Help with Chicken Noodle Soup

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Jennifer Murphy

Jennifer Murphy

Senior Cook
Joined
May 18, 2014
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200
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
When making chicken noodle soup from scratch(1), is it best to cook the noodles in a separate pot rather than adding them to the broth?

And what about the vegetables?

Thanks

(1) Well, maybe not exactly from scratch. I didn't create the chicken or any of the other ingredients, or the earth where they arose, or the universe.
 
You can make it either way, but will need to add 1/4 - 1/3 extra cup of liquid to account for what the noodles will absorb, plus a pinch of extra salt.

The broth will get a bit cloudy if the noodles are cooked in, but you won't have an extra pan to wash.

Add the noodles in at the appropriate time for everything to be done together.
 
You can do both.

I prefer to cook rice noodles seperate,or actually, just soak them till pliable, then add with 1 or 2 minutes to go.

For egg noodles and 2 minute noodles, I chop and change
 
I don’t think that there is a wrong way. 🤔

I toss the dry noodles into the simmering stock at the end of the cooking time.

Go easy on the noodle to broth ratio because the noodles will continue to absorb the stock and you might end up with a chicken noodle casserole.

I use celery, onion, and carrot for the vegetables. I cook the vegetables in the stock for approximately fifteen minutes.

You can do it all from scratch or you can use a rotisserie chicken, boxed broth or Better Than Bouillon, frozen or prepared mirepoix, etc…

It’s also nice to change things up from a hearty soup to a simpler more delicate version.

 
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This might sound weird but for chicken soup I always start by poaching a whole chicken considering I'll be using some of the meat instead of using a chicken stock I've previously made and stored and would never use a boxed stock, but have used boxed for just about everything else, like I said weird. Love chicken soup. I've used many different pasta's, noodles and different precooked rice, and I've always cooked the pasta's in the broth, it's all good.
 
pictonguy said:
This might sound weird but for chicken soup I always start by poaching a whole chicken considering I'll be using some of the meat instead of using a chicken stock I've previously made and stored and would never use a boxed stock, but have used boxed for just about everything else, like I said weird. Love chicken soup. I've used many different pasta's, noodles and different precooked rice, and I've always cooked the pasta's in the broth, it's all good.
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I use broth and cook the chicken in it.
 
Every once in a while I used to poach a whole chicken, but it's been years. Doubt I'll ever do it again as there is just me. Don't have the inclination nor the energy to clean the bones after, divvy it all up for various things. Do admit it is mighty tasty!
 
Poaching a whole chicken or chicken parts with carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes to create an inexpensive boiled dinner or pot au feu sounds good.

1728233661555.jpeg


Second night could be leftovers, chicken hash, chicken salad, etc…

Bonus night broth for soup.
 
medtran49 said:
I use broth and cook the chicken in it.
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I've also done that many times for a quick fix and it works pretty well.

For chicken soup specifically I do find the slow poaching and cooking of a whole bird where a more complete extraction from the bones, skin and the fat gives a more complex depth especially from the collagen and gelatin than just adding chicken to a stock. And because I'm making it this way exclusively as a soup I'll be more specific in what vegetables, spices and herbs I use and feel this makes for a pretty decent soup comparatively speaking or at least I haven't personally found making chicken soup any other way to be better, it's a lot of work but I think it's worth it, but then again this is what i do for a living, :) or use to anyway.
 
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pictonguy said:
For chicken soup specifically I do find the slow poaching and cooking of a whole bird where a more complete extraction from the bones, skin and the fat gives a more complex depth than just using a stock
Click to expand...
And it also completely extracts any flavor from the chicken itself...

If I'm going to make broth/stock, not going to use chicken that I actually plan to eat. I'll use wings or drumsticks and/or bones from chicken I've deboned or bones from chicken that has been roasted plain (not marinated).
 
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medtran49 said:
And it also completely extracts any flavor from the chicken itself...

If I'm going to make broth/stock, not going to use chicken that I actually plan to eat.
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Yeah exactly, forgot to mention the meat itself and I feel it makes a difference, but not really necessary in the big scheme of things, it's just something I prefer to do and i know most wouldn't bother and the alternative using stock is perfectly acceptable by most metrics.
 
I make home chicken soup from either....
a well eaten rotisserie chicken
or
an oven roasted whole chicken

I simmer the carcass down, in water, for 3-4 hours.
a home roasted chicken is done with onion-leek/celery/potato/carrot as "aromatics"
when the carcass simmer is done, I toss the veggies - they've given their all....
a rotisserie chicken typically does not need much additional seasoning.

prep is cooled, refrigerated. if the pot is 'all gelatin' you know you've got really really superb tasty basis for chicken-noodle-soup.....

on day 2, I gently reheat the pot - pull out all the big pieces and hand strip the meat from the carcass - tossing the 'been there, done been exploited' bones.

that stock gets gently reheated - with fresh onion/leek/carrot/celery/potato -
it's a 'clean out the fridge' deal - broccoli, cauliflower, green beans . . . any veggies looking for a home....

as it all goes tender, add the sliced/diced/saved chicken meat and bring to an active simmer - add (uncooked) pasta-of-choice, continue hard simmer for 12-15 minutes to do the pasta, and serve.
 
Every time we have chicken, I save the bones in the freezer. I'll have some uncooked bones, bones from roast chicken and bones from pan fried thighs. When it's stock making time, I dust off the twenty-quart stock pot and toss in mirepoix, a head of garlic, peppercorns and the accumulated bones. No salt. I add water and start the cooking process. I'll simmer the pot for 5-6 hours then use a spider to remove the solids. Then I strain the stock and cool it down enough to refrigerate overnight. The next day I remove the layer of fat on the top and portion the chicken jell-o into quart ziplock bags for freezing.
 
I cooked a whole chicken for chicken soup. It was partly because I had a frozen chicken and didn't want a "rock" that large sitting in my fridge until it defrosted. So, I cooked it from frozen and that could only be done easily by cooking the whole bird. It worked well.
 
caseydog said:
I cook my pasta in the soup. Like Andy said, it absorbs some flavor while it simmers.

View attachment 70953

CD
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The first thought that popped into my mind, when I saw that picture was, "That picture is out of a magazine." Then, I remembered, CD is pro photographer. I expect he can take a picture that looks that good.
 
Ok. I gave it a try. I made a few mistakes, but it was pretty good even so. So, I'll probably try again.

The biggest mistake was too much pasta. The next was adding the potatoes with the carrots. By the time the carrots were edible, the potatoes were pretty much mush.

Is there a really good chicken soup recipe for a kitchen klutz that someone can provide a link for?

Thanks
 
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