Freezer Burnt Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my most popular posts is what to do with freeze burnt chicken.  I'm going to have to start a "Freezer Burnt Chicken" series at this rate because  my wife found more freezer burnt skinless boneless chicken breast this week and told me to make soup with it. We love my Tortilla soup so I buffed that up with excellent results.

Rating:

OK I hope I don't have to do this frequently but it was that good. Don't freezer burn your chicken just to do this but if you happen to have some, this is a great solution.

Notes: I cooked the breast in chicken broth to try to add taste and rehydrate the meat. I found it did rehydrate but didn't add enough taste. I used chicken soup base which is really concentrated flavor to add the flavor back. After the chicken breast were done, there was some debris that needed to be rinsed off the breast and strained out of the broth.
I added the jalapeno for more taste but cut back on the cumin from the original recipe. The heat rating on this is a 4/10.

Update note Feb 26,2011: I did this again (will I never run out of freezer burnt chicken?) and this time put the breast and the chicken broth in a large dutch oven. Put on the top and placed in a 325 oven for 2 1/2 hours. This worked great since I could go away and do something else and the chicken ease a perfect 170 when I checked.

Printable Recipe

Tools : large stock pot

Ingredients:

4 Freezer burnt skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 49 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth

1 14 oz can chicken broth

2 sticks of celery chopped small

1 medium red onion chopped small

2 medium carrots chopped small

1 jalapeno with seeds and veins removed - minced 

1 14 1/2 oz can beef broth

1 T chicken soup base  (may skip if using fresh chicken breast)

1 10 1/2 oz can RoTel diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 lb package frozen whole kernel corn

2 t parsley flakes

1 t dried basil

1/2 t ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

1 T olive oil

toppings:

3 flour tortillas 

Shredded cheese 

Instructions:

1) In a large stock pot, cover the chicken breast with the chicken broth and bring to boil and then decrease to simmer and cover for 25-30 minutes until internal temp of chicken is 170 degrees.

2) Prepare onion, celery and carrot by cleaning and chopping. Clean the jalapeno then remove seeds and vein and mince finely (about 1/8").

3) When chicken is done, remove and rinse of any debris and then strain broth into another container. Rinse out the stock pot.

4) Add 1 T oil to stock pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the carrot, onion and celery. Cook until starting to tenderize. About 6 minutes.

5) Cut chicken into 1/2" cubes.

6) Add all ingredients except toppings into pot. If you used freezer burnt chicken then add chicken soup base.

7) Simmer for 1-2 hours.

8) Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection. Cut tortillas into strips of 1/4 inch wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inch long. Spray baking pan with PAM and spread tortillas strips evenly. Spray lightly with PAM and bake for about 8 minutes until browned and then cool on rake.

Freezer Burnt Chicken Tortilla Soup

by DrDan at 101 Cooking For Two December 10, 2010

One of my most popular posts is what to do with freeze burnt chicken. I'm going to have to start a "Freezer Burnt Chicken" series at this rate because my wife found more freezer burnt skinless boneless chicken breast this week and told me to make soup with it. We love my Tortilla soup so I buffed that up with excellent results.Notes: I cooked the breast in chicken broth to try to add taste and rehydrate the meat. I found it did rehydrate but didn't add enough taste. I used chicken soup base which is really concentrated flavor to add the flavor back. After the chicken breast were done, there was some debris that needed to be rinsed off the breast and strained out of the broth. I added the jalapeno for more taste but cut back on the cumin from the original recipe. The heat rating on this is a 4/10.

Ingredients

4 Freezer burnt skinless boneless chicken breasts 49 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth14 oz can chicken broth2 sticks celery chopped small1 medium red onion chopped small2 medium carrots chopped small1 jalapeno with seeds and veins removed - minced 14 1/2 oz can beef broth1 T chicken soup base (may skip if using fresh chicken breast)10 1/2 oz can RoTel diced tomatoes with green chilies15 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1 lb package frozen whole kernel corn2 t parsley flakes1 t dried basil1/2 t ground cumin1 t ground coriander1 T olive oil toppings: 3 flour tortillas Shredded cheese

Instructions

1) In a large stock pot, cover the chicken breast with the chicken broth and bring to boil and then decrease to simmer and cover for 25-30 minutes until internal temp of chicken is 170 degrees.2) Prepare onion, celery and carrot by cleaning and chopping. Clean the jalapeno then remove seeds and vein and mince finely (about 1/8").3) When chicken is done, remove and rinse of any debris and then strain broth into another container. Rinse out the stock pot.4) Add 1 T oil to stock pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the carrot, onion and celery. Cook until starting to tenderize. About 6 minutes.5) Cut chicken into 1/2" cubes6) Add all ingredients except toppings into pot. If you used freezer burnt chicken then add chicken soup base.7) Simmer for 1-2 hours.8) Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection. Cut tortillas into strips of 1/4 inch wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inch long. Spray baking pan with PAM and spread tortillas strips evenly. Spray lightly with PAM and bake for about 8 minutes until browned and then cool on rake.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 10 mins Yield: 10

Updated

April 20, 2011