skim off foam every so often).
• Take everything out of the pot. Strain the broth. Pick the meat off of the bones and chop the carrots, celery and onion. Season the broth with salt, pepper and chicken bouillon to taste, if desired. Return the chicken, carrots, celery and onion to the pot, stir together, and serve.

GOOD EATS CHICKEN STOCK (FROM ALTON BROWN)

Steps:

• Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid.
• Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.
• Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight.
• Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.