In The Kitchen With The Editor: Matzo Ball Soup

April 29, 2025 Stefan Montauk Columns 0

So, I had a realy big “oven stuffer roaster” in my freezer, taking up a lot of room, waiting for it’s opportunity to shine. I love the aroma of a chicken roasting…it makes the house smell like a Sunday at home with my Mom and brothers. But, I have a problem with these big chickens…there are only two of us here and neither of us ever eats the dark meat! It ends up forgotten in the back of my refrigerator until the next garbage day.  So, I always try to find something to do with dark meat so it won’t go bad. Well, this time, I figured why not Matzo Ball Soup? It tastes good, and it’s kinda fun watching the Matzo Balls puff up as they cook.

This chicken was so big, that I found it a good opportunity to make my own stock. I cut the chicken up and put all the dark meat…the legs, thighs, wings and back, plus the giblets that came with the chicken…into my biggest Dutch oven along with two carrots and two onions, each just quartered and 4 cloves of smashed garlic along with two gallons of water and let it simmer on the stovetop for five or six hours. This also gives me the opportunity to draw off my own Schmaltz (Chicken Fat). But, you don’t have to!!! I find the boxed stocks to be delicious and using butter to be fine, although schmaltz does give a nice flavor. If using boxed stock, remember to use low or no sodium Chicken Stock. This way, if salt content is important to you, as it is to me and my doctor, you can control it. Your soup will have a lighter color than mine if you’re using boxed stock, but that’s fine. Homemade stock is always darker.

The following recipe came from the dad of my dearest friend. Besides our senses of humor, cooking was another thing we had in common. I hope you enjoy.

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MATZO BALL SOUP

MATZO BALLS:

  • 2 cups Matzo Meal
  • ¼ tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 tbsp. Melted Butter or Schmaltz (Chicken Fat), if you’re lucky enough to have it
  • ¼ cup Seltzer Water

SOUP:

  • 3 tbsp. Vegetable, Olive Oil, or Schmaltz
  • 1 Onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 Large Carrots, roughly chopped
  • 3 Celery Stalks, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • ½ cup White Wine
  • 2 quarts Chicken Stock
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 tbsp. Fresh Dill
  • Salt & Pepper to taste (Begin with ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper and add more, if needed.)
  • ½ Chicken, cooked and shredded into bite-size pieces (leftovers or a supermarket rotisserie chicken are great for this)
  • Par-cooked sliced Carrots & Celery
  • Fresh Dill to Garnish

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. In a medium bowl, stir together the Matzo Meal, Baking Soda and Salt until well combined. In another bowl whisk the Eggs, Butter (or Schmaltz) and Seltzer Water.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until evenly incorporated.  Refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour, or up to 6.  While they’re in the refrigerator, prepare your soup.
  2. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the Oil on medium heat and gently sauté the Onion, Carrots, Celery and Garlic for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the Wine and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.  Add the Chicken Stock.  Tie the Bay Leaves and Dill in a ‘bouquet garni’ (a little sack of herbs tied in cheese cloth with butcher’s twine), add to the pot and simmer for an hour longer.   Remove the pot from the heat.
  3. Using a “spider” or a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and bouquet garni from the pot. They’ve given up all they had.  Add the shredded Chicken and Salt & Pepper to taste.  Set the soup aside, off heat.  Now…back to the Matzo Balls.
  4. Heat a large stockpot full of water to a gentle boil (you don’t want to cook the Matzo Balls directly in the soup, as they will absorb all the broth). Wet your hands slightly and form the matzo mixture into golf ball sized balls (the Matzo Balls will expand as they cook).  Set each one aside on a plate.  A light touch is needed here…the more you handle the mixture, the tougher the Matzo Ball will be!
  5. After you’ve formed all of your Matzo Balls, carefully drop each one into the gently boiling water. Cover and cook at a gentle boil for 30 minutes.  They’re done when expanded to double the size and they are floating on top of the water.
  6. Gently add the cooked Matzo Balls, along with the par-cooked carrots and celery, into the soup about 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, while gently heating the soup. Don’t skip this step, as the Matzo Balls will absorb some flavor from the stock.  Serve garnished with the Fresh Dill.