Smokey Chicken Wild Rice Soup

DAY ONE - BONE BROTH:

This teeny little chicken has been wonderful. I can't believe how much meat was still left after I've used parts and pieces for many dinners and lunches! Then I checked the weight sticker, 2.57# originally 😯 Well, this is the chicken that just kept on giving. . .Amazing to get so much meat off this tiny chicken! And with smoked meat, there's so much flavor, I find myself using WAY less in recipes. As it should be, meat should be a 'side,' not the main thing on your plate.

I love smoked chicken, turkey and fish. I believe the butcher told me these chickens (I bought 3) were Apple wood smoked. It's got a definite sweet-strength to it. Not as woodsy-smokey as hickory, but neither is as good as my all time favorite. Alder wood. I went salmon fishing, for a week, with a group of people years ago. We caught our limit and smoked a lot. After trying several different woods, we loved the smoke from Alder the best.

Today's another loose day, schedule-wise, here at my house, in Minnesota, during the global quarantine. I'm working in the kitchen, and decided to make this 2-day soup. Right now, my whole house is smelling wonderfully, a little like a meat smokehouse! Not overpowering though, just perfect. . .

Bone Broth's in-the-making at the moment!

I took the chicken off the bones and will put that in the soup tomorrow. The skin and bones go into the pot with 1t black Tellecherry peppercorns and 2t of garlic and herb seasoning, and lots of dark green, leafy celery tops. Bring to a fast boil, then turn down the heat to a low simmer, only a few bubbles per minute. Add 3T white vinegar now. This helps pull the collagen out of the bones. That's a good thing! Let it cook like this, covered 4-6 hours, then pour through a colander to catch all the solids. Strain it several more times through progressively finer mesh and end with cheese cloth or

an old kitchen towel. Chill this 8 hours.

I realized it was about 5° colder on my deck than in my refrigerator. Since I'm regularly visited by squirrels, skunks and raccoons, who've all ended up on my deck, I worry about leaving pots out there. I securely rubber band the lids, but that's no deterrent to a hungry, nocturnal 'coon or skunk.

Last night, thinking outside-the-box, I noticed how my cafe' table was constructed.  Hmmm. . . It's now my brand new food chiller! TaaDaaaa! My 5 quart pot fits perfectly!! I suspect a couple of my others will as well.  

DAY TWO - SOUP:

Scrape the solidified fat off the top. You can use this to saute' these soup vegetables, green beans or cauliflower, for a nice smokey flavor, pitch it, or warm it to liquify and drizzle a little on your dogs dry food. That's the option my pups hope for!

The hope is always that the bone broth jells while chilling. Mine did. That's the indicator of truly good bone broth. The more it's jelled, the more collagen in the broth. That's an important component in our diet for healthy bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, hair and nails. Our bodies need it! We produce it pretty well, until we get to a certain age. Then we need to find a way to supplement it. Good bone broth is my favorite way to do that.

In another big pot, saute' your chopped soup vegetables and the rice in some of the smokey chicken fat. It's interesting how form, function and context become part of a procedure. I would never just leave chicken fat in the bone broth, but once that was simmered, strained-filtered, chilled, and heated again, it's perfect for sautéing anything that goes into chicken soup!

½ med.-lg. green cabbage

4 big stalks celery
⅓ lg. red pepper

3 big carrots

1 big onion 

1-1½c wild rice
1-2T rendered chicken fat (shown on the plate with the spoon)

½-1t black pepper
1-2T BTB chicken soup base
1T garlic and herb seasoning

6oz. smoked chicken - chopped

When the onion and celery start sizzling, and become a little translucent, add seasonings and the bone broth a cup or two at a time. Continue adding broth until the vegetables are almost covered. Simmer everything together until the carrots and celery are tender. Add the chicken, remaining broth, stir, heat to and serve.

Mmmm . . . SOUP . . . Lin