That’s a Big Matzo Ball Soup

Alright…this is a serious soup. This isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill soup. There are expectations! Look at this thing. It’s just sittin’ there. Is it light? Is it dense? You don’t know until you go in. It’s a gamble! Every spoonful is a risk! And the broth, it’s gotta be just right. Not too salty, not too bland. You get it wrong, the whole thing falls apart! It’s a delicate ecosystem!…ohhh, that’s good. It’s warm, it’s soothing…it’s like a hug! There’s history in this! Generations! But I’m tellin’ you right now, if that matzoh ball is too heavy? If it sits in your stomach like a rock? Your day is over. You’re done! Cancel everything!…this one’s perfect. I could eat this every day. Every day!…why don’t I eat this every day?

Ingredients

4 bowls of soup

4 chicken legs and thighs
1 tbs kosher salt
1 tsp white pepper (plus 1/4 tsp more)
2 bay leaves
1 onion (plus 1 more)
1 stalk celery (plus 2 more)
1 carrot (plus 2 more)
1 parsnip
1 bunch parsley stems
1 tbs thyme
3 quarts water
2 eggs
1/2 cup matzo meal
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 tbs schmaltz
2 tsp fresh dill
1/4 cup minced parsley (plus 1 tbs more for garnish)
2 tbs dry vermouth
1/4 cup chicken stock

Directions

For the stock, season the chicken legs with salt and white pepper. Place the chicken on a wire rack and refrigerate 4 hours to over night. Separate the drum sticks from the thighs and chop in half through the bone with a cleaver or heavy knife. Add chicken pieces to a slow cooker with the bay leaves, parsley stems, thyme, and roughly chopped onion, carrot, celery, and parsnip with 3 quarts of water. Cook for 6 hours in the slow cooker.
Remove the chicken pieces from the stock and remove the meat from the bones. Strain the stock through a sieve and refrigerate. Collect the fat from the cooled stock which should yield 1 tbs for matzo balls.
For the matzo balls, separate the yolks from the egg whites. Place the yolks in a small bowl and reserve the whites. To the yolks add the matzo meal, celery salt, dill, parsley, schmaltz, vermouth, white pepper, and chicken stock and mix to combine and allow matzo meal to absorb the liquid, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl using a whisk or hand mixer, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the matzo mixture and, using a 2 tbs scoop, form eight matzo balls.
For the soup, in a large stock pot over medium heat, bring the stock to a simmer and add the matzo balls. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer the balls for 30 minutes. Dice the remaining onion, carrot, and celery and add to the simmering soup with the meat from the chicken, simmer an additional 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Ladle soup into bowls with 2 matzoh balls garnished with remaining parsley.
Serve.