Classic Chicken Soup
This soup is the absolute first thing I crave when I’m feeling under the weather, stressed, or just in need of something cozy and nourishing. Adding a bit of apple cider vinegar to the broth helps extract even more nutrients from the bones. You may be a little weirded out by the thick gelatinous broth when you pull it out of the fridge if you haven’t made a bone broth before, but know this is a sign that it’s the good stuff and it will thin out and taste delicious when warmed.
If you’re going to make this soup, it would be a great time to try buying high quality organic, pastured chicken. If you live in the Colorado Springs area, Mountain Mama is a great place to look, or during the summer, check out Pikes Peak Poultry at the farmer’s market.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken or 3-5 lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings, etc)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 large onions
A full head of garlic
Small bunch of celery
10 carrots
3 gold potatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
butter or oil
Instructions:
Place the chicken in a large pot and fully cover with water.
Remove 5 cloves from the head of garlic and save them for later. Slice the rest of the head of garlic in half horizontally and add to the pot along with the vinegar, 1 Tbsp salt, black pepper, 1 onion, halved, a few celery and carrot stalks, roughly chopped, and the herbs.
Bring to a boil and let simmer until the chicken is fully cooked (you can check it with a meat thermometer but it usually takes about 50 mins for a whole chicken and about 30-40 if using chicken parts.
When the chicken meat is fully cooked, remove it and let it cool. Continue to let the vegetables simmer in the pot.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove it from the bones. Save all the bones, cartilage, and skin and put them back in the pot. Set the meat aside, refrigerate if you will be letting your broth simmer for a while.
Let the bones simmer in the broth for at least another hour. You can let this broth pot boil all day if you have the time, the longer the better!
When you’re ready to strain the broth, pour it through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or another pot and set aside. You can save some broth to sip as a nourishing tonic.
Dice the other onion and mince the reserved cloves of garlic, chop the remaining carrots and celery and saute all the vegetables in a large pot with a few glugs of oil or butter for 5 minutes. Chop the potatoes and add them to the pot. Season with 2 tsp of salt and some more freshly ground black pepper.
Add the broth and feel free to add any other vegetables you have on hand. Green beans, hearty greens like kale or collards, sweet potato, or mushrooms are all delicious. Feel free to add water if the soup seems too thick. Cook until vegetables are soft.
Cut up the chicken meat that you saved from the broth into bite sized pieces, removing any remaining bones or gristly pieces.
Add the chicken to the soup. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper or any herbs of your choice if needed.
Serve with love and a slice of crusty bread!
