Recently, while we were home for a snow day and while we were Going Whole30, I suggested that I would make Hearty Whole30 Tomato Soup for lunch. Sunshine said, “Can’t you make chicken soup?” So I thought about it for a minute. There was a bag of frozen drumsticks in the freezer in the garage. So, okay, Drumstick Chicken Soup. It turns out to be the best bone broth chicken soup ever. It is now part of our regular rotation for lunches and make ahead swim team night dinner.
Drumstick Chicken Soup is also super economical. At least at our grocery store, drumsticks are 20 cents per pound cheaper than any other cut of chicken, including whole birds. And, since the dark meat typically has more flavor, this soup has a great flavor without a lot of additions to it.
Drumstick Chicken Soup
The big family packs of drumsticks that I buy usually contain twelve drumsticks. So, I typically divide that into sixes to freeze. But really, you could make any amount of soup based on the an easy one drumstick to one cup of water ratio. The first time I made it, I had six frozen drumsticks that I put into six cups of water. I have since made the whole package and used twelve cups. It works out perfectly either way.
Begin by placing your chicken (fresh or straight from the freezer) and water in a 6 quarter stock pot. Cover. Bring to a boil on high and then reduce and simmer covered for about an hour. If the drumsticks are frozen and stuck together, as they begin to thaw in the hot broth, pry them apart so they will cook more quickly.
Once the meat has cooked for an hour or so, remove the drumsticks from broth. Allow them to cool, so you can pick the meat from them. Add chopped onion, celery, carrots, fresh parsley and salt and pepper. We’ve been making this a Whole30 recipe, so I also add baby potatoes that this point.
After the meat has cooled to the touch, pick the meat from the bones and add it back to the soup. You can add additional vegetables at this point. We’ve been using fresh green beans, but that is entirely up to your vegetable likes and dislikes. Before Whole30, I would have added a whole bag of frozen mixed vegetables. If we didn’t have fresh green beans, I would use frozen. Cauliflower would also be good in Drumstick Chicken Soup.
Customize Your Drumstick Chicken Soup
I think the magic of this soup is the 1:1 ration of water to drumstick. After that, you can totally make it to your own likes and dislikes. If you’re a regular here at The Semiconservative Granola Girl, you know that Sunshine especially doesn’t like spice. However, if you like spice, add some red pepper flakes. If you are not Whole30, instead of potatoes you could use rice or tortellini or egg noodles.
During our Whole30, I made this soup on the weekend and stored it it a half-gallon glass mason jar (one of my 10 Uses for Mason Jars in Your Kitchen) and dished it out throughout the week for lunches. Wide mouth pint jars are perfect for reheating at work. This soup would also freeze well. However, if you are going to freeze it, I would not add the potatoes. Potatoes notoriously don’t freeze well.
Comfort Food: Drumstick Chicken Soup
So, even though Mother Nature has been playing tricks with our weather. This lovely winter break warm up that made it perfect for tapping the maple trees and harvesting lots of sap to make maple syrup. (Check out our post on Six Lesson in Making Maple Syrup). This is the perfect soup weather, winter comfort food. So enjoy a batch of Drumstick Chicken Soup today.
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| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
cups
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- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrot
- 1-2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2-3 cups baby potatoes optional
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans or other vegetables of choice
Ingredients
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- In a covered stock pot, bring water and drumsticks to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour or longer.
- Remove the chicken to a plate to cool.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except the green beans, to the broth and cook an additional half hour.
- Once the drumsticks has cooled, remove the chicken from the bones and add the meat back into the soup. Add the green beans. Simmer another 30 minutes or so.
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