Flu Chaser Chicken Soup

Easter in Las Cruces. We drove down Friday morning and arrived to the house in full production — my mother's Good Friday posole was already at the three-hour mark and the kitchen was warm and smelled like every Good Friday I can remember. My father was at the kitchen table with his coffee and the newspaper. He looked up when I came in and said "you're late" even though I was exactly on time, which is how Hector Medina greets me every time I arrive anywhere, and which I have accepted as a specific expression of affection.

Gloria's posole was, as always, the standard against which all posole must be measured. I am a good posole maker. My wife is a good posole maker. Neither of us is within range of Gloria's posole, and we've accepted this. She grinds the dried chile herself, she uses pork neck bones from the carnecería she's been using for thirty years, she cooks it for sixteen hours minimum. The result is not a soup. It is a destination.

This was the first Easter since Ruben. We talked about him at dinner — not in the planned way of a memorial but in the natural way of a family that misses someone and says so. My father said, at one point during dinner, very quietly, "He liked the pig." We had brisket, not pig, but the sentence was understood. We were quiet for a moment. Then Miguel said, "He liked everything." That was true. Ruben ate with the enthusiasm of a man who genuinely loved food, which made him the best dinner companion, and he always finished his plate and asked for more. We'll say that about him when we gather. We'll say "he liked it" and everyone will understand what we're saying about who he was.

Drove home Sunday. The kids slept in the car. Lisa read. I drove and thought about the mountains getting smaller in the rearview mirror and the fact that going back to them is always going home and leaving them is always a small loss.

I can’t make my mother’s posole — I’ve accepted that — but I drove home Sunday with the smell of it still in my jacket and something in me that needed to keep cooking, needed to stay in that warmth a little longer. This chicken soup is what I make in the days after Las Cruces: it’s not sixteen hours, it’s not pork neck bones from a thirty-year carnecería, but it’s mine, and it’s honest, and Ruben would have had two bowls and asked what was in it. That’s enough of a reason to make it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups egg noodles or small pasta (optional)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Crusty bread or warm tortillas, for serving

Instructions

Build the base. Place chicken pieces, broth, onion, garlic, and ginger in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim any foam from the surface during the first 10 minutes.
Simmer low and slow. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked through and beginning to pull away from the bone. The broth should be fragrant and starting to deepen in color.
Pull and shred the chicken. Using tongs, transfer the chicken pieces to a cutting board. Remove and discard the skin and bones. Shred the meat into generous pieces with two forks and set aside.
Strain and season the broth. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, discarding the spent aromatics. Return the strained broth to the pot. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
Add the vegetables. Return the pot to medium heat and add the carrots and celery. Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender but not mushy.
Add noodles if using. If adding egg noodles or pasta, stir them in now and cook according to package directions, usually 7 to 9 minutes, until tender.
Finish and serve. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt. Ladle into bowls, top with fresh parsley, and serve hot with bread or tortillas alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Flu Chaser Chicken Soup — What You Make When You Can’t Make Gloria’s Posole