The Epic Saga of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup PART I: Roasted Chicken

This begins the four part series on how to make the ultimate homemade chicken noodle soup.  Most of you will probably quit reading, because you would never make something that would take you 4 recipes just to make it. Tell that to Julia Child (have you read "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"? Jeez Louise!) The reality is, chicken noodle soup is made from left over Sunday Roast Chicken.  You will be merely trying to be resourceful and recycling your leftovers. 

When I go to the grocery store and see those sad, pathetic boneless chicken breasts, I pity them.  I pity them because anything that has been good or flavorful about them has been robbed from them.  Chicken needs its skin and bones to have any decent flavor.  

Sunday isn't the only day you can enjoy a roasted chicken, but around our house, ROASTED and Sunday go hand in hand.  I have read many recipes about roasting chicken, but I have never read done like I do it.  Frankly, this is the way my mother taught me, and I didn't know there was another way until I started reading cookbooks for fun.  Mother always knows best.

First of all, if you are going to roast a chicken, you might as well roast two. Because then you will have plenty of leftovers for other recipes, and well, they come in a convenient two pack at the mother ship (aka Costco). 

Sunday Roasted Chicken

Step 1

Get out your roasting pan and line the bottom with any great aromic vegetables you have.  I use onion (a must) carrots, celery with the leaves, and a small handful of garlic cloves (a must).

Step 2

Discard the gibblets and the neck and such and rinse and dry the chickens.  Place them on top of the vegetables.

Step 3

Stuff the inside of the chickens with a small onion quartered and a few garlic cloves. 

Step 4

LIBERALLY (meaning salt and pepper the heck out of it)  salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.  Dot the top of the chicken with a few pads of butter.  Tie together the legs, if you care to (optional, I don't always do it)

This is what it should look like before it goes in the oven

Step 5

Put in a 450 degree oven for around 30-45 minutes to brown. Browning is where the flavor comes from!

The Chicken Base

Step 6

Add a heaping spoonful of chicken base to the bottom of the pan, then add enough water to barely cover the vegetables.

Step 7

Sprinkle the top with a few pinches of rubbed sage, and add about 6-7 bay leaves.

Before you cover it to go back into the oven

Step 8


Cover the chicken with tin foil, and reduce the oven to 300 degrees.   Return the chicken to the oven and roast for 2 1/2-3 1/2 (whatever works into your schedule.  I'm flexible!)

Out pops a perfectly delcious and tender roasted chicken to enjoy.  You most likely will make some fabulous gravy with the drippings (watch my tutorial here) But whatever you do, don't dispose of any drippings or caracas, we need to make some chicken stock!

Stay tuned for the next installment of "The Epic saga of Homemade chicken noodle soup! Daa! Daa! Daaaaaa! ( that was my cliffhanger music)