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What Is The Right Type of Chicken for Soup?

Choose The Right Bird For Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is a popular way to use chicken. The type of chicken used to make soup makes a difference in how it will come out. If you are buying the chicken specifically for soup, choose a kosher pullet (which is a young female chicken that is old enough to lay eggs). Kosher pullets are raised in a free-range environment and eat natural vegetation and insects. If a kosher pullet is not available, select a soup chicken, which are usually older, female birds. The meat might be tougher than a younger chicken, but it has more flavor. Cook the chicken whole first before cutting it into pieces. This process will take longer to cook, but the chicken will release more flavor into the soup.

Comments

1/22/2007 12:57:05 AM
anne hurst said:

how do you tell how old the chicken is? The butchers in most super markets have not got a clue. It is a pity they do not sell boilers now but I expect it is not money viable to keep them when they stop laying. I still remember the chicken soup that my grandmother made and I can not get anywhere near the same taste with mine.

4/18/2007 3:41:11 PM
Gary Mack said:

This is true, Where can i find an old chuk these days! I wish i could find a old bird dressed as chick! they taste better i here.

Please tell me Mackg@hotmail.com !

10/28/2007 4:11:21 PM
Niall said:

This site is perfect for chefs learning, glad i discovered it!

11/18/2009 5:53:44 PM
joe said:

You wrote "Kosher pullets are raised in a free-range environment and eat natural vegetation and insects. "

Kosher has nothing to do with whether pullets or any other variety of chicken (or other animals) are "raised in a free-range environment and eat natural vegetation and insects. "

There are kosher products that are and are not free range etc, but your statement is an incorrect generalization,

For more info on what is and what is not kosher, please go to either http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm

or http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/basics/what.

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