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When the arctic chill of winter gets the best of you, the best thing you can do is eat a bowl of chicken soup. Packed with nutrients and loaded with flavor, chicken soup can cure the common cold and even soothe the soul.
There are so many ways to make what is broadly known as chicken soup. It can be stock, broth, or consommé garnished with meat, vegetables, noodles, rice or dumplings. But in its most basic form, chicken soup is water, meat and bones simmered for maximum flavor.
Time-tested Technique
Begin with a large stock pot. The flavor comes from the meat and vegetables you put in the soup. You want to pack in as much as possible and cover with water. It is important to cook chicken soup over a low heat for a long time to get the most from the meat and bones. This will not only guarantee the best possible flavor, but also richer color.
The chicken you use should be at least 2.5 lbs. Be sure to rinse the chicken carefully, if using a whole bird, to ensure that no blood or additional residue will end up in your soup. If you prefer using a whole chicken already quartered or cut into eighths, that is perfectly fine. Some people like to use a bunch of wings and bottoms, since dark meat is a bit fattier and decidedly more flavorful. Whether you use a whole bird or chicken parts, you must use the skin. Without the skin, the soup will not have much depth of flavor or color. Fat always can be skimmed once the soup has been made. You may add the neck, but do not use the heart or liver, which is often found sealed in the cavity of a prepackaged chicken.
In addition to water, meat and bones, vegetables play a key role. The essential aromatic vegetables of onions, carrots and celery--officially referred to as mirepoix in the chef world--round out the flavor of the soup. Mirepoix is virtually always 50% onion, 25% carrot, 25% celery. The problem with many chicken soups and stocks is that they often have too much carrot or celery in relation to the onion. Too much carrot makes a soup sweet, even though it may enhance the color. Celery is a flavor that should not be identifiable on its own in meat broth. Make sure you use at least the same amount of onion as you do of carrot and celery combined.
Other vegetables are excellent additions. Parsnips and turnips are typical choices. Just be sure not to overdo it with the parsnips as they are even sweeter than carrots. Always use a mild, flavorful herb like flat leaf parsley and dill, especially at the end of the cooking process. The herbal flavor will brighten the soup and punctuate its homemade taste.
Jump in Feet First
The secret to exceptional soup: chicken feet. Please do not be discouraged by this seemingly strange and old fashioned ingredient. I assure you, it really does make the very best chicken soup. Feet are high in gelatin, which makes for a viscous stock. If you can add half a dozen chicken feet to your soup, it will dramatically strengthen the flavor and color of your broth.
Many cultures not only cook with chicken feet, but eat them as well. The Chinese still eat chicken feet in soup, in black bean sauce, fried or steamed. Filipino, Vietnamese, Hainanese, and Korean cultures also eat chicken feet. Traditional Jewish cuisine features chicken feet in soup. So many cultures made use of all parts of the chicken, wasting nothing due to poverty and limited food supply. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.
You probably do not find chicken feet next to the prepackaged chicken in your local grocery store. Ask the butcher to order some for you. They are very inexpensive and easy for the butcher to obtain. In some cases, a butcher will gladly give you half a dozen feet on the house.
The following chicken soup recipe is sure to become your new standard for this homemade classic.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/lauren-braun-costello/230-chicken-soup/
Chicken Soup for the Ages
When the arctic chill of winter gets the best of you, the best thing you can do is eat a bowl of chicken soup. Packed with nutrients and loaded with flavor, chicken soup can cure the common cold and even soothe the soul.
There are so many ways to make what is broadly known as chicken soup. It can be stock, broth, or consommé garnished with meat, vegetables, noodles, rice or dumplings. But in its most basic form, chicken soup is water, meat and bones simmered for maximum flavor.
Time-tested Technique
Begin with a large stock pot. The flavor comes from the meat and vegetables you put in the soup. You want to pack in as much as possible and cover with water. It is important to cook chicken soup over a low heat for a long time to get the most from the meat and bones. This will not only guarantee the best possible flavor, but also richer color.
The chicken you use should be at least 2.5 lbs. Be sure to rinse the chicken carefully, if using a whole bird, to ensure that no blood or additional residue will end up in your soup. If you prefer using a whole chicken already quartered or cut into eighths, that is perfectly fine. Some people like to use a bunch of wings and bottoms, since dark meat is a bit fattier and decidedly more flavorful. Whether you use a whole bird or chicken parts, you must use the skin. Without the skin, the soup will not have much depth of flavor or color. Fat always can be skimmed once the soup has been made. You may add the neck, but do not use the heart or liver, which is often found sealed in the cavity of a prepackaged chicken.
In addition to water, meat and bones, vegetables play a key role. The essential aromatic vegetables of onions, carrots and celery--officially referred to as mirepoix in the chef world--round out the flavor of the soup. Mirepoix is virtually always 50% onion, 25% carrot, 25% celery. The problem with many chicken soups and stocks is that they often have too much carrot or celery in relation to the onion. Too much carrot makes a soup sweet, even though it may enhance the color. Celery is a flavor that should not be identifiable on its own in meat broth. Make sure you use at least the same amount of onion as you do of carrot and celery combined.
Other vegetables are excellent additions. Parsnips and turnips are typical choices. Just be sure not to overdo it with the parsnips as they are even sweeter than carrots. Always use a mild, flavorful herb like flat leaf parsley and dill, especially at the end of the cooking process. The herbal flavor will brighten the soup and punctuate its homemade taste.
Jump in Feet First
The secret to exceptional soup: chicken feet. Please do not be discouraged by this seemingly strange and old fashioned ingredient. I assure you, it really does make the very best chicken soup. Feet are high in gelatin, which makes for a viscous stock. If you can add half a dozen chicken feet to your soup, it will dramatically strengthen the flavor and color of your broth.
Many cultures not only cook with chicken feet, but eat them as well. The Chinese still eat chicken feet in soup, in black bean sauce, fried or steamed. Filipino, Vietnamese, Hainanese, and Korean cultures also eat chicken feet. Traditional Jewish cuisine features chicken feet in soup. So many cultures made use of all parts of the chicken, wasting nothing due to poverty and limited food supply. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.
You probably do not find chicken feet next to the prepackaged chicken in your local grocery store. Ask the butcher to order some for you. They are very inexpensive and easy for the butcher to obtain. In some cases, a butcher will gladly give you half a dozen feet on the house.
The following chicken soup recipe is sure to become your new standard for this homemade classic.
Lauren's Chicken Soup
Made with fresh dill, fresh parsley, whole chicken, chicken feet, water, onions, salt, carrots, celery, turnip
Made with fresh dill, fresh parsley, whole chicken, chicken feet, water, onions, salt, carrots, celery, turnip
Serves/Makes: 8
- 2 1/2 pounds whole chicken
- 8 chicken feet
- 4 quarts water
- 2 onions, sliced with skins on
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 turnip, peeled and quartered
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
- 1 bunch fresh dill
Rinse and clean the chicken thoroughly, inside and out. Discard or reserve for later use the heart and liver. Clean the feet, then chop off the toe nails and discard.
Combine chicken and trimmed feet in a large stock pot with all the onions and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, for 1.5 hours.
Add remaining ingredients except for dill. Cover and cook over low heat for one more hour.
Remove chicken and vegetables and strain soup. Add fresh dill and let stand for 30 minutes. Remove dill and chill soup covered overnight. The fat will come to the top of the soup and will be easy to skim with a spoon.
Reserve fat in the refrigerator for cooking as a flavorful alternative to butter or oil. Use chicken meat for salad. Save vegetables for garnish in the soup, or discard.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/lauren-braun-costello/230-chicken-soup/