Try this Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (0g)
- Sodium 36.335625 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Place your chicken in a large pot and fill with water until chicken is covered. I use an 8 quart pot.
- Add bouillon cubes, garlic salt (add more or less to taste) and parsley. I use parsley flakes. I've never measured it out but I sprinkle enough to make a thin layer on the top of the water and then give it a stir.
- Boil chicken and spices for 2 hours, until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
- Once chicken is done, turn the heat off, remove the entire chicken and place it in a large bowl in the fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes.
- While chicken is cooling, skim through your broth to make sure it is clean. I also add 2 or 3 more cups of water and simmer on low so it keeps the flavor.
- When your chicken is cool, pull all of the meat off (it will be falling off of the bone) and place it in the pot with the broth.
- Bring to a boil, add your noddles slowly and cook until noodles are tender.
Extracting Collagen for Body
Simmering a whole bird in water transforms connective tissue into gelatin, providing body and viscosity to the resulting liquid. Maintaining a gentle rolling boil for the full two-hour duration ensures that heat energy breaks down collagen molecules into soluble gelatin, altering the mouthfeel of the water from thin to rich. While whole thawed poultry provides adequate bones and skin for this process, adding extra bouillon cubes compensates for diluted sodium levels when adjusting the liquid volume later.
Managing Temperature During Meat Extraction
Transferring the hot bird to a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes rapidly drops the internal temperature, solidifying surface fats and making the flesh safe and comfortable to handle with bare hands. Pulling the meat from the bone while warm prevents the muscle fibers from tightening further, yielding tender chunks that integrate uniformly into the pot. Skimming the broth surface during this cooling window removes floating impurities, resulting in a visually clear base before the starch goes in.
Controlling Starch Release
Adding fine noodles to a rolling boil initiates gelatinization of the wheat starches, which requires active movement to prevent the strands from clumping together at the bottom of an eight-quart vessel. Introducing the dry pasta slowly maintains thermal equilibrium so the liquid never drops below 200 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping cooking times predictable. Monitoring the pasta closely prevents over-softening, ensuring each strand retains a firm structural bite against the rich broth.
