SERIES: soup broth & techniques for better soup
If your goal is to create a rich, deeply flavorful soup, know that a soup is only as good as it’s broth. Broth can be made in advance and stored in the freezer to make soup a quick and convenient weeknight meal. But a good broth does take some time. If you can learn only one new thing to transform the flavor of your soups, I’d focus on broth. In this post, I’ll share a broth recipe I’ve been using lately that is wonderful.
Before we dive into broth, here are some other ideas or techniques you can use in different applications of soup making:
- Season throughout each step. Ever make a batch of soup that you’re proud of only to serve it and it tastes under seasoned? A thousand times yes! This is easy to fix by adding salt and pepper to your bowl, however seasoning along the way allows the salt to really take shape with the dish. So anytime you’re sautéing vegetables or roasting bones, be sure to liberally season with salt. It’ll be hard to over season – remember, you’re adding a lot of water to create the stock.
- Onions are a great ingredient. You can sweat them slowly to develop sweetness or brown for a deeper, toastier backbone to your soup (think caramelized onions).
- Sear, saute, or roast first. With soup, it’s tempting to just throw everything into the pot to cook. You can do that with some things, but don’t do it with everything. Boiling typically doesn’t bring out the best flavor/texture of ingredients. Onions are a great example – you may want to sweat or brown first instead of just throwing raw onion into the soup pot.
- Deploy the parmesan rind. If you’re making any sort of an Italian style soup (i.e. Italian wedding, minestrone, etc.), keep your parmesan rinds in the freezer for these occasions. Adding a 3-4” piece or two of rind will add a ton of flavor to your broth. Just be sure that the rind is from Parmesan Reggiano only.
- Sofrito. I have not used this technique much yet, however you can develop a ton of flavor with it. It’s typically a combination of onion, garlic, and tomatoes, diced very finely and sweated down very slowly in lots of olive oil to develop sweetness and flavor.
Returning to the broth. You can make vegetable, beef, and other stocks like fish or seafood. But most of us will find chicken stock the most versatile and useful to have on hand. The goal in making chicken stock is to transform chicken wings into a full-bodied, deep amber stock. In order to accomplish this, you’ll need to brown chicken wings or other bones/joints with lots of collagen by roasting them in the oven for 50-60 minutes. This recipe will take you through the process step by step.
Full-bodied, Deep Amber Roasted Chicken (or Turkey) Stock
This is the basis for a great soup or gravy! Do yourself a favor and take the time to create a rich, beautiful stock. It'll pay off in spades as you work to create a delicious brothy soup or pan gravy. It can be transferred to jars and frozen to have on hand when you need it.
Ingredients
- 4-5 LBS chicken (or turkey) wings
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped into 2" pieces
- 2 garlic heads, halved crosswise
- 2 large yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
- 3 celery stalks, chopped into 2" pieces
- Fresh herbs: thyme sprigs, oregano, or bay leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (see note if you're doing turkey wings and/or want to make a pan gravy immediately). Place wings on the paper, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Spread across the sheet to ensure their not touching each other. Season liberally with salt and pepper and then roast until deeply golden brown - at least 50 minutes. You'll need to flip them about halfway through.
Once golden brown, transfer to a large stock pot along with the remaining ingredients. Be sure to drain any pan drippings into the stock pot as well. Cover with water, season with salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer the stock until the wings are falling apart and the liquid is deeply colored - at a minimum 3 hours, but if you have the time, let it simmer all day.
Using the tongs, remove the wings and set aside in a bowl. You can use this meat if you'd like in a soup or otherwise. Strain the stock through a fine strainer and transfer to your storage container of choice. It can last in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Beyond that, you should freeze it for later use.
Notes
Gravy Note: If you're using turkey wings and/or want to make a pan gravy immediately, place the wings on the sheet pan directly (don't use parchment paper). Once the wings are done roasting, you can use the pan drippings and bits to make a gravy directly on the sheet pan or transfer to another gravy pan.
Inspired by: Claire Siffitz and Alison Roman, both courtesy of Bon Appetit