Chicken soup never tastes good and is cloudy

amother

Sienna

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 6:32 pm

amother Aqua wrote:

Not sure if you're refering to me, but when I wrote 'pour out' I meant that once it's ready I pour it into smaller containers, I generally divide it into two weeks. And in order to keep it clear, I pour the soup out from the pot, rather than first removing the chicken and veg.

She was referring to one of the first posters who says she literally pours out the water, throws it out, and starts anew.

amother

Seablue

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 6:46 pm

I'm finding this so interesting. I believe mine isn't cloudy, but I never consciously did anything to achieve that.

I boil (~10 qt) water, add 4 thighs with skin (each in a separate mesh bag), once it reaches a boil, I turn down to simmer (so water won't boil down too much, but if it does, just add water to reconstitute), after an hour I add my spices (I'm very simple: 2 Tbsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp pepper), and simmer another hour at least.

If it's night, I'll put away and then in the morning I siphon some off to freeze (with some of the thighs). (If it's Friday, I'll just siphon off while hot.)

Then I add my veggies for the last few hours before Shabbos. (I personally use parsnip, carrots, and sweet potato [in a bag so it doesn't go all over] to add that yummy naturally sweet flavor, and often a zucchini. Yes, no dill, no celery, no onion -though I use the powder. Alert the authorities.)

amother

Amaryllis

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 8:48 pm

amother Sienna wrote:

She was referring to one of the first posters who says she literally pours out the water, throws it out, and starts anew.

Lol. I believe that poster would be me. As is clear from this thread there is no one right way to make a delicious chicken soup. Regarding discarding the water, in my experience that is way quicker than standing there skimming and no, the taste is not compromised What

amother

Carnation

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 1:58 pm

doodlesmom wrote:

I believe boiling the chicken first and getting rid of the water means you’re getting rid of the best flavors!
There is no reason to do that.
Just put the chicken in when the water is hot and simmer for hours.
Putting in a beet makes it the most beautiful golden color once boiled! Try it!

I use carrots, parsnip, celery, beet,squash, sweet potato and salt with 4 bottoms to 10 qts. Probably 4 tbs salt.

I was just about to ask this question when I saw this post!

I was wondering if its my imagination but I tried it today. I cooked the carcasses and drained off the water and then added fresh water with carcasses and veg and I got a clear soup but I was wondering if its real but there was flavour lacking.

however much more "dirt" comes out this way so by boiling the water first and then adding it all is more "dirt" staying in the soup or is this "dirt" really good?

I used to boil the water with everything in it and got loads of scum which I removed.
now I boil the water and when its boiling add everything, bring to the boil again and remove scum but its much less scum - so is it good or not good? whats giving the flavour here?

amother

Seablue

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 4:00 pm

amother Carnation wrote:

The water from the first boil will have the most flavor, so I do not recommend pouring it off. I use thighs in mesh bags and don’t have scum. I do have some fat (schmaltz), which I could technically remove, but it adds flavor, so I leave it. My broth is golden and clear of nasty floating stuff.

amother

Carnation

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 4:36 pm

amother Seablue wrote:

do you bring it to a boil with everything in it or do you first boil the water and then add everything?

does it matter in flavour how you bring it to the boil?

amother

Seablue

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 5:03 pm

amother Carnation wrote:

do you bring it to a boil with everything in it or do you first boil the water and then add everything?

does it matter in flavour how you bring it to the boil?

I posted my total method upthread, but to answer your question, I boil the water, add the chicken (in mesh bags, each thigh gets its own), bring to another boil, then turn down to a simmer for an hour, add spices and continue to simmer for another hour. I add the vegetables 2-3 hours for Shabbos, but choose ones that give a deep flavor (carrot, parsnip, and sweet potato).

amother

Lightgray

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 6:14 pm

amother Seablue wrote:

I don't put the chicken (bottoms) in a mesh bag, but I put the chicken in last, right on top of the mesh bag containing the vegetables to be discarded, and I find that the mesh catches most of the scum. I once did the chicken on the bottom, and the soup came out really "dirty ".

amother

Seablue

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 6:21 pm

amother Lightgray wrote:

Interesting. I don't discard my veggies 😉 but I only serve the chicken to those who want it, so it helps with borer, etc. And then I don't have anything floating around (since I keep skin and everything on)

amother

Lightgray

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 6:57 pm

amother Seablue wrote:

Don't worry I don't discard all veggies. Only those I know won't be eaten (parsnip, onion etc)

amother

Bellflower

Tue, Jan 24 2023, 9:52 pm

amother Seablue wrote:

I've never heard of anyone doing that. It cooks when you boil it.

But doesn't the chicken meat look pale if you boil it directly? Trying to learn, the only time I dared make chicken soup it was a cloudy mess!

amother

Carnation

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 1:32 am

amother Seablue wrote:

what do you mean you add the veggies 2-3 hrs?

why dont you put it in right away together with the chicken?

amother

Carnation

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 1:32 am

amother Lightgray wrote:

why dont you put the chicken into msh bags?

amother

Seablue

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 4:30 am

amother Bellflower wrote:

But doesn't the chicken meat look pale if you boil it directly? Trying to learn, the only time I dared make chicken soup it was a cloudy mess!

The soup chicken isn't about presentation (at least for me). We serve other chicken on Shabbos. So by using the water it originally cooks in, you get all the yummy flavor. And for the people who want chicken in their soup, I remove a bag (with a bit of broth for borer reasons), and pull out some of the edible parts to serve. I've never had any complaints about the chicken's presentation lol.

amother

Seablue

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 4:39 am

amother Carnation wrote:

what do you mean you add the veggies 2-3 hrs?

why dont you put it in right away together with the chicken?

Two (connected) reasons. I make a larger pot than I need, so I freeze some broth with chicken in the mesh bags but without the veggies, since the veggies I use don't freeze well in my experience/opinion. (Celery and onion might be fine, for example, but I don't use those.)

I also end up cooking the chicken in the broth for nearly 6-ish hours (a few hours before I add veggies, plus a few hours with veggies), which I think is not only unnecessary for the veggies, but can be a bit much and make them softer than I want/need.

So I cook the broth, cool overnight (if time), freeze some, and then put it up a few hours before Shabbos with the veggies. When I use my frozen batches, I defrost them and just add fresh veggies a few hours before Shabbos.