The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup

00:00 Intro
01:00 7 Secrets to Perfection
01:55 Blond vs Brown Chicken Stock
02:45 Best Parts of Chicken for Stock
03:36 Why Salt Ahead?
04:50 Making the Stock
08:30 Making the Sofrito
11:31 Straining the Stock
12:31 Making the Noodles
17:36 Finishing the Soup

The Stock
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How to cut up and salt a chicken:    • Chicken Breakdown and Salting (Whole ...  

2 legs, 2 wings, and the back of 1 chicken (or 4 legs)
Salt
2 quarts (2 liters) of water (or enough to cover the chicken by about 2 inches / 5cm)
1 celery rib, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 yellow onions, sliced
1 bay leaf
A handful of thyme and parsley sprigs
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns

Salt the chicken parts a day before making the stock. Cover with water. Put on a lid and bring to almost a boil. Uncover and bring to a full boil. Immediately turn down the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Skim the foam. Add all the aromatics and cook for 1.5 hours. Remove the chicken from the stock. Separate the meat, cover, and reserve (if possible refrigerate until the next day). Return all the bones, skin, and cartilage to the pot and simmer gently for another 1.5 hours.

The sofrito
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6 medium tomatillos, husks and cores removed
3 Tbsp of butter or chicken fat skimmed from the stock or olive oil
1 celery rib, finely diced
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced

Put the tomatillos on a foil lined baking sheet and cook under the broiler until burnt, 5-10 min. Flip and cook until burnt on the other side. Let cool.

Set a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the celery, onion, and a generous pinch of salt. Stir, cover and cook until the onions start to turn translucent, 5-10 min. Uncover and continue to cook stirring occasionally until vegetables are very tender and golden brown, about 10 min. Add the garlic, a pinch of salt, and cook until jammy, 5-10 min. Peel the tomatillos and add them to the pot with all their juices. Add a pinch of salt. Break them up and cook until thick. Taste and correct seasoning. They should be very intensely sour and salty.

The soup
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1 carrot, chopped
Strain the stock into the sofrito and season with salt to taste. Bring to a simmer. Add the carrot and cook until tender, about 20 min. Take off heat and if possible let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until the next day.

To rewarm, bring the soup to a simmer and take off heat. Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the soup for 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls on top of cooked noodles coated in butter (recipe follows). Top with dill and/or cilantro.

Fresh noodles
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300g bread flour (unbleached all-purpose is fine in a pinch)
1 large egg + 1 large yolk + enough cold water to get 185g* of wet ingredients
5.7g salt (1 tsp table salt or 2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or weighed for all other salt types)
* This assumes very low humidity. For wetter climates, decrease to 175g.

Put the flour, then the wet ingredients, then salt into the food processor. Run it until no dry flour remains. Get all the dough clumps out onto a work surface and knead for 8 min by hand.
How to knead pasta dough:    • How to Make Egg Pasta (an in-depth gu...  

If your dough sticks after the first minute of kneading, add more flour. Dust with flour, wrap in plastic, and let rest for 1 to 6 hours at room temperature. Roll out as shown in the video (if using a pasta roller, stop at the 5th setting to keep them slightly chubby). Dry until no longer tacky, but still pliable. Mix rice flour and cornstarch for sprinkling the pasta sheets to reduce sticking during cutting and storage. Cut as shown in the video. If you want to freeze them for future use, put into large zip lock bags in a very thin layer and store them in the freezer. Cook in a very generously salted boiling water without crowding the pot for 1 min (if cooking from frozen, cook until the pot returns to a boil). Remove with a slotted spoon (don’t strain in a colander to keep the floury sediment on the bottom of the pot). Toss with butter and top with soup.

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