Hearty Chicken Stew I Made It Ii

Hearty Chicken Stew

Cosmicmother 4 years ago
~Made for February 2021's "Soup/Stew" Recipe Challenge~

Hearty Chicken Stew by Markpedal

At first glance I thought this would make a flavorful stew. But, as I started making it I could see a few flaws. With a few adjustments, I think this would make a great stew!

The recipe calls for 1.5-2lbs of chicken breast, cut into pieces. I used 1.5lbs. I got the rest of the ingredients chopped and ready, and read through the directions a few times. That's where I didn't quite like where things were going. I didn't want to use a pot and a pan. Why dirty two dishes right? So I sauteed the chicken in the pot until cooked thru, removed it and set to the side. Then sauteed the onions, garlic, celery and carrots with the spices for a few minutes before adding the stock. As for herbs and spices, I left out the crushed red pepper as I can't eat spicy food at the moment, and subbed the tarragon for anise seeds and dried basil. (anise seeds go great with chicken soup or stews! Fennel seeds would be good too)

The recipe only calls for 2 cups of chicken stock, then you add enough water to cover. I had low sodium stock, so I thought to double that amount and use the whole carton. Even with that, I still had to add another 2 cups of water just to cover the added broccoli stems and potatoes.
Once that was added, my pot was extremely full with little room for the broccoli florets and chicken (I used a 6qt Dutch Oven). I hoped that as the veg softened and cooked down there would be some more room!
Rather than cook it for 1-1/4 hr, again where I see a flaw, I cooked it for approx. 20-30 mins, until the carrots and potatoes were softened. Then added the chicken back in. But there was no room for the broccoli! To make up for the little bit of 'green' I added a few frozen peas for color.
At this point, you're suppose to make a roux in a pan, and use some cooled soup to thicken it. I just used a flour slurry instead, for ease. I used 1/4 cup flour to 3/4 cup water, and it needed that extra water. Next time, I would just add the flour at the beginning, when sauteing the onions etc.
In the end, it seemed like a watery tasting broth. I'm glad I used a whole carton of chicken stock, but perhaps it needs all stock or add some concentrated stock or bouillon to it. I think this recipe might have been meant to cook bone-in chicken parts, hence the 1-1/4hr cook time. That would have added much more flavor.
For me, I needed to adjust the seasoning a little more at the end, adding some more thyme, salt and pepper, but also added a few extra herbs like basil, oregano and finally some poultry seasoning before getting the taste just right.
By streamlining the directions, using a much bigger pot, and adjusting the flavor with more chicken stock and herbs, this would make a great stew. I could see this baked with dumplings, biscuits, or puff pastry...or served over rice or just with crackers or toast on the side.
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mommyluvs2cook 4 years ago said:

Sorry I'm late to post on this but we have been in freezing weather for 2 1/2 days with NO power! It just came back on, so my WiFi is up again and I can post finally!

I can totally see the flaws of this recipe too! I don't get why you would use 2 pans, and cooking it that long, the potatoes would have turned to mush. Too bad you couldn't use your florets, but it does sound like with your adjustment, you ended up with a great po of soup!! Beautiful picture too :)

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Cosmicmother 4 years ago said:

Yikes! No power is not fun, especially in the winter! Thankfully your wifi and power are working now! Were you able to stay warm during the power outage?

Thanks! I love chicken stew and have searched this website lot's of times but can never quite find what I am looking for. I should put my own recipe on here one of these days. But it's just a throw this and that in there without measurements. ;)

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mommyluvs2cook 4 years ago said:

Pretty much all of texas lost power, it was crazy! It went out again yesterday morning but then came on last night and has been on ever since. I'm half expecting it to go out again! We just bundles up at night and we were fine, it was 15 degrees one of the nights but luckily the house only got down in the low 50's.

Next time you make your chicken stew you should try and measure everything and get it on here, I'd make it!!

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