Turkey or Chicken Noodle Soup

my 18-month-old enjoying the final product!

When I was expecting my first child over 8 years ago (!), I enrolled in a hypnobirthing class. One of the relaxation exercises our instructor walked us through was imagining a kitchen in full detail, complete with our favorite meal cooking on the stove or in the oven. The meal I imagined was chicken noodle soup on the stove, with bread cooking in the oven.

I was a little sickly as a child and teenager, suffering from asthma and recurrent sinus and respiratory infections. My mom would make this soup often when I was ill, and in addition to helping heal my body, it was a great comfort to my soul.

Though homemade chicken noodle soup is amazing, turkey noodle soup is out of this world. When we travel for Thanksgiving, we make sure to grill a turkey some other time in the winter, just for the carcass to use for stock. I swear, it's liquid gold.

simmering the stock

Homemade stock may sound intimidating. But I know you can do it! The more time you have, the more flavorful your stock will be, but a delicious chicken stock can be made in as little time as an hour, and it's mostly hands-off time. According to Alton Brown here, stock is made only with bones and broth is made from meat, so really this is a hybrid of both stock and broth. On years when I do cook a turkey on Thanksgiving, I almost anticipate the day after Thanksgiving more, when I simmer a huge pot of turkey stock for hours. The smell in my house is divine!

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Turkey or Chicken Noodle Soup (With Homemade Stock)

A chicken yields a dutch oven pot full of soup. A turkey will yield 2-3 times that amount of stock.

For the stock:

I usually use a carcass to make the stock--from a rotisserie chicken, or a grilled turkey--and then use meat I saved from the bird for the soup. With a chicken in particular you can use the entire raw bird to make the stock, and then shred some of the meat for the soup. Alternatively, you can use a collection of bone-in chicken pieces to make the stock. Mom often cooks everything but the breast meat for the broth and cooks the breast meat after the broth is completed and strained. That way the meat isn't overcooked or tasteless because all the flavor has cooked out (once the breast is cooked, pull it out and shred it before returning it to the soup for serving).

1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery rib
2 bay leaves
1 chicken carcass or 1 turkey carcass

Because a turkey carcass is usually much bigger, double the other ingredients.

Place carcass in a large pot. For chicken a dutch oven size is sufficient; for a turkey I use a large stock pot. Fill with water to cover the carcass by at least an inch--and more will result in more stock.

Quarter the onion, scrub the carrot, and wash the celery rib. Then add vegetables and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat until the stock simmers. Simmer for at least an hour, preferably several hours.

Remove and discard all of the solids from the stock (a spider makes this easy). On fat: sometimes a layer of fat is evident on the top of the stock. Often when I use a chicken carcass there's not much and I'm too lazy to remove it, but if you see a lot and would prefer to do without the fat, here's a few options. The easiest (and probably most time-effective) method is to use a fat separator. The fat rises to the top and you can pour off the liquid underneath. Another option is to use a ziploc bag. Place the stock into the bag and hold it still for a minute so the fat rises to the top. Then snip off a corner of the bag to release the stock, then pull the bag away once everything is out but the fat. And a third option: refrigerate the stock to solidify the fat. You can then spoon it off, being careful not to remove too much stock.

On storage: Stock freezes beautifully. I have used both mason jars and ziploc freezer bags. The gelatin in stock will turn it semi-solid in the fridge. Don't worry, it loosens right up as soon as you heat it.

For the soup:

These measurements are flexible; tailor them to your tastes.

~2 quarts stock
3-4 carrots
3 celery stalks
a few celery leaves, optional
4 handfuls egg noodles
1 1/2 -2 c cooked chicken, cubed or shredded into bite-sized pieces
3/4 teas thyme
3/4 teas rosemary, crushed

Bring stock to a boil. Peel and slice carrots; wash and slice the celery. Add 1 teas salt and vegetables and cook until crisp-tender, about 12 minutes at my altitude. I usually add the chicken at this point, but it doesn't really matter when you add it, just that you do!

Then add egg noodles and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the noodles are tender. Add thyme and rosemary. If you're sick, make sure you stand over the simmering soup and breathe in the fragrant steam. Place in bowls and serve with crusty bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.