Step 1

Put your chicken into the stock pot and cover with water.

Step 2

Add a little salt and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a good rolling boil for a few minutes, lower the heat to between LOW and MEDIUM. Put the lid on and let it cook for about 2 hours on the stove.

Step 3

Open the pot and check to see how the chicken is doing. When the meat is more tender and JUST STARTS to come off the chicken it’s time for the next step.

Step 4

Using tongs or another kitchen tool (I like to use a large roast beef fork) remove the chicken from the pot and set on a cookie sheet or large plate. The only thing that should be left in the pot is the liquid.

Step 5

While the chicken cools for a couple minutes so you can work with it easier, skim off some of the fat that’s accumulated on the surface of the pot. You don’t have to remove it all since it does give the soup a great flavor but if there’s a lot you should try to remove some. The amount of fat you have on the top depends on the chicken itself – some are fattier than others.

Step 6

Using a fork and knife, remove as much meat as possible from the chicken and drop it into the pot. Do not cut the meat into chunks – let the meat naturally come apart as it continues the cooking process.

Step 7

Make sure that you add the leg bones to the pot along with the meat. The bones are extremely important in making the soup taste perfect.

Step 8

Once all the meat is removed from the chicken you can discard the unused parts.

Step 9

Now add the vegetables, garlic and herbs to the pot.

Step 10

Add some water to the pot until the veggies, etc are covered.

Step 11

Bring to a rolling boil once more for a couple minutes.

Step 12

Lower the heat to about between LOW and MEDIUM, cover and let it cook for 2 more hours.

Step 13

Stir the soup a couple times while it cooks.

Step 14

At the end of cooking give the soup a taste and add a little more salt and pepper to taste.

Step 15

Let it cook for a couple more minutes and remove the leg bones and bay leaves.

Step 16

Once done – Enjoy!