What size pot do you use to make Jewish chicken soup?

[Nikki NYC]

It's time for me to buy a new pot - mine is so small I don't get enough broth, even with a 3 1/2 pound chicken. Any suggestions? Also, any opinions about stock v. soup pots? Thanks!

[rememberme]

I make lots of soup at one time, so I have a 10 gallon pot, and a slightly smaller one I bought at a yard sale, so when the soup is done I put my colander over the smaller of the two and strain the whole thing through the colander into the slightly smaller pot. But I have to say it's kind of rediculous quantities.

[toomanypots]

My parent's large soup pot was a 16 qt enameled steel. It got used for two-chicken batches: the special occasion soup. We didn't make daily batches, sadly Monsieur Campbell fed us on a more regular basis. A neighbor's kitchen when I was in my 'teens made soup weekly in a 8 qt. That still seems the right size for a single batch of soup (I don't like boil-overs)

[RGC1982]

A five quart pot is enough to do this with a four or five pound chicken. I do it all the time. Use a bigger pot if you need to feed more than four or five people.

[applehome]

Stock or soup? My 8.5 qt is more than enough to make soup for my family of 5. I do use a separate 4 qt for the matzohballs. But when it comes to making stock, (mine is cooked down quite a bit so that I add water or more liquid when making the soup), it depends on how much I'm making. With one old fowl and one package of chicken feet, I use the 12 qt stockpot, and I end up filling 2, 1-gallon mason jars plus a 2-qt. I have also cut the chicken in half and used half the feet in the 8.5 qt pot which makes 1 gallon and a 2-qt. The stock is the same either way, and other than the initial bringing to a boil, makes little difference in time. The smaller pot is easier to handle, but if I have room in the fridge for both 1-gallon jars, I'd just as soon do the big one. (Depends on how many other stocks I have at the moment.)

[randallhank]

I agree, 8 quarts of soup is a ton. A soup pot is usually a 5 or 6 quart affair. Anything larger than that, I think, is properly called a stock pot. The eight quart size should be perfect for lots of soup, plus the chicken itself. If you are just making soup, then use a soup pot. Mine is a 6.5 quart Calphalon One, for meat. I have a 5.5 quart dutch oven that I use for dairy, but I am replacing it with a 5 quart stainless "stockpot" because I like the dimensions better (taller, narrower, which I want for boiling pasta and fitting into my smallish dairy pantry).

I make my chicken soup from stock. I use a 12 quart stainless from Williams- Sonoma. When I make the soup, though, it goes in the soup pot. 6 quarts of soup can feed up to twenty people.

Another issue is whether you want a multi-clad style or something with a aluminum cored disc on the bottom. These days most people prefer the multi-clad style for most pans. If you are looking at a soup pot, or something smaller, multi-clad or Calphalon One are the way to go. But (and this is where a lot of people get it wrong), for a stockpot (8 quarts or larger), multi-clad IS NOT what you want. Stock needs to be brought from cold to simmer VERY slowly (this is when the essential gelatinous material is released from the bones), and then simmered at a very low temp. So, it is actually better to have less efficient heat transfer. This is why the higher end All-Clad and Calphalon lines offer non multi-clad stock, or multi purpose pots.

[Demented]

I have a Polar Ware 40 quart stainless steel stock pot with a false bottom/strainer and drain spigot.

Seriously... an 8 ½ quart 2.5mm copper/stainless stockpot for making sauce, soup and stock, I use it at least once a week.

The Polar Ware pot has yet to be used for anything other than brewing, thought about making soup in it once or twice though.

[alanbarnes]

Agree with the others that a 12 quarts is a good size for a soup pot.

If you're only making soup of one chicken, an 8-quart pot is plenty big enough. But if you're only going to have one, the 12-quart is the way to go. Unless you're fairly short, it's easy enough to cook 6 or 8 quarts of soup in a 12-quart pot. The other way around presents more problems.

[cheesecake17]

"unless you're fairly short"

I'm barely 5ft, and when I bought the 12 quart pot, I also bought a stool to stand on for when I use the pot :)

[CindyJ]

I also use a 12-quart stockpot. Chicken soup freezes well, so I like to make a big pot of it and freeze it in 1-quart containers.

[mpalmer6c]

You didn't say what size pot you're using now.
But I 'd say if you want a little more broth, buy a
slightly larger pot. If you want a lot more
broth, buy a much larger pot. Stocks and
soup are basically the same thing, liquid with
some stuff in it.

[thew]

before or after you cut the tip off?

( i kid i kid - as a member of the tribe - i kid (or should i said chad gad ya))

[kattyeyes]

"My father bought for two zuzim..." And on home cooking, there are hamentaschen recipes flying around. Glad spring is coming! ;)

[pothead]

I use a 12 quart stockpot.

[cheesecake17]

Mine is 12 quarts also. Perfect for chicken soup, chili, or a big batch of meat sauce.