Neal’s Deli
Sheila and Matt Neal opened Neal’s Deli in downtown Carrboro in April 2008 hoping to create for Carrboro the kind of community deli found on various street corners throughout New York City – but with their own personal take on the deli. They’ve certainly succeeded, with lines out the door during many a lunch hour, and continue presenting quality deli grub using seasonal and local ingredients.
“Chicken noodle soup is quintessential deli food. We knew we had to have our own version at Neal’s Deli, and created this recipe that is very bright and fresh. We serve it from September through May, and even had requests for it over the summer.
“Achieving richness to this soup is the trick, and it has everything to do with the stock. When making the stock, add just enough water to cover the chicken – that is what yields a rich, very chicken-tasting broth. It’s the step that takes the longest, but once you have it, putting the soup together is a snap.â€
– Matt and Sheila Neal
Chicken Noodle Soup
Stock
Ingredients
1 3-pound whole chicken, cut in half, the back cut out and saved for the stock
1.5 pounds chicken bones
1 gallon water
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 carrots, scrubbed clean or peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
handful of fresh thyme
3-4 bay leaves, fresh or dried
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Procedure
Place halved chicken, chicken back and bones in an 8-quart stockpot. Add the water and turn heat on high. As the water gets close to a boil, you will see scum on the surface – skim the scum off and watch the water closely, as you do not want the water to boil or it makes a cloudy stock. Once the water looks like it might boil, turn the heat to medium-high. Skim some more scum and add the rest of the ingredients except the salt. Once the stock looks like bubbles are rising to the top and you’ve finished skimming (a little lingering scum is natural – just keep skimming as needed), add the salt. Don’t stir in the salt, but press it down into the water with the back of your ladle. Now you want enough heat so that small bubbles crack the surface, like a murmur. This is low to medium-low, depending on your stove. After an hour, pull the chicken halves out. As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, separate the bones and skin from the meat and add the bones and skin back to the stock. Pick the chicken meat into bite size pieces and set aside. Let the stock go for up to three to four hours, or until it tastes bright like chicken. Once the stock is ready, strain through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
Soup
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups carrots, sliced thinly into half moons
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
reserved picked chicken
8 cups homemade stock
freshly ground black pepper
cooked egg noodles tossed with a little extra virgin olive oil and parsley
Procedure
Add the extra virgin olive oil to your favorite soup pot (at least a medium-size pot). Turn heat to medium. Once hot, add carrots, a pinch of salt and let cook for a couple of minutes, then add onion and celery. Stir, add the 2 teaspoons salt and turn the heat to low. Stir occasionally until the veggies are soft but without any browning. Then add the garlic and let sweat for another minute. Add the picked chicken and several cracks of black pepper. After a minute, turn the heat to high and add the 8 cups chicken stock. Bring soup to simmer for a few minutes.
Ready noodles in bowls and ladle in soup. Add more fresh cracked black pepper if you like.