Chicken with Barley Soup

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Description

Simmering chicken thighs in water provides the stock for this chicken soup with barley, vegetables, and plenty of seasoning.

Ingredients

8 cups water
2 pounds chicken thighs, or more to taste
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery (try to include celery leaves)
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup pearl barley
3 bay leaves
1 cube chicken bouillon, or more to taste
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1 Combine water, chicken thighs, and bay leaves in a large stock pot; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
2 Transfer chicken thighs to a cutting board to cool. Remove and discard bones, skin, and fat; cut the remaining chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to broth.
3 Cool broth until the fat congeals on the surface; skim and discard fat.
4 Add carrots, celery, onion, pearl barley, bay leaves, chicken bouillon, poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and black pepper to broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until barley is cooked and vegetables are tender, 60 to 90 minutes. Stir lemon juice into soup just before serving.