ben was working out of town for the past two weeks. cooking for one just isn’t that exciting, but i didn’t want to fall into an infinite takeout trap. and the cold weather was calling for soup. so i went to Whole Foods and bought a whole roasting chicken and some vegetables. i had made some leftover chicken bones into stock recently, and had been reading about the difference between stock and broth. a lot of internet sources will tell you that they’re the same or interchangeable, and that most commercially available stocks really are more like broths, but going back to the old standard – Joy of Cooking* – was helpful on this one. the actual difference is that stock is made by boiling the bones until the collagen breaks down, which gives the full-bodied mouth feel of a stock. a broth is made primarily from the meat, and is cooked for less time, so that the end product is thinner — still flavorful, but thinner. contrary to the internet’s popular opinion, Joy of Cooking recommended broths for clear soups, and stocks for fuller-bodied applications (for cooking grains, in cream-based sauces and gravy). this made sense because i’ve made chicken soup once or twice before from homemade stock, and my experience was that it always tasted sort of greasy in an unpleasant way. armed with this knowledge, i left last weekend’s stock in the freezer for future risotto adventures, and set about making broth.

i used Smitten Kitchen’s Chicken Noodle Soup as an initial guide, but her obvious lack of enthusiasm for making soup encouraged me to strike out on my own quickly. Joy of Cooking* provided the background knowledge on broth and stock, and this was a useful source on shredded chicken.

i unwrapped the chicken and set it on the cutting board before me. i’ve roasted whole chickens before, but that basically just requires unwrapping, seasoning and popping it in the oven. i’d never cut up a whole chicken before. at the store i had hesitated — buying a package of chicken parts would be so much easier — but a whole organic chicken cost $2.99 per lb, and a package of chicken parts cost $6.99 per lb. economy won out. i realized i had no idea how to cut up a chicken, and the task made me a bit queasy. i reminded myself that if i am going to eat meat then i’d bloody well better be willing to reconcile the actual animal with the finished food product. i dove in, and it was almost immediately apparent i had no idea what i was doing. thankfully, this video saved the day.

chicken broth:
– a whole roasting chicken (preferably organic)
– 2 Tbs butter or olive oil
– 1 carrot, roughly chopped
– 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
– 1/2 yellow or white onion, roughly chopped
– 2 bay leaves
– handful of parsley
– teaspoon of black peppercorns
– water to fill the pot over the rest of the ingredients – tap is fine if yours tastes fairly neutral, spring water if yours has a strong taste

cut the chicken into parts. remove and discard the skin. discard the back (or reserve for making stock) and put the remaining pieces into a large cast iron skillet with the butter or oil. cook over medium high heat, flipping once until both sides are browned. don’t worry about getting it cooked through at this point. transfer to the largest stock pot you have with the remaining ingredients.

simmer for 25 minutes. when the chicken breasts reach 180 degrees (use a meat thermometer), remove the breasts. shred the meat and move to the fridge to chill. (i suppose that if you have a preference for dark meat you could harvest the dark meat and leave the breasts to flavor the broth instead).

continue to simmer the rest of the chicken and veggies. most broth-making instructions tell you to periodically skim the yuck that rises to the surface. i didn’t see a lot of yuck myself, so…just go with your gut on this one. after 2 hours, taste the broth and see if it has enough flavor. remember that you haven’t salted it at this point and we are accustomed to commercial broths being very salty, so if it tastes bland try adding a tiny pinch of salt to the spoonful you’re tasting. resist the temptation to simmer this pot for hours and hours like you would if you were making stock. the key is to get all the flavor of the meat and veggies, but NOT to break down the collagen in the bones.

when you’re happy with the flavor (mild is okay), discard all the solids and strain the broth. put it in the fridge to chill overnight and in the morning, remove it carefully without sloshing it too much. skim off any fat that has solidified and risen to the top. freeze for later use, or continue with the rest of the recipe below.

now here’s the fun part: this soup is infinitely customizable to individual tastes and preferences. the key to good fresh soup is to simmer the starch and the veggies in when you’re ready to eat, so that they don’t have hours or days to sit around getting mushy. the same night i made the broth, i washed and chopped a bunch of vegetables, stored them in tupperware, and then for the next four days when i came home from work i just had to put some broth into a small pot, heat it, add noodles, veggies and shredded chicken. vary the order and cooking time according to the ingredients’ cooking needs — some of the more delicate items can go in just before serving, if they don’t really need to cook (herbs, citrus, spinach), others that aren’t in danger of overcooking and can help flavor the broth and pasta (garlic, ginger, onions) can go in when you first start heating the broth. things like carrots and celery need about 3-4 minutes, unless you like them really mushy, in which case, boil away. or, in that case, just open a can of campbells and be done with it.

a couple of my favorite variations (in general, add the ingredients in the order listed):

classic chicken noodle:
– 2.5 cups broth
– shredded chicken meat
– whole wheat spiral pasta (wild rice or barley might work nicely here too)
– leeks
– carrots
– celery
– parsley

asian chicken soup:
– 2.5 cups broth
– finely chopped jalapeno
– grated ginger
– clove of garlic, pressed
– soba noodles
– mushrooms
– baby bok choy
– squeeze of lime

grown-up ramen:
– 2.5 cups broth
– clove of garlic, pressed
– carrots
– mushrooms
– ramen noodles
– mustard greens

*if you did not salt the broth while making it, then you’ll definitely need to salt the soup as you prepare it. start with 2-3 pinches of Maldon sea salt flakes (if you’re feeling fancy, or a shake or two of plain old table salt probably works too), taste and adjust.

this project cost approximately $30 in groceries (for organic everything; it could be done cheaper with conventional produce and poultry) and it made 8 dinner-sized bowls of soup (with plenty of vegetables left over for a few nights of stir-fry). the broth and chicken only keep for four days in the fridge, so i froze half of the broth and meat, and then defrosted them for four more meals the following week.

* Joy of Cooking is like the Great Aunt Bertha of cookbooks. It has sturdy, unfashionable walking shoes, old fashioned ideas about gender roles and conservative politics. It’s easy to write her off as no longer relevant. But if you sit down over a cup of coffee you’ll discover that there are generations of wisdom to be found.