Ingredients

The following ingredients have 9 Servings
  • 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 8 cups cold water
  • 1 large unpeeled yellow onion, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup dried orzo
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
  • 1/2 medium lemon, thinly sliced
  • Fresh dill or oregano
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instruction

  • Cook chicken and make stock. Place the chicken, water, onion, peppercorns, and salt in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. If any white foam forms, use a slotted spoon to skim off and discard.
  • Strain the broth. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large heatproof bowl and discard the solids. If there is an abundance of fat rendered from the chicken, skim it off it with a spoon or use fat separator. Reserve 2 cups of the stock in a measuring cup. Return the remaining stock to the Dutch oven and keep warm over low heat.
  • Shred the chicken. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, use your hands to shred the meat into bite-sized pieces; set aside. Discard the skin and bones.
  • Cook the orzo in the broth. Bring the stock back to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in the reserved shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to low.
  • Make the avgolemono. Place the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until lightened in color and frothy, about 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour in the lemon juice. While still whisking, temper in the eggs by slowly drizzling the reserved 2 cups of warm stock into the egg-lemon mixture. This warms the eggs just enough so that they do not curdle when added to the hot soup.
  • Thicken the soup. Add the avgolemono back into the pot with the chicken and orzo and stir to combine. Cook until the soup thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes, but do not let it come to a boil.
  • Serve the soup. Pour the soup into serving bowls and serve with lemon slices, fresh chopped dill or oregano, and freshly ground black pepper.