My latest chicken broth & soup recipe produced the huge amount of very flavorful broth I was hoping for. My younger son and I have some kind of bacterial infection this week that’s been making us woozy and weak, plus Ari’s throat has been paining him like crazy so plenty of healing broth is exactly what we need. I have recently been scraping the bottom of my store of frozen chicken broth for cooking too, so I’d like to replenish it. Here’s how I got both:
Ingredients
5 good sized leg-thigh-back combos, separated (by the butcher this time, who did a fabulous job)
1/2 lb. really bony oxtail, sliced into 1″ chunks
3 chicken backs
1 lb chicken hearts
1 lb chicken gizzards
1/2 lb chicken liver
2 medium zucchini (would have liked 3 or 4) cut large chunks
2 ears corn separated into 3 pieces
5-7 medium carrots cut medium chunks
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch cilantro
8 leaves cilantrón (cimarron)
plenty of cut ginger
1 bunch scallions
plenty of rice wine
sea salt
ground white pepper
(optional) potatoes
Instructions
In about 6 quarts of cold water put chicken back pieces to boil. Remove foam as it appears and when foam has diminished, add the oxtail, garlic, ginger, cilantro, cilantrón, 3 scallions and a splash of wine. Cook for about two hours, removing chicken parts before they fall apart. Skim fat from broth.
Add 2 more scallions, ginger, wine and 2-3 quarts of water and bring liquid to a rapid boil over high flame, then add chicken legs and thighs and let boil vigorously until steam comes streaming out of pot on various sides. Turn off flame completely and cook 30-35 minutes until done. Do not uncover pot! Test for doneness by cutting a thigh near the bone. If liquid runs red, the chicken needs a little more time. Legs will cook before thighs. Remove chicken pieces and oxtail bones and let cool. Remove other solids and discard. At this point, remove and store the broth you want for cooking. If it’s late at night, feel free to refrigerate meat, elevate pot so it’s away from the heat of the pilot lights and continue cooking the next day. Or refrigerate the stock.
Start with a clean pot and your broth. Add about 2 quarts water to make a total of 6-7 quarts. Add chicken hearts, gizzards and liver. Remove foam as it occurs and when foam subsides add 3 scallions, ginger, wine, carrots and corn. When soup boils reduce flame to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Cut up cooked chicken thighs into cubes. Add zucchini, cook for 20 minutes, then add chicken thighs and cooked oxtail chunks and turn up flame to medium. When the thighs are warmed through the soup is ready. Serve hot.
Yield: About 8 quarts of soup