Everything You Need to Know About Cooking Chicken | Sohla El-Waylly | NYT Cooking

Wow and just like that we have chicken Breast that does not Suck hi I'm Sola and we're at the New York Times cooking studio and today I'm Going to teach you the basics about Chicken I'm going to teach you a few Simple ways to prepare chicken so that You can like go forth confidently and Become a poultry Master we're going to start off with a Really simple whole chicken I'm going to Show you how to spatch so you can Cook it really evenly a quick recipe With the breast that does not suck that Is not dry and a really simple brazing Technique for some chicken thighs and Chicken drums three really distinct Chicken techniques that you can Translate to a lot of other dishes oh And then there'll be a bonus round of What to do with your leftover bones and Meat chicken wow when you go to the Store to buy chicken what's great is you Can get a whole chicken or you can get Any part of chicken you could ever Imagine I like to always go for a whole Chicken and break it down myself but When you're starting off that can feel Like a lot but don't worry they've done All the work for you with organic Chicken that means that it has never Been fed antibiotics and that they're on A hormone-free diet with pasture rased It means they have access to the

Outdoors and they've walked around a Little and you can actually see the Difference like in the chicken between a Pasture raised and an organic chicken Pastur raised chickens tend to be Smaller in size here's an organic one You can see that it's a bit more plump Because it doesn't have as much you know Room to groove when it's walking around I personally feel that pastured chickens Taste a little bit more chickeny because They their muscles have had a little bit More activity but they are a bit more Expensive so you got to choose what Works for you the other option you might Find is a Heritage breed chicken it's Like the original chicken a lot of the Conventional chickens you find they've Been bred Uh to find like the ideal ratio of like Breast to dark because most people Prefer breast meat in this country They're also bread to grow a little bit Faster her chickens they grow a little Bit slower they have a deeper flavor and They're a bit more chickeny you can also Find chickens that are air chilled this Means that they've had time to hang and The skin dries out a little bit they Might weigh a little bit less because of That other chickens they might have been Injected with brine to be more plump so Air chill chickens do cost a bit more But you're getting less water in your

Chicken if you can get an organic Pasteurized chicken I think you should And if you can level up to Heritage I Personally think they're more flavorful But it is a very big difference in price So it's up to you otherwise it's good to Pick apart they've done a lot of the Work for you so all you got to do is Pat Dry and cook often times you can even Find a chicken that's already been Spatchcocked for you so easy I'm going To show you how to do this so you can Have the backbone for nibbling on for Stock but if you if if it intimidates You you can still have a spatchcock Chicken let someone else do the work for You I have a chicken PSA please please please stop washing Your Chicken please head over to the usda's Website or the FDA or uh the CDC or Every single state health Department Every university has a study on this Washing your chicken is the worst thing You can do for cross-contamination I Know in your mind you're like oh that The chicken juices are all in the sink But it's not true there's been like Several studies done black light tests When you wash your chicken you're Spreading that bacteria like up to 10 ft In all directions and most importantly When you wash your chicken you make it Water logged so it becomes really hard

To get it brown and delicious the only Way to eliminate bacteria and prevent Salmonella is thorough cooking of your Protein so stop doing it end the Generational chicken trauma Here okay so we're going to kick things Off with the spatchcock chicken I know That sounds difficult but I think it is Like the easiest way to cook a chicken But before we get Started chicken cross contamination sell Manella right so we have to talk about That a little bit whenever you're Cooking with chicken I think it's Important to get all the stuff you need Before you start touching the chicken So I'm going to get my scissors keep Them handy so I'm not digging around in A drawer with chicken hands and I'm Going to mix up my salt and pepper which Is going to be for my dry brine cuz I Don't want to like with chicken Hands you know for the dry brine I'm Going to just do simple salt and pepper Prepare more than you think you're going To need cuz you want to have enough Seasoning to work with so I'm all set up I got everything close by I can touch my Chicken so I'm using a wooden cutting Board the research has shown that wood Actually has natural antibacterial Properties so when you cut chicken on Wood and you scrub it down if there is Any bacteria left on the surface there's

Through like the capillary action the Bacteria gets sucked into the wood where It starves and dies when you cut on Plastic as you use your board for a While you develop these like grooves in It you know from cutting repeatedly the Bacteria can still live deep within Those grooves and grow and Become gross on the chicken it's not Just one mass of meat there's a lot Going on so we've got our active muscles The legs cuz they do all the walkin the Wings and the active muscles have a lot Of connective tissue and they have more Fat so they can handle cooking for like A long time and they actually do better When they get cooked to a higher temp Than the required 165 cuz it allows all The like collagen that develops when the Chicken runs around to render the breast On the other hand it's very lean and It's very delicate and it needs to just Be cooked through for like the perfect Chicken breast you do not want to cook It at a touch over 165 and spat coocking Makes it easier for us to get those two Temperatures in one bird let's take a Peek make sure there's nothing in There she's empty one time I roasted a Duck and I thought I took out the giblet Bag and I did and then there were two More giblet bags in there okay so we're Going to flip it over so this is the Backbone and we're going to snip along

The sides so the backbone itself is Pretty thick and tough to cut through But it's connected to the chicken with Really thin rib bones so it's pretty Easy to snip through those bones get a Good pair of kitchen shears and if you Don't have kitchen shears you can do This with a knife but in that case you Would have to stand it up and very Gently go one rib bone at a time it's Totally doable but it's just a little Bit harder and there's like a little bit Of danger involved here's the tail You're going to snip along this side and Along that side and then you know just Snip one rib at a time no no big deal Take your time you don't need a Rush if you don't want to fully remove The backbone you can just keep it Attached and roast it like that or take It to the next level cut down the other Side so you can pull it out so you can See here I cut through the ribs we're Going to do that on this Side wow you're a butcher now Boom okay now we're going to open this Up and flip it over I like to have the Breast towards me and we're going to Crack the breast just to flatten it a Little so right here we've got our Wishbone some people actually take that Out and to do that you take a little Knife and like carve along here and pull It out but you don't have to you can

Also just press and crack it open there You go wow you did it you spatch The Chicken I really love Wings they're my Favorite part of the chicken and I love It when the skin gets really rendered And crispy so just to make sure that Happens this little flap right here just Cut that open And it just allows the heat to better Get to the middle so you have better Rendering but you know that's just like Totally optional it's just cuz I have a Wing thing it's my favorite part and ham Doesn't like wings so I get to eat both That's it we've got our spatchcock Chicken and we have our backbone think Of this as like a chicken rib you can GW On it or you could save it in a bag in The freezer when you have a bunch of Them make some stock The Next Step we're Going to dry off our chicken moisture is The enemy of brown if we don't take a Minute to like make sure our chicken is Really nice and dry it's going to go Into the oven and steam this is one Place where single used paper Towels belong really get in there and We're going to dry the other side too You don't want all of this on the side You just cleaned up so give it a pat so We're going to go the dry brine Journey It's just going to be like a little more Perfect right you're going to have a

Little bit better color texture seasoned All the way through so I'm not going to Oil it up and I'm going to season it up Dry bran super simple just like spat Coocking it sounds a lot scarier than it Actually is but all we're going to do is Cover it in Salt so I like to start with Underneath it's really important even Sprinkle on every nook and cranny cuz You want all of this to taste good now This looks like a lot of salt but I am Using diamond crystal kosher salt I like This salt because it's very forgiving You can like go pretty hard and it's not Going to be salty but if you have a Morton's kosher you're going to do a Much like distribution of salt if you Have fine sea salt I really don't Recommend it for dry brining just Because it's pretty hard to sprinkle Evenly it's so fine it tends to Clump You got to take care of those folds you Know open this flap hit this with salt Any part that doesn't have salt it's not Going to dry Brine and it's not going to Render so every single flap get in all The nooks and crannies like this little Fold get under there it's just like when I'm wiping the folds of my Bulldog Take your Time so we're going to get into those Armpits see wow whoa every nook and Cranny so this is why you want to start

With more salt than you need sprinkle From from high so it's really nice and Even and then yeah you're going to have To toss out this chickeny salt Afterwards but it's okay it's just it's Just a little bit of salt no big deal This is going to go onto a sheet tray Lined with a rack the rack is really Really important it lifts up the chicken So it doesn't sit in its own juices as Soon as this chicken gets like a moment To hang out with the salt moisture is Going to be drawn out and it's going to Get very wet and we don't want it to Just sit in that the rack allows there To be like air flow around the whole Chicken so we can get like nice drying Happening I like to leave my wings Spread open so that those armpits can Get a little air some people like to Fold it up cuz it looks a little cuter But I'm not here for a cute chicken I'm Here for a tasty chicken right so we're Going to let this hang out in the fridge Uncovered you can really vary how long You dry brine for a whole chicken like This minimum 6 Hours I think it's ideal after 24 you Can take it up to 36 we dry brine a Chicken um about like 6 hours ago just To show you a little bit of the Difference we want to make sure that Your chicken looks dry on the outside That means that it's had enough time for

The salt to do its thing to penetrate The air has flown around and you can see The color looks a little different okay You can put any kind of air atic under Here so basically what we want is we Want some really flavorful stuff Underneath the chicken to kind of steam Keep the meat underneath really nice and Moist and also like Infuse it with aroma So I'm going to use some scallion and You don't have to prep it in any special Way wow so we're going to lift this guy Up and we're going to lay down some Scallions I've got some parsley this is A good place if you have just like Random herb stems use it here got some Onions going to use a little lemon I Think any kind of citrus would be really Nice this is a great opportunity to use Whatever is looking sad in your fridge And you can also just get really Creative here we just want something to Bring a little moisture and a little Flavor to the party we're going to think About what fat we want to coat on here I Don't like to do this with whole butter Because the milk solids in the butter Can burn any other fat really does work So I'm going to use some key drizzle it On and then we're going to massage it Make sure you get every nook and cranny At this point the salt has penetrated The chicken so you don't have to worry About it rubbing off every bit that has

Some fat on it is going to get nice and Brown our chicken is finally ready for The oven we're going to roast this at 450 all the way because we spatchcocked It can really take the high heat the Breast is not going to like completely Dry out on us because it's at a lower Position and the the dark meat's going To really get that attention um we're Also going to put this chicken into the Oven legs first the back of the oven Tends to be a little bit hotter so That's going to also help us ensure that The dark meat gets a little more Heat And the white meat gets a little less Wow look at that that's a beautiful Chicken so let's talk about how we know It's done the most accurate efficient Way is to get one of these guys and poke Around when you're cooking a large piece Of meat like this it's going to continue Cooking after it's out of the oven so It's going to carry over about 10° if It's 165 out of the oven it might be a Little bit over after it rests the dark Meat ideally you want it to be a little Bit higher temp like in a perfect world Your dark meat's going to be like 175 And your white meat's going to be 155 That's like the perfect perfect texture For both meats spatchcock can allow that To magically happen since we dry brine This chicken it's going to be moist and Juicy up to like

175 I swear I promise try the joint and Then here we're reading at like 178 nice I will go for a few more locations wow Fantastic just keep po okay try a few Different spots okay if you don't have a Thermometer no problem pick up a wing it Should be like Wiggly see how that just Wants to rip right off that's perfect That's what you want pick up a drum it Feels like loose Wiggly that's how you Know that the connective tissue is Broken down take it to the next level Pierce between the breast and the thigh Juices are running clear everybody's Loosey Goosey we're good to go so now We're going to let this rest I would Rest it for at least 15 minutes resting Is really important cuz when you pull a Protein right off of the heat whether It's oven or stove top the juices are Like really rushing around you know like Heat makes stuff dance you know so all Those water molecules they're bouncing Around and if you cut into your chicken R o all the juices are just going to run Right out so letting it have a second to Just like chill the juices are going to Cool down a little bit they're going to Slow down the muscles are going to Reabsorb them and you're going to have Much more juicy Meat chicken is rested now we're going To carve it now all these aromatics you Can eat them you can save them for broth

Toss it into like a frittata as you can See my wing is just coming right off I Didn't have to do anything there when You're carving up a chicken you're going Through the joints you're not going Through any bones so it should be very Very light pressure now for the breast You can go two ways if you want to keep It simple just go straight through and Go through the bone or we can just take It off the bone a little bit easier for Your guests to eat and I'm just going to Kind of pry it open and move the tip of Your knife along the bones the second Side is always a little bit harder cuz You've lost that stability but you can Feel right here where that breast bone Is and we're going to go right alongside It so sometimes I think it's nice if You're serving more than two people to Cut your breast in half so that everyone Can have an option of breast white meat For everybody you Know I'm going to eat a wing cuz that's My favorite part skins so rendered you Can hear It mhm I love a crispy chicken wing I Love it you're going to love it too you Can do this leave me alone with my Wing chicken breast I know can have a Bad wrap this is going to be the most Flavorful easy chicken breast you've Ever had and the key to that is we're Going to slice it up and cook it like a

Stir fry if I am going to have a whole Chicken breast My go-to is a dry brine always always And we already know how to dry brine so You can figure that out but you don't Always have time for that so we're going To make a really quick same day chicken Breast that's still flavorful and moist And delicious without a dry brine before We get going once again we're going to Talk about cross contamination so since This is kind of like a stir fry you need To have all of your Mison PL before you Get going Mison plus means having Everything in its place I don't know if That's a direct French translation but Basically it's about like getting Everything you need before you get going Not every recipe requires that you like Set up your Mison plus there's a lot of Recipes where maybe you have some onions Like caramelizing for 30 minutes and you Can get that going while you prep Everything else or maybe there's a few Steps that take a little bit longer so You can break up your prep throughout The cook but for quick cooking stir Fries and fried rice like we did before Frittatas eggs things that cook really Fast it's very helpful to have all of Your me ready so you can focus on the Fast action that's going to happen in The pot and not worry about like Forgetting anything so I've prepped a

Lot of stuff already but I'm just going To show you basic knife skill how to Chop onions super simple the root end You often want to keep intact basically When you cut an onion you want to take Advantage of the natural shape of the Onion to help you a lot of the knife Work's already done for you because Onions have layers as we've learned from Shrek huh okay we're going to start by Trimming off the blossom end we're going To cut it lengthwise in half like this If you have a really dirty root end it's Good to trim that off just a touch so You don't end up with like Flex of that Dirt in your onion and then we're going To Peel after you peel it's good to clean Up bench scraper is always really handy I know that it can be tempting to scrape Stuff up with the side of your knife but It isn't the best habit cuz it does make Your blade get dull faster there's two Ways to chop an onion the way that I Learned in culinary school like the French way is you go up and down like This and then you come across and then You go this way but uh the onions Already got it's like kind of already Cut for you so I prefer to go for more Of like a a radial cut so we're going to Move across the onion like this it's Like we're making tiny wedges you know Like half an awesome

Blossom if you are new to knife work Always make sure that you curl your Fingers behind um if you go like this It's very easy to like lose a fingernail So you want to go for this claw Situation and then you can use your Knuckles to guide you we got our little Radial cuts and then we don't have to go Horizontally because it's already cut up That way so you just go this way and Boom wow oh my God it's like a magic Trick we got tiny pieces of Onion okay Okay so we've got our onion And then we're going to cut up our Chicken and we have all of our me and we Can start going chicken has a grain just Like every protein so you want to cut Across the grain we're going to slice it This way if you cut with the grain That's when you end up with like stringy Tough meat regardless of how you cook it Just because of the anatomy of the bird It doesn't need to be perfect in terms Of the length of the pieces as long as The thickness is close it will all cook Relatively Quickly now when I get get to this fat Bit I personally want the pieces to be Kind of bite-sized so I'm going to split This in half so we don't have super long Pieces it also just kind of makes the Stir frying bit a little bit faster and Easier okay so now that I've got my raw Chicken done I'm going to get rid of my

Board scrub down wash my hands and then We're going to come back and cook now We're going to get cooking this is Called harab Masala with a lot of Recipes from South Asia one dish with One name can have a million variations s There's coconut in it this one has Yogurt we're also kind of making this a Shortcut version cuz this is Traditionally like a long brazed dish And we're going to have all of the same Flavors in a quick stir fry version so We're going to get this started by Heating up a little bit of ghee so ghee Is good for this because it has all of The milk solids removed so you can heat It up to a higher temp than whole butter Going to add whole cumin seeds and whole Black peppercorn it's going to help Infuse the key with a lot of flavor at This point Okay so so now I'm going to Add that onion and this is going to all Cook together until the onions will look A little bit translucent so you can make This in any kind of pot or if you have a Walk that would be great we're using a Dutch oven my favorite tools in the Kitchen is a cast iron skillet and a Dutch oven and I think if you have those Two things you can make anything you Don't have to invest in an expensive Dutch oven you can totally do this with Whatever pot you've got okay so you can See my onions they look translucent

They look tender they look very Different from when they were raw so now Going to increase the heat we're going To add our grated garlic and ginger and Then our chicken's going to go in so I'm Going to just cook this while stirring Until the chicken looks opaque and Cooked through and because it's cut in These really thin slices it's only going To take like seven to 10 Minutes Dutch Oven prices very drama Dramatically you can find a $60 Americanmade Dutch oven or a same size Same looking Dutch oven from France That's $300 and they're all exactly the same Okay so get whatever Dutch oven fits in Your budget and more importantly you can Find beautiful dutch ovens at thrift Stores I do not see a point in buying a New Dutch oven as long as just check it Out see if the bottom inside is Scratched who cares if the outside Scratched it's not going to change the Way it works okay so everything is nice And opaque we're going to go crank our Heat back down to medium and add our Salt and chili let this cook for just a Minute evenly distribute everything and Give that chili a little bit of time to Bloom now we're going to add some more Chili here we've got some diced up green Chilies and we're going to add about a Cup of herbs we're going to hold back on

A little to finish that that way we get A little bit of this like cooked herb Flavor and a little raw herb flavor I Know that a lot of people say you should Only use fresh herbs at the end that's More of like a European thing there's a Lot of dishes in Persia where you have Long cooked stews with fresh herbs and They're absolutely delicious there's no Hard or fast rules in cooking our herbs Are really nicely wilted now we're going To add our cashew butter and our Yogurt once this is stirred through I'm Going to turn off the heat we don't want To simmer it too long with the yogurt But we you just want to get it really Nice and warm and now final finishing Touch we're going to add the last of our Herbs and a little hit of lemon juice And I'm going to taste and see if I need Any more Salt all right so let's plate this up I Personally want just some cucumbers cuz It's a bit spicy and it'll really cool You off and we got a little bit of bread This will also be good with rice but you Know choose your adventure Here okay so now I'm going to show you An easy way to prepare the dark meat Dark meat unlike white meat you can cook It a long time so a brace like this Really allows you to break down all of Those like connective tissues all of That fat because we have this like

Gentle moist heat it's when you take a Tougher cut of meat like dark meat Chicken or an active muscle like a short Rib or a pork shoulder and you cook it In a moist environment kind of low and Slow until everything kind of falls Apart and gets really Wiggly the goal With any braid is to like get that Collagen to break down so you end up With this like really silky unctious Sauce the difference between a bra and Stew basically is just about size stew Small chunks so the whole thing Cooks a Little bit faster bra bigger chunks So Today we're going to make an adobo it's A Filipino dish and there's a lot of Versions of adobo and I think all of Them are delicious the main thing about Adobo that's so cool is you take like Very few ingredients and you get so much Flavor out of it one of the defining Things of adobo is there's always Vinegar often times soy black pepper and Garlic those are like the key flavors This adobo is by Angela de mayuga and What's great about it is we're using Coconut three ways so we're going to Have coconut oil coconut milk and Coconut vinegar coconut vinegar is more Of like a specialty ingredient you might Have to go to a Filipino store to get it But it is really really essential to Filipino Cuisine and I think it's really Seeking out to make this exactly the way

It should be made and it's a pantry Staple that will last a long time so Like if you take your time and get that Bottle you'll use it so let's get Cooking so I'm going to start on medium High heat to melt my coconut oil now We're going to add our whole peppercorns Ground pepper chili flakes and whole Garlic we're going to first toast it Lightly and then it's going to braze for A really long time so it's going to get Super mellow and sweet and we're going To cook this like like gently for about 5 minutes until we get some nice golden Color on those garlic cloves and the Peppercorns are going to really toast And the chili flakes are going to toast And most importantly all of those Flavors are going to become one with the Fat and it's going to flavor our whole Brace garlic can be really scary when You see it in this quantity but remember Garlic and onions and all of these kinds Of aliums when you cook them low and Slow they get very sweet that's also why We're keeping it whole garlic is one of These really cool ingredients where Depending on how you cut it the the Flavor actually changes you know you Break the cell walls some stuff happens But the more broken down your garlic Becomes the more pungent it is so if you Really want like a sweet mellow garlic Keep it whole if you really want like

The garlic to kick you in the mouth Grate it fine fun way to play with your Same basic ingredients and get a lot out Of it when you give spices direct heat That's when they can become like their Best self so I don't ever recommend Taking a spice and just like throwing Cumin into water like if if you really Want to get the best out of a spice it's Good to like Sizzle it in fat first or Maybe give it a dry toast so you can Really bring the best out of it I know That spices technically have a shelf Life but I have never thrown a spice out In my life you might lose some like Nuance but like I'll just like use a Little more take a little bit more time Toasting it these things are really Expensive my mom too I've never seen her Throw out a spice in my life I think That's controversial I've seen a lot of People be like oh throw it out after 6 Months who actually goes into their Pantry and thinks about when they last Bought Cumin let's talk about our chicken so we Got drums and thighs for a lot of Recipes I'd season it with salt right Away but we're going to have a lot of Soy sauce in this so we're not going to Season this with salt so we're just Going to Pat it dry at this point so Here we got some nice gold in here and We're going to start searing so we're

Going to crank up the heat just to touch And we want to just get some light Browning on the skin side we're going to Have to do this in batches cuz there is A bit of chicken so I'm going to start With this thighs move on to the legs We're not cooking this through at all at This point all we want to do is render Out some of that fat so we don't have Like flabby meat because this is a moist Cooking method if we don't take the time To do this little bit of rendering it's Not going to really thoroughly render When it's cooked in like the Liquid this isn't technically a sear Because when you want a sear you're Going for a lot of Browning and like a Crisp texture here we're just looking to Like render the fat and get a little bit Of color so it's okay to do this in a Pot with high sides and it's okay to Kind of have the pan crowd cuz we're not Going for like crisp cuz we're going to Add a whole bunch of liquid oh okay we Got brownie if you look at the pot right Now we got a little bit of color which Is just what we want but most Importantly we have rendered out a good Bit of fat and you are not going to Scoop out and remove any of that fat it Is all staying in the dish adobo is Really rich and it's like really key to Balancing out the vinegar and the soy Sauce that fat is just so incredibly

Flavorful so you can see here you got to Be pretty patient you don't want to Crank the heat because then you're going To end up developing a lot of color Without actually rendering out the fat And while the Fat's rendering all of the The the garlic and the spices Everything's just becoming more and more Aromatic and and delicious and we're Developing a really nice base of flavor So this chicken is okay to go back into This pan with raw chicken cuz this Chicken is still raw we got a little bit Of color but it do not cooked through at All the bottom is still completely raw And the inside is still completely raw You're going to continue handling this As if it's raw chicken this is not cross Contamination and even if this chicken Was fully cooked we're about to simmer It all together for an hour so there's Plenty of time for bacteria to Die so we got a little bit of Browning On our drums I'm going to add these Thighs back in Here all right so now we're going to add Our soy sauce coconut Vinegar coconut milk some bay leaves and Water and I'm going to let this come up To a boil and we're going to cover it And it's going to gently simmer for About an hour until everything is really Really nice and Tender so we've let this simmer for a

While and it's reduced down and it's Like really nice and glossy and Saucy so It's ready to serve wow it looks so good The color got really nice and deep and That's because of that soy sauce Completely just falling Apart wo amazing recipe you have a lot Of richness from the coconut oil and the Chicken fat but it's perfectly balanced By the acidity of the vinegar and the Tops of the peppercorn and the sweet Garlic this is going to go into my Regular rotation it should go into yours Too okay so I showed you a bunch of Things to do with chicken from scratch But I think rotisserie chicken is an Amazing ingredient I'm going to show you To make a really simple chicken soup Using your leftover rotisserie chicken We're going to start by making a quick Broth with whatever you've got so I'm Going to pick off the rest of this meat So we can have it in our soup I'm I'm Going to throw the skin into the Simmering broth it's brown so it's going To add a lot of nice Brown flavor and I'm going to pull off the meat and add It to a bowl to add to our soup anytime You cook chicken you should save all the Bones chicken broth is incredibly Expensive and chicken is really Expensive so I think you should use all Of it so we're going to use all the Bones any cartilage skin wing tips are

Fantastic and like get in there and pick Off any extra meat I I do recommend like Anytime you've got not just chicken but You're cooking anything with bones just Save your bones like if you made a Ribeye save that bone Riis are so Freaking expensive you don't want to let Any of that go to waste you can make a Mega broth by mixing all the bones Together I'm actually going to put some Of the meats into my broth just to make It a little extra flavorful especially When you've got like the bits on the Wing I'm going to just throw the whole Wing in there just sacrifice it to the Broth cuz I think I have enough meat Here for my soup okay so we're going to Throw this whole back in here this is Like really fatty and might not be fun To eat but it's going to be great in Your broth our Chicken's still a little Bit like room temperature but when You've had this in the fridge for a While you'll see that like these juices Turn into this gel which is super Flavorful adds a lot of body you don't Want to waste that so make sure you Scrape all of that in and if you got a Backbone in the freezer throw that in Here now to this you can also add any Like random aromatics you have you got Random herbs wilting wow Throw it in there got a random half Lemon wo crazy just a bit of onion you

Don't even need to peel toss it in there Wow a bay leaf just like get crazy I Know like there are technically rules to Making the perfect broth but sometimes You just need broth and we're going to Just add enough water to cover and You're just going to let this simmer Until it tastes delicious to you I like To let it go until the bones completely Like fall apart but if I'm in a rush Maybe I'll just do it for like an Hour all right so my pot with my bones And my stuff has been simmering for a While it smells very chickeny in here And you can see we've got really nice Color the way that you know that your Broth is there is it first of all it Should taste flavorful and then you want To see that things are like falling Apart so you can tell like our herbs are Totally wilted the onion is in Little Bits we got bones completely broken down If you taste this chicken it should be Like super dry and Bland that means all The flavors in the liquid and your bone Bath is ready to go how long this takes Kind of depends on your chicken and how You've prepared it with raw bones it Takes quite a while if you're making This with your own spatchcocked chicken Maybe like an hour and a half rotisserie Chicken it happens quite quickly but Just like keep an eye on it if your Liquid level gets too low just top it

Off with water and keep going until it Tastes delicious so now I'm going to Strain this and make a super simple Chicken soup the most basic soup of all I believe that all of these things have Given you all they've got so I would Compost it maybe pick off some of the Meat as a treat for the dogs but I think This is okay to say goodbye to we gave Our chicken like two lives which I think Is fantastic okay so here we have our Broth and you can see it's not like a Perfect French clear broth when you go Throughout the globe it's not clear Broth like think about Ramen think about How cloudy Ramen broth is but it's so Delicious I don't think that there's Like a right or wrong to broth and now It hasn't had any salt added so I'm Going to season it up to taste cuz when You're seasoning something like a superp Or broth you're going to have to taste It several times to make sure that it Tastes good there's this point where it Goes from like wo and you can taste Everything really clearly and that's When you know that you've hit the right Amount of salt but it can be kind of Hard to figure it out and you don't want To like Risk overs salting because then There's no Return that's actually really flavorful I think it just needs another pinch it's Pretty solid where it's at because we

Started off with a rotisserie chicken Which is already really nicely seasoned You could boil your noodles separately If you want but that's like too fussy For me sometimes so we're going to boil Our noodles right into our seasoned Broth I don't like a lot of noodles I Like my soup to be mostly broth ham Hates that he likes his soup to be Mostly stuff but it kind of works out Cuz he'll take all the stuff and I'll Take all the broth it's a dream the Other thing that's kind of kind of nice About boiling your noodles in your soup Is that it will kind of thicken the Broth a little bit if you're into that If you're not into that boil your Noodles in water separately and then Combine you could go crazy here add some Diced carrot diced celery I don't like a Lot of vegetables in my soup so I'm just Going to add a little bit of onion let That boil along with the noodles you Could just add some Frozen mixed Vegetables here and once our noodles are Tender I'm just going to finish it off With our picked chicken and a little bit Of parsley and pepper and boom Okay so my noodles have cooked and now I'm going to turn it down a touch and We're going to just add our chicken it's Already cooked so we just want to warm It through I'm going to finish it with a Little parsley and pepper and for me

This is like I'm sick chicken soup the Chicken soup I grew up having the one my Mom made she would put some red lentils And ginger and lime in there you can Flavor this up however you want I Personally really like to keep my sick Day chicken soup very Simple And I know this is not a lot of noodles But it's how I like it and it's my soup When you're making your soup you put all The noodles that your heart desires so I Hope after this episode you feel like You've conquered chicken you know you Can do a little bit of Butchery you know What to do with it hole you know what to Do with the dark meat you know what to Do with the white meat and you know what To do with your leftovers so go forth And chicken and stop washing your Chicken