I am going old school tonight with the proverbial Sunday chicken dinner… except I opted to twist this meal a little.  In reality, it does not take a lot of effort, but it does take a little bit of time. Shall we get started making some Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup?

Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 whole fryer chicken
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, divided (1 part large sections, the other diced)
• 2 carrots (one halved lengthwise, one diced)
• 3 stalks celery (2 halved lengthwise, 1 diced)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dry thyme leaves
• 2 tsp dry rosemary, crushed
• 2 tsp sage
• 1 bay leaf
• black pepper
• kosher salt
• 5 cups of water
• 2 cups egg noodles
• 1/2 cup white wine (optional)

Preparation:

Heat the grill to a high heat. Prepare the smoker box with chips and oil the internal grate. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and sage.

Arrange the chicken in the smoker box and cover.

Smoke the chicken for 1 – 1 1/2 hours (or until the chicken as a light smoky color).

Remove the chicken and place in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the large carrot, celery and onion pieces.

Cover with the 5 cups of water and heat over medium/medium-low heat to a nice solid simmer, covered.

Simmer the chicken and vegetables for 1 1/2 – 2 hours before removing the meat and vegetables via a strainer catching the stock in a large bowl. Return the stock to the pot keeping it warm over low heat while boning the chicken.

Add the chicken, diced vegetables, and garlic into the stock.

Increase heat to a light simmer for 20 minutes to soften the vegetables, then add the egg noodles and white wine. Cook the noodles until done, approximately 7 minutes.

Note:

Smoking the chicken adds flavor, but also renders most of the fat so the resulting stock does not need to be skimmed.