The Perdue Chicken Cookbook

dollars away each year. They're now doing everything they can think of to

reverse this trend and make supermarket shopping so attractive, quick,

convenient and economical that you'll want to cook at home.)

Learn to cook chicken in the microwave. A pound of broiler parts that

would take 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven takes only 6-10 minutes in the

microwave. See Chapter Four, Chicken in the Microwave.

SOUPS

PHOTO: Pot of soup with fresh vegetables surrounding outside - 2

Wherever there are people and chickens, there are chicken soups. Virtually

every immigrant group arriving in America brought along favorite chicken

soup recipes and often the treasured family soup pot, too.

If you grew up on canned, frozen, and dried soups, you may not realize how

easy it is to make truly wonderful soups at home. If so, try it for

yourself, perhaps with these American classics. All the soups are based on

a key ingredient: rich, homemade chicken stock, made from either whole

birds or from parts, in about three hours. Stock takes little tending, just

slow easy cooking to bring out all the flavor and wholesome goodness. Why

not try making one of these soups now? And then, with the help of your

freezer, enjoy the results many times in the coming months.

Basic Guide to Chicken Soup

Older, larger birds, such as the 5-7 pound roasters, make the best soups.

An older bird will have developed more of the rich, intense chickeny flavor

than the younger, milder-flavored broilers or Cornish hens. I've made soup

from broilers and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't as good as it could be.

Use roaster parts if you want to save time. They cook faster and are

excellent when you need only a small amount of broth. The richest flavor,

by the way, comes from the muscles that are exercised most, which happen to

be the dark meat muscles. All parts will make satisfactory soup, but the

legs, thighs and necks provide the fullest flavor.

For clear, golden broth, do not add liver. It turns stock cloudy. And

avoid a greenish cast by using only parsley stems and the white parts of

leeks or scallions.

As the stock cooks down, foam will float to the top. Skim it off, or

strain it out through double cheesecloth when the stock is complete. Tie

herbs and greens in cheesecloth as a "bouquet garni," so you won't

inadvertently remove them during the skimming.

Always simmer stock over low to medium heat. It's not a good idea to boil

the stock for the same reason it's not a good idea to boil coffee; too much

of the flavor would boil away into the air. oLeftover vegetables and those

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