Dean Torges
R.I.P. 11/4/2016
Here's an excellent soup to make with the bbq chicken bones you've been saving. Every Greek family makes a variation of it. It’s called "avgolemona", which means, simply, egg-lemon. Begin a meal with a bowl of this traditional soup, and it will cleanse your palate for the good times ahead. Broth from bbq bones give it a terrific smokey flavor.
6 cups broth.
1 cup of rice or orzo, depending on whether you like white rice or pasta.
3 eggs at room temperature, separated.
Juice of one to two lemons. Start with one.
Boil broth and rice seasoned with salt and pepper until it is cooked, about 20 minutes. Lower heat to simmer. In lge mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Add the yolks and continue beating. Add the lemon juice of one lemon, slowly, and continue beating. Then add the broth, slowly at first so you do not curdle eggs, stirring all the while, and then faster and faster as the avgolemona comes up to temp. This is best done as a two-man job, though my mother would whisk and pour by herself. When you arrive near the bottom with the rice (or pasta), pour the egg/lemon mixture back over the rice while stirring. Do it all at once, quickly. Trick is to cook the avgolemona without curdling it.
Pieces of chicken may be added. Serve while warm. Season and add more lemon juice if you like (I use a lot, and like it heavily salted and peppered, too). You can't really reheat this soup without curdling it, but if you have any leftover, just warm it slightly. Mediterraneans know that food tastes best when it's not hot.
I usually wait to make broth (or stock) until I've saved at least two gallons worth of bones, adding to ziplocs in the freezer with each bbq chicken meal. I throw the raw necks in these bags, too. Only boil them for 1 1/2 to two hrs, though. You want broth, not stock, for this soup. Skim off the froth as the water comes to a boil. Skim off the fat after the bones have boiled, too. Pick all the meat off the chicken necks and set it aside for addition later. You can make this without meat, too.
Two gallons of bones makes 18 cups of broth easily, enough for three batches. I use 6 cups and freeze two ziplocs of 6 cups each for later use, including a portion of meat with each bag, but of course you can make any amount in these proportions that you want.
Traditionally, this soup is made from the broth of a broiler or stewing hen boiled for about 1 ½ hrs. Carcase is then buttered and browned in a hot oven or eaten boiled. Failing your own bones or a boiled chicken, you can also use Swanson’s chicken broth with good results. Sometimes, for a rich broth, I boil bones or a chicken in Swanson's broth.
6 cups broth.
1 cup of rice or orzo, depending on whether you like white rice or pasta.
3 eggs at room temperature, separated.
Juice of one to two lemons. Start with one.
Boil broth and rice seasoned with salt and pepper until it is cooked, about 20 minutes. Lower heat to simmer. In lge mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Add the yolks and continue beating. Add the lemon juice of one lemon, slowly, and continue beating. Then add the broth, slowly at first so you do not curdle eggs, stirring all the while, and then faster and faster as the avgolemona comes up to temp. This is best done as a two-man job, though my mother would whisk and pour by herself. When you arrive near the bottom with the rice (or pasta), pour the egg/lemon mixture back over the rice while stirring. Do it all at once, quickly. Trick is to cook the avgolemona without curdling it.
Pieces of chicken may be added. Serve while warm. Season and add more lemon juice if you like (I use a lot, and like it heavily salted and peppered, too). You can't really reheat this soup without curdling it, but if you have any leftover, just warm it slightly. Mediterraneans know that food tastes best when it's not hot.
I usually wait to make broth (or stock) until I've saved at least two gallons worth of bones, adding to ziplocs in the freezer with each bbq chicken meal. I throw the raw necks in these bags, too. Only boil them for 1 1/2 to two hrs, though. You want broth, not stock, for this soup. Skim off the froth as the water comes to a boil. Skim off the fat after the bones have boiled, too. Pick all the meat off the chicken necks and set it aside for addition later. You can make this without meat, too.
Two gallons of bones makes 18 cups of broth easily, enough for three batches. I use 6 cups and freeze two ziplocs of 6 cups each for later use, including a portion of meat with each bag, but of course you can make any amount in these proportions that you want.
Traditionally, this soup is made from the broth of a broiler or stewing hen boiled for about 1 ½ hrs. Carcase is then buttered and browned in a hot oven or eaten boiled. Failing your own bones or a boiled chicken, you can also use Swanson’s chicken broth with good results. Sometimes, for a rich broth, I boil bones or a chicken in Swanson's broth.
