What kind of chicken are you using? Is it a young fryer? I find they don't have much flavor. If so you might want to add some necks and backs to flavor the broth. If you store does not stock them in the meat section ask the butcher. If you can get necks/backs in quantity buy a bunch. Make a huge batch of stock, reduce it and freeze it in smaller portions. That way you can take out what you need and "enhance" the soup you are making with a fresh chicken.

Teresa

I agree, today's commercially available chicken has very little flavor, other than the salt solution that they are injected with. It's listed on the ingredient list as "flavor enhancer". Yup, you're paying chicken prices for salt and water.

Anyway, most of the chickens we buy today are a Cornish Cross or Cornish Rock Cross. They can grow to 6 or 7 pounds in 8 weeks, and have very little dark meat but huge overblown breasts. I call them "franken-chickens".

The fact that they are processed at such a young age makes them not very flavorful, I think. I'd add some backs and necks, or some dark meat for flavor. Dark meat used to be a lot darker, I don't think it would compromise the color very much. In any case, I'd rather have it less golden and more flavorful.

And be sure to simmer it long enough to reduce the stock, that will also intensify the flavor.

Merry Christmas.

Annie

That much chicken, barely covered with water - seems like it should have flavor! But I don't make chicken stock with breasts, that being the least flavorful part of the modern chicken in my opinion. I use the carcass, which has more connective tissue, skin, cartilage, and so on. That all breaks down to gelatin which you want in a chicken soup. So, I second the suggestion off adding some necks and backs.

I also make my stock separately, strain it, then use it to make chicken soup. That allows you to cook the stock for hours until every bit of flavor is extracted from the chicken and veggies, then remove the now-tasteless mush, fat, clouding particles - that you don't want in the soup anyway. When you use that stock to make soup, in effect you are further enhancing the broth with a second pass of chicken and veggies, which you'll cook just enough and not too much. I usually put the veggies in last.

I know this is not the simpler process your mother used, but those of us without "mom magic" have to resort to more laborious measures.

One thing - your mom might have used more salt than you are using today. Salt enhances flavors and back in our childhood, people weren't usually trying to control sodium. Her "mom magic" might have been as simple as an additional tsp or two of salt.

or she might have added a cube or two of chicken concentrate, which you might do for more flavour.

How long has it been since you tasted your mother's version? Many times we remember things tasting a lot better/different as we age.

When I make a big pot of chicken anything soup (barley, noodle, rice, etc.), I add a secret short cut weapon. There is a great deli a few blocks away and I always buy a quart or two of their chicken broth--their chicken soup but without the noodles or vegetables--to add to mine.

The flavor of their broth is so good and it always guarantees that simmered for hours flavor in my soups.

This post was edited by kimka on Wed, Dec 26, 12 at 12:31

Thanks everyone for your advice. It's been about 20 years since I had my mother's chicken soup, but I know my memory is not faulty. I remember everyone at the table oohing and ahing over it every time. But I think Teresa and Annie are right - the chickens today are not the same. My mother bought her chicken and meat from a neighborhood butcher, long gone now. I mean, the total stereotype - big guy with a big belly and a beard, and a stained apron, who, after hearing your order, would go in the back and actually, well, butcher, what you ordered.

I do get my chicken from Whole Foods, so it's not treated with salt filler. However, even that chicken isn't that full-flavored. There are old-fashioned places here in Chicago where they get the chickens from Amish farmers and the like, and they have them alive in the shop, so you can buy them killed that day at the shop (gulp!) so that they're fresh! I think I am not that brave, even for the goal of a more flavorful chicken broth. But I will try using kosher chicken next time. I think Cook's Illustrated had an article that kosher chickens were significantly more flavorful than other chickens they tested. I will also add some necks and backs, and see if that doesn't do the trick.

FWIW Cook's Illustrated just discussed simmered vs. pressure cooked chicken stocks. I think they liked the pressure cooked ones better but I'm too lazy to go upstairs to check the article, LOL

I take the backs/wings/bones from our own or Costco roasted chickens. Before we sit down to eat, I prep our pressure cooker with the same veggies you do, akchicago. The parsnip is a must for me. I also add boullion (sp?) for salt if there isn't enough seasoning. As I cut up the chicken, I throw in the chicken parts, pre-boning thighs, etc. Cover with water and turn on the flame, then sit down to dinner. I let it go 45 minutes or an hour. After I open the pressure cooker, I will add a generous amount of dill and Italian parsley and let it sit in the hot stock. Result: liquid gold!

And yes, chicken feet are an awesome addition - but I can't bring myself to eat them.

Pressure cookers make things so easy.

For example, you can make a 1 hour chicken soup like this: Bring home whole bird. Cut off breasts and legs, put carcass in pressure cooker with water and start heating. Debone legs, crack the bones and add to cooker. Quarter onion, break some celery stalks and carrots in half, add to cooker. Close lid. Now trim and dice the breasts and deboned leg meat, brown the pieces in a skillet, dice your veggies, brown the veggies if you do that. Have a glass of wine. By now the pressure cooker has been at high pressure for about 30 minutes. That is the equivalent of boiling for 2 hours. Release pressure, open cooker, strain stock through cheesecloth, use the strained stock to make the soup, add your browned meat and veggies, boil then simmer as you add seasonings, noodles, rice, or whatever. Entire process takes about 1 hour and that includes making stock from scratch. If you can give the pressure cooker a full hour on high pressure, all the better.

I agree, the chicken feet are a great addition and since I raised my own chickens, I do/did have the feet. It makes a stock that will turn to chicken jello. I also toss all the bones into my 18 quart Nesco and roast them when I'm deboning chicken for ground chicken. Roast them with vegetables, add water, let it go all day. The house smells wonderful and I can make about 8 quarts of stock by the time I strain out the bones and vegetables when it's done. I can it, but it could be easily frozen.

I did have one 6 month old Brahma rooster that met his demise along with the White Cornish Rock Frankenchickens. Those were 8 weeks old and there was a difference in flavor and texture. I don't know if it was due to age or variety, though.

Annie