Asymmetrical Information

Replace two of the boneless, skinless breasts with four boneless, skinless thighs. They should be available at any decent meat counter, indeed that's part of the definition. You'll find the overall flavor greatly improved.

(I'm medically incapable of reading a recipe without trying to improve. I go to meetings for it and everything. )

What is the quantity "1/2 box"?

O, I don't trust those commercial broths. Does this one have autolyzed yeast extract

y81:

Yep, the Swanson's does indeed have the dreaded yeast. Doesn't bother me, but gives my wife an instant migraine.

The "Kitchen Basics" brand in the US is MSG-free, according to the label. The Swanson's Organic does actually taste better, but the MSG content makes it a non-starter.

OneEyedMan:

I'm guessing our Jane is referring to the packaged fresh herbs one can find in most grocery stores these days. Here in the midwest, it's Dehn's but I'm sure there are plenty of other brands around.

Jane,

How much fat does the broth have in it?

You said it wasn't perfect- the first thing I noticed was a glaring lack of fat, animal or otherwise.

Fat makes things perfect. The trick is getting just the right amount.

Any decent meat counter might have the boneless skinless thighs, but the store where the poor folk shop, where boneless skinless breasts are $1.79 a pound and a ride home is free with a $40 purchase, doesn't.

Besides, if you are going to cut up the meat after cooking, you might as well not pay for the labor of skinning and boning.

Jane,

Thanks, but if you're going to wait 8-10 hours for supper for goodness' sake buy a pound of nasty chicken wings, brown them well, cover them with water, boil, scrape like mad, skim, and simmer it down for a few hours to get some decent stock.

I suspect your soup will be improved by orders of magnitude. The boxed stuff (MSG or not) is for the, well, birds.

Megan,

The mention of chicken broth reminds me to ask if you've been to Trader Joe's yet. I haven't gotten to the Silver Spring area in years, but I understand there's one on Route 29 (Colesville Road) near University Blvd.

I picked up some TJ "Free Range Chicken Broth", tho I haven't used it yet. It doesn't list yeast as an ingredient, Y81, but it's got 570 mg of sodium per cup. (Most of the broths I've checked seem way too high in sodium.)

August, this TJ broth is "fat free", but I think most broths are pretty low in fat. They're supposed to add flavor, not fat.

Valjean,

Buy 2-3 punds of chicken wings, fry them in peanut oil, make sauce with 1 cup Frank's Lousiana Red Hot, 1/2 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix, 1/2 stick butter/margarine. Coat wings and bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 mins until nicely brown.

Too much fat. Too much sodium. Great taste. Who needs soup when you can have wings?

Get a whole bird. Cover the skin in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Roast at 500 for a hour. Enjoy the bird,, especially the fresh juicy skin. Cook the bones down to make stock. Make the soup as above, except use leftover meat instead of the breasts.

Breasts are the least flavorful and most expensive part of a bird. I'd rather just add plain white flour. Cheaper and you can't tell the difference when it comes to taste anyway.

Broth is made from meat. Stock is made from bones. If you really want broth, just add water to the crock pot and in 12 hours you will have made your own broth anyway. If you really want stock, the Kitchen Basics works well, and it comes in two sizes. Buying the meat on the bones will get you soup based on a homemade combination of stock and broth in 12 hours.

Rachel Ray NOTE: This is really a 30 minute (or less) meal; the 30 minutes is just displaced from dinner by 12 hours.

Broth is made from meat. Stock is made from bones.

Quite right, altonbrownaddict -- that's why I said nasty chicken wings, but your point is well taken. I actually almost always use Jacknut's method (pace Barbara Kafka), but watch the lemon juice.

Actually, the true true Jacknut method is roast the chicken in my backyard tandoor. Sometimes I do it up tandoori style, but not always. It's the best way to cook it but you can't capture the drippings for gravy.

Oy Megan, I'm another Silver Spring resident as well. Although I live North of the Beltway near Wheaton and Kensington. Not in the cool part.

MarkD's recipe is one I have been using for decades, except that I bake the wings first instead of frying them. After baking and saucing, they go back in a medium or medium-slow oven for aabout 30 minutes to let the flavors meld.

But the secret ingredient is really the Good Seasons Italian Dressing pack.

But why only make a 1/2 recipe when wings come in 5-6 pound bags?

And the wings can be spiced up by adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Tabasco in place of some of the Franks Hot Sauce.