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9 years ago

Home-made chicken soup with matzah balls, that is. :o)
It took 2 days, yesterday for the stock and today to make the soup and the matzah balls. I had to fight the urge to use pre-made broth and a matzah mix instead of making everything from scratch, but I do think it turned out tastier.

I used chicken fat and seltzer for the balls (plus added lots of ground pepper and finely chopped parsley) and made sure I simmered them in the soup for 40 mins. They were the perfect texture, somewhere between sinker and floater, fluffy and tender yet with body. Simmering them in the soup did make it cloudy, but they had a lot more flavor than simmered in salt water.

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Comments (6)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years ago
Sounds delicious.

I made some a couple of weeks ago, using turkey bones for stock.

It was not bad.

dcarch
User
Original Author
9 years ago
^^ Do you add vinegar to the water and bones? Ever since I've started doing that, the stock turns out a lot more gelatinous.
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plllog
9 years ago
The vinegar pulls the minerals and collagen out of the bones. The collagen makes it gelatinous.

I usually make my stock with whole chickens, but bone broth is very nutritious. :)

I'm so glad you made such a tasty soup! Yesterday, I made a pot pie with a lot of stuff that was hanging around freezer, including frozen vegetables, though it was scratch gravy (homemade stock) and fresh chicken. Still, it didn't have that wonderful depth of flavor like it does when everything is made for the pie.

While I'm sure that the can and the mix are fine if you don't have the opportunity to cook, I bet it's the same kind of difference as my pie. The difference between fine and super yummy.
User
Original Author
9 years ago
^^Hi, Plllog! Yes, that's why I decided to use the vinegar, my stocks didn't have a lot of body before. Now, they are like a pot full of gelatine after cooling down.

Re. the stock ingredients, I used a mix of chicken parts. A bunch of frozen bones, wings, etc. and leftovers from a roast chicken with plenty of meat.

The problem with the matzo mix is the sodium. Even the reduced sodium version has 850 mg per tablespoon, yikes. So, better off crushing the matzos to make the dumplings.

Mmm, chicken pot pie, I could eat that every day. :o)
plllog
9 years ago
Like usual, the chicken pot pie was better the second day. :)

All those mixed parts are great. I do that too, but I rarely have enough, so throw in a whole chicken or too. :) I don't care for canned stock, so always make a really big pot and freeze small containers.

Have you used the mix? Is it really that much easier? Matzah balls aren't really a challenge once you know how to make them... Kind of like pancakes. I like the mix that has the eggs in, because sometimes you don't want an even number of eggs worth of pancake batter, but Grainlady told me about egg crystals that make up just like real eggs, which would mean it's just as easy to make from scratch (I haven't tried yet because I keep forgetting to buy them when I'm near the place that carrries them). Scary amount of salt in that matzah ball mix!

Making your own matzah meal is easy in a food processor. I do that to make crumbs for cooking. :)
User
Original Author
9 years ago
No, the mix definitely isn't that much easier. It's pretty tasty, probably because of all the salt and whatever else they add, but it still requires adding the eggs and fat, just like from scratch. And the chill time is about the same too. And you are right, making the meal from the crackers is no big deal.

Re. the chicken mix, I just put leftover bones and bits of onions, carrots, celery in a large freezer bag until I have enough for a big pot of stock. I also add a package of wings or drumsticks.

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