Chicken Noodle Soup
By America's Test KitchenPublished on December 22, 2011
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Broth
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped3 quarts water 2 bay leaves 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine1 carrot, sliced thin1 rib celery, halved lengthwise, then sliced thin2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves 6 ounces wide egg noodles ¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves Salt and pepperBefore You Begin
The thighs are used to flavor the broth; once the broth is strained, shred the thigh meat and reserve it for a salad or pot pie. If you prefer dark meat in your soup, you can omit the chicken breasts and add the shredded thigh meat to the soup instead.
Instructions
- For the broth: Pat thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Cook half of thighs skin side down until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Turn thighs and lightly brown second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to strainer-lined large bowl. Repeat with remaining thighs and transfer to strainer; discard fat in bowl. Pour off fat from pot, add onion, and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, remove and discard skin from thighs. Add thighs, water, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon salt to pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add chicken breasts and continue simmering until broth is rich and flavorful, about 15 minutes.
- Strain broth into large container, let stand at least 10 minutes, then remove fat from surface. Meanwhile, transfer chicken to cutting board to cool. Once cooled, remove thigh meat from bones, shred, and reserve for another use (can refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month). Shred breast meat and reserve for soup.
- For the soup: Heat oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until onion has softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in thyme and broth and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add noodles and shredded breast meat and simmer until noodles are just tender, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve.
- The broth (and shredded breast meat) for this soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month before being used to make soup. To avoid soggy noodles and vegetables, finish the soup (step 3 in the recipe) just before you plan on serving it.
make ahead
Yield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Broth
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, sliced thin
1 rib celery, halved lengthwise, then sliced thin
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
6 ounces wide egg noodles
¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Broth
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, sliced thin
1 rib celery, halved lengthwise, then sliced thin
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
6 ounces wide egg noodles
¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Broth
12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 quarts water
2 bay leaves
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 carrot, sliced thin
1 rib celery, halved lengthwise, then sliced thin
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
6 ounces wide egg noodles
¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Canned broth wouldn’t lend enough flavor to our Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, so we made our own broth from browned chicken thighs. It took only a few minutes but was packed with flavor. We then cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the broth, which improved the flavor of both recipe components. To keep our Chicken Noodle Soup from tasting too greasy, we made sure to remove the fat from the broth before serving.
Before You Begin
The thighs are used to flavor the broth; once the broth is strained, shred the thigh meat and reserve it for a salad or pot pie. If you prefer dark meat in your soup, you can omit the chicken breasts and add the shredded thigh meat to the soup instead.
Instructions
- For the broth: Pat thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Cook half of thighs skin side down until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Turn thighs and lightly brown second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to strainer-lined large bowl. Repeat with remaining thighs and transfer to strainer; discard fat in bowl. Pour off fat from pot, add onion, and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, remove and discard skin from thighs. Add thighs, water, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon salt to pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add chicken breasts and continue simmering until broth is rich and flavorful, about 15 minutes.
- Strain broth into large container, let stand at least 10 minutes, then remove fat from surface. Meanwhile, transfer chicken to cutting board to cool. Once cooled, remove thigh meat from bones, shred, and reserve for another use (can refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month). Shred breast meat and reserve for soup.
- For the soup: Heat oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until onion has softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in thyme and broth and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add noodles and shredded breast meat and simmer until noodles are just tender, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve.
- The broth (and shredded breast meat) for this soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month before being used to make soup. To avoid soggy noodles and vegetables, finish the soup (step 3 in the recipe) just before you plan on serving it.
make ahead
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