Soups and stews were extremely popular foods in the American past. They can be made with a variety of types of bones -- whatever was available. Chickens were commonly-kept livestock and reproduced quickly. Stews and soups were warm and filling, could be stretched to feed a crowd, and made with minimal ingredients if necessary.
Step 1: Put in chicken & water. |
Put a chicken, whole or cut up, into 4 quarts of water in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil. then turn it down to a simmer. That's it: chicken in water.
I usually let it go about an hour to an hour and a half. The historical cook would probably go chop firewood or begin another load of handwashed laundry. But you can put on an episode of Law and Order.
Step 2: Skim off the foam. |
After the hour and change has transpired, remove the chicken from the pot, and keep the broth simmering. With two forks, shred the chicken into a bowl. You won't have to work very hard to get the meat off. (I am not showing a picture of the carcass-y broth at this stage. This blog has some dignity.) This is also the stage where any pets around you will start to lose their ever-loving minds.
Step 3: Profit. No, wait. Taste. |
More Law and Order? Don't mind if I do!
After that's done, turn off the pot. Note: you can let it go for more than an hour. It'll boil down and get thicker. Here's where we'll diverge from the historical recipe. Past cooks would allow a fat layer to form and solidify at the top. This would let the broth last longer, if they weren't making a soup right away. They'd simply peel back the fat layer, take some of the broth, and set the fat back down. This protected the broth from bacteria. But, because we're hungry and because we have refrigerators and freezers, this isn't strictly necessary. Be sure to strain carefully so no small bones remain.
The ingredients of your broth are chicken, water, and perhaps a few peppercorns. But it tastes pretty darn good! There's also a ton of it -- people in the past weren't making soup for one! You can season the broth -- turmeric, white pepper, parsley, thyme, sage, and garlic salt are all good choices. You can add the shredded chicken back to it with some carrots, celery and pasta, give it a quick simmer and have a traditional chicken noodle soup. You can use it as a base for other soups, for braising vegetables and other meats, or you can freeze it in Ziplock bags or tupperware for use later, like when you're sick and hungry for comfort food. Or you can just invite everyone over for a historical meal!
If you try the recipe, leave a review in the comments! And I promise the next recipe will be bone-free and vegetarian. *No Donners were harmed in the making of this meal.*