Oven-Baked Chicken Noodle Soup

OK, so it's not really baked - but I did finally try making stock in the oven, and I was very pleased with the results.

I had half a chicken left over from the weekend, and was craving homemade soup, but didn't want to be chained to the house all afternoon while the stock simmered. I'd been meaning to try making stock (or broth, really) in the oven, and I had plenty of other leftovers on hand, just in case it didn't turn out well.

So, I pulled the meat off the bird and threw the carcass into a saucepan, along with half an onion and half a dozen cloves of garlic (haphazardly chopped), a couple of turns of pepper and a little salt. Added water to cover, brought it to a boil, then popped it into the oven at 210F, uncovered. The meat went back into the fridge, and I went to the park, with the kids.

Two hours later, with a hungry crowd waiting, I strained the stock into another pot, threw in a handful each of celery and carrots and brought the stock back to boil. I added a little more salt, some white pepper, a dash of cayenne, and a smidge of dried thyme and marjoram, then dumped in two hands full of dried egg noodles. When the noodles were almost soft (about 7 minutes), the chopped chicken meat went in, along with a handful of minced parsley, for another two minutes. Done.

The result had very nice chicken flavor from the stock, fresh veggie flavors and textures, and just enough herbal taste to round out the palate. Nice - and easy; prepping the stock took less than five minutes, and finishing the soup couldn't have taken more than twenty minutes, most of it simmering time.

I'm told that the stock can go all day (or overnight) without any ill effects. As long as the oven temps stay below 212F or so, the stock will never boil - I'm guessing that you could probably go to 225F without any problem. If you decide to try a long oven simmer, do be sure to provide ample water to cover the bones, and go easy on the salt until you're ready to prepare the soup.

I'd remembered to put a baguette in the oven when I removed the stock, so we had nice crusty bread as an accompaniment. Hard to beat the combination, and you'll get a Norman Rockwell glow from the wholesome factor: homemade soup!