Chicken Soup

This Chicken Soup recipe is Kaufmann 1 approved and will feed a moderately sized family. We also have several other Kaufmann 1 soup recipes that can be found here.

Ingredients:

4 to 5 lb whole chicken (cleaned & patted dry)
2 bay leaves
4 large garlic cloves
2 pieces of kombu (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 (32 oz) boxes of chicken stock (divided)
1 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
1 bundle of celery (chopped)
1 to 1½ lbs carrots (chopped)

Directions:

Place chicken in a large stock pot. Add bay leaves, garlic, kombu, salt and pepper. Pour in chicken stock until just covered (about 2 boxes).

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a medium simmer, covered, for 1½ to 2 hours or until chicken is done and falling off the bones. Check from time to time adding more stock as needed.

In another large pot or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sauté over medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add remaining stock to vegetables until they are fully covered and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Strain remaining broth into a 6 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining vegetables and broth to the slow cooker.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from the bones (discarding bones and skin). Chop or shred chicken into bite sized pieces and add to slow cooker.

Put the slow cooker on low and let the chicken soup cook for 2 to 4 hours to let flavors meld together.

Season the chicken soup with more salt and pepper to taste.