My family is greek. By that I mean my grandfather came over on the boat with his parents when he was a boy in the early 1900s. One of the traditions they brought with them... is Greek Soup. I suppose the real name is something like Chicken Soup Avgolemono or something... but we just call it Greek Soup.
This recipe is how my grandmother made it. And thus... I conclude that it is the correct way.
In a large stockpot.. about a third full of water and a good pinch of sale... bring 6 chicken legs to a boil. If you prefer white meat... that's fine. Preferably though you'd leave the skin on. personally I think the best option is to just chuck a whole damned chicken in the pot.
Turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes pull the chicken and whatever veggies you added out of the stock. Keep veggies and meat separate. Salt and pepper the chicken and set aside.
Add 2 cups of long grain rice to the stock. cook over medium heat until groovy.
Now whip 6 eggs until firm. Now pour the eggs into the rice and broth slowly while stirring... so it will cook without getting all gooey.
Add lemon juice to taste. Generally folks add at least the juice from one lemon. As much as a cup to a cup and a half.
The chicken is either served with the soup on the side or in the soup... up to you. I prefer to shred it and serve it in the soup.
And yes... I'm making some right now.
16 comments:
That soup is one of the wonders of the world in my opinion, followed by beef barley mushroom soup and chicken soup with either dumplings or preferably homemade noodles and lastly minestrone.
Funny you mention soup though. I just yesterday made a big pot of my homemade roasted red pepper tomato soup. Freezes well, excellent with sandwiches and I haven't bought a can of tomato soup in several years now.
The late James Beard used to say that the way to tell a good cook is by the pot of soup they made. I find that to be true.
I might just have to give this a try, since it's chicken butchering season at Casa rycamor right now.
BTW, I tried a somewhat Kosher slaughtering method this time. Normally I would just hang each bird, drain the blood, scald, pluck, disembowel, wash and then pack it in ice right away, but I was disappointed in the toughness .
Kosher methods include a half hour of soaking at room temperature, then packing in salt for a half hour (apparently to help pull out any remaining blood), and then washing it twice more before cooking or freezing. Verdict: meat is nice and tender! Apparently keeping it at room temperature for awhile helps the muscles to relax, and while I thought the salting would dry it out, such was not the case.
rycamor
I have a couple of cookbooks by authors who swear that brining your poultry for 12 to 24 hours before cooking is a great way to add moisture to the poultry and make it more tender.
Of course the brining is done in the refrigerator. I haven't tried it yet only because I don't have the fridge space.
Looks fabulous. My grandma used to make the most amazing chicken noodle soup, home made noodles and all.....
I made a double batch. It's very good, but I coulda put a little more lemon in it.
I used chicken thighs, the dark meat tastes better i think.
ajw308
You almost have to put in what could be considered by many to be too much lemon.
Just remember the good cook's rule, add a little, then taste, add a little then taste.
You can always add more, but you can't take out.
Susan, Thanks for the advice. It needs salt too, but that's a easy fix.
OT: Hilarious
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362837/Trayvoning-latest-disturbing-social-media-trend.html?ICO=most_read_module
Can we perhaps post some Trayvoning pics for the next ATF show?
Dead morons?
Susan: "Of course the brining is done in the refrigerator. I haven't tried it yet only because I don't have the fridge space."
Another way to do this if you don't have the space -- especially with turkey -- is to use a plastic tote (such as Rubbermaid makes) or picnic cooler, fill it with cold water (plus salt and whatever spices you wish), then add ice cubes to keep it cold. Put the lid on tight and set it aside in a cool space. Check the temperature periodically and add more ice as needed.
Our Thanksgiving turkey sits like this for about 24 hours before cooking, and we've never had any problems with it.
Nate, How are you coming on the epub file for the inflation vs deflation
Do you kill the chicken before putting it in the pot?
I am sucking on it Ciphra.
This sounds great! Thanks for posting. I'll try it as soon as the temperature dips below "Hell" here.
dammit. Quit messing around with your $54M money transfers. There is important work to be done!
Question is, when the DC vultures get through, how much of the $54mil is going to actually be left? I suspect some big tax hits coming for somebody. This gang may even invent a few under the, you know, just because they can clause.
Waterboy:
Thanks for the reminder. I actually knew about that technique, but I totally spaced it. Again, thanks for the reminder!
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