Chicken – How to prevent dry chicken in soup

chickensoup

I made chicken and vegetable soup the other day using standard ingredients (small cubes of chicken breasts, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, and stock). I sauteed the veggies in butter and olive oil for a few minutes, then added the chicken until it was no longer pink. I then added the chicken stock, brought it to a rolling boil, and turned it down to simmer for about an hour.

The result was really tasty soup with really dry chicken pieces. It was even drier when reheated the next day. Is there a way to avoid this? I'm making another pot tonight using boneless skinless chicken thighs and want to make sure I don't make the same mistake (whatever that may be)!

Best Answer

Don't cook the chicken pieces for so long. Add them ten or twenty minutes before serving. For that matter, I wouldn't simmer the aromatics for that long either.

Do the long simmer and cooking to make the chicken stock, then strain the now-tasteless and mushy expended bits from the flavorful stock. Heat the stock and add the sweated veggies, diced chicken, and any pasta/rice/dumplings desired but only cook briefly before serving.