When it comes to cooking, I think the simplest things are the hardest to make because there is no way to fix a true mistake. I've always had a hard time with simple recipes because you can't hide behind the spices.
It is only in the last month that I finally figured out how to make chicken broth the way I like it, simple. This is the flavor I remember from childhood. Most of the recipes I've come across seem to require celery, carrots, and whole hell of a lot of other things and they never seem to come out the way I remember chicken and rice soup tasting from childhood. The quality of food isn't as good so maybe we use all these extra ingredients to hide the lack of flavor or maybe most taste buds have been adulterated so much most people can't taste simple recipes. My other speculation is that maybe everyone assumes that everyone else knows the simple recipes...
Recently in my quest to understand meat, I finally found a few recipes that talked about the simplest ways to cook meat.
So chicken broth. Start with a roasted chicken. Apparently roasting really brings out the flavor of the bones. I prefer my roast chicken very, very plain.
Cook a whole chicken for 2-2 1/2 hrs at 325. Remove the skin and most of the meat. I leave a little meat on the bones because it is a pain to remove it all and it adds to the flavor. I leave the wings alone also to add fat and flavor. Make sure to get out the lungs and other random innards that tend to be left.
Throw the wings and bones in a pot full of filtered water (turns out boiling concentrates fluoride and other not so great things in the water).
Add
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (helps to melt the gelatin and other minerals into the broth)
1 piece of ginger (at least a 1 inch hunk pealed)
Salt
Onion
Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 3 to 4 hours. I think this timing tastes best and the soup will gel when cooled. Cooked too long you get more minerals, no gelling and I like the flavor less. Granted, I'm really sensitive to minerals.
During the last hour I add...
a dash of oregano (great for colds and sore throats)
black pepper
rosemary
and more salt to taste.
I tend to just remove the bones rather than do a full straining of the broth for clarity.
For different flavors or more health benefits...
I add cut carrots occasionally. My kid loves carrots boiled to almost mush in chicken soup.
Daikon
Cayenne (great for illness like oregano is great for the throat)
