I Can't Believe How Much Less Sodium Is In Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Try this I Can't Believe How Much Less Sodium Is In Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this I Can't Believe How Much Less Sodium Is In Homemade Cream of Chicken 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 recipe (0g)
- Sodium 0 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour (1 tablespoon for cream of chicken, 2 for cream of mushroom or for extra thick cream of chicken). Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and bubbly, making a roux.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and slowly add in chicken broth and milk, whisking continuously. Whisk until combined, then return to the heat. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. Salt and pepper to taste.
- If you are making Cream of Mushroom, follow the instructions above, and add an additional tablespoon of flour, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, and 1 1/4 cups of diced mushrooms.
Unsalted butter provides the essential fat matrix required to cook out the raw starch flavor of all-purpose flour during the initial roux stage. Whisking continuously over medium-low heat prevents scorching while the butter and flour bind together into a bubbling paste. Control over this foundational step dictates whether the final soup possesses a velvety mouthfeel or a pasty consistency. Adding cold liquids slowly into a hot roux prevents lump formation by allowing the starch granules to hydrate gradually rather than clumping all at once.
Judging Doneness Without a Thermometer
Visual and textural cues replace temperature checks when determining when the sauce has achieved readiness. Simmering the mixture for five to ten minutes activates the thickening properties of the wheat starch fully. Coating the back of a spoon provides the most reliable test for viscosity: draw a clean line through the sauce with a finger, and if the path holds its shape without immediately running back together, the suspension has reached proper thickness. Whisking constantly during this simmering phase ensures even heat distribution across the bottom of the saucepan. Remember that residual heat causes starches to tighten further as the pot cools off the burner.
- Thin spots appearing during the simmer indicate insufficient whisking; increase agitation immediately.
- A greasy sheen on the surface means the fat-to-flour ratio was unbalanced; whisk in an extra half-teaspoon of flour slurry to emulsify.
- Raw flour aroma lingering after eight minutes of simmering signals incomplete cooking; extend the simmer time by two minutes.
