Remove the gizzards from the chicken. Clean it
inside and out and let it soak in a large pot of water for 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the water and place it
on a rack. Cover it inside and out with kosher salt. Place paper towels
or a good linen kitchen towel over it and let it sit for two hours. This
process is called Koshering the bird.
After two hours wash the salt off the bird then
put it in the pot and cover the bird with fresh water.
Add a teaspoon of pepper and a teaspoon of Bell's
Seasoning.
Peel the onions and cut them in half, then add
them to the water.
Cut up the celery and add it to the water.
Turn
the heat up to high and let it come to a full boil. Be careful that it
doesn't run over.
Reduce the heat to simmer and let it go for a
couple hours, depending on the size of the bird. It is done when the bird
starts falling apart. Do not let the broth boil, or the chicken will get
tough and stringy.
During the last half hour of simmering, taste
the broth to be sure it is not too salty (remember that the koshering
process adds salt to the meat). You may need to add about 1 teaspoon of
salt.
Turn off the heat and let the broth and bird cool
for about an hour. Remove the chicken and place it in a bowl. Strain the
broth for bones and skin that have boiled off the chicken so all you have
left is the onions and celery and broth. Try to skim as much fat off of
the top as you can.
Cut up the bird into soup size pieces and add
back into the broth. Boiled chicken skins are pretty tasty, so you may
want to add some of them back into the broth.
Turn the heat up so it just starts to boil then
add the egg noodles.
Reduce the heat to simmer and let it go for about
20 minutes more. You can also add a little parsley to give it some color
if you want. Correct the seasoning as you please.