Perfect Chicken Stew

Total Time: 2 hrs 35 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 (3 -7 lb) whole chickens
• 8 potatoes
• 6 carrots
• 2 onions
• 4 stalks celery
• 1 (8 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10 ounce) can chicken stock
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 cups milk (optional)
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons pepper (fresh ground is best)
• 3 tablespoons salt (kosher or sea salt optional)
• hot sauce (optional)

Recipe

• 1 season a 3-7 pound chicken with garlic powder and pepper. roast chicken in oven at 325 degrees.
• 2 while chicken is cooking, dice potatoes, slice carrots, chop onions and carrots to desired thickness. place vegetables in stewing pot and add water until vegetables are covered with about an 3 inches of water. boil rapidly until potatoes are just finished.
• 3 remove vegetables from the pot by straining them and keep the water. by removing the vegetables and letting them cool, you prevent overcooking them and they won't dissolve into nothing.
• 4 with remaining water on low heat, add can of cream of mushroom soup, can of chicken stock and milk (milk optional, zie ga zink).
• 5 if you don't use milk, i suggest a premium ready to serve brand of creamed mushroom soup, it will be of a smoother, creamier consistency than the regular cans of mushroom soup.
• 6 get a small sealable container and fill with 1 cup of cold water, then add 1 cup of flour, cover and seal, then immediately shake vigorously. you are making a thickener for the stew, it should look like the consistency of glue with no lumps. if to thick add a bit of water, too thin add a bit more flour, shake very hard again. if there are a few lumps you can remove them by straining. this process, once learned, is very useful for making gravies or other stews without using a high-fat butter and flour 'roux' thickener.
• 7 rapidly add thickener to the starch water/mushroom soup/stock/milk mixture using a whisk. you may have to make a little more thickener if you want a hardier stew, just remember that the stew will thicken more after it is removed from the heat and it stands. simmer to desired consistency. stir often. do not burn! i suggest a non-stick stew pot, it helps prevent burning.
• 8 add the cooked (now cooled) vegetables to the stew.
• 9 when chicken is finished roasting, drain juices into the stew. remove skin and bones. tear or cut chicken apart and add to the stew.
• 10 stir in about 2-3 tablespoons of salt to stew and about the same amount of pepper to taste.
• 11 if you want, try adding a dash of hot sauce or a pinch of sambel olek.
• 12 let stew simmer for a little longer. serve with fresh bread and enjoy.
• 13 questions? brennarlauterbach@hotmail.com.