Spicy Tortilla Chicken Soup

Roasting a whole chicken can feel like a bigger project than it really is. For this meal, we're keeping it simple: roast the bird, pull the dark meat for the soup, then save the breast meat and bones for later.

The soup starts with Soup of Success Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix, fresh Piedt Acres tomatoes, and a combination of chicken and beef broth.

Farmstead Meal #008
Serves: 4–6
Prep Time: About 15 minutes
Cook Time: About 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

From The Farmstead

• 1 whole pasture-raised chicken, about 3–4 lb
• 2 Tbsp Moo-ville Butter, softened
• LFK Veggies & Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning
• 1 package Soup of Success Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Beef Broth
• About 2 cups fresh Piedt Acres tomatoes, diced

From Your Pantry

• Salt

Directions

1. Get the Chicken Ready

Heat the oven to 425°F. Pat the chicken dry and place it breast-side up in a roasting pan, baking dish, or oven-safe skillet.

Rub the chicken all over with the softened Moo-ville Butter. Season with salt, then generously with LFK Veggies & Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning.

2. Roast the Chicken

Roast uncovered for about 50–70 minutes, depending on the size of the bird. Start checking the temperature around 50 minutes.

Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without touching the bone. The chicken is ready when it reaches 165°F.

3. Let It Rest

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Don't skip the rest. It gives the juices a chance to settle back into the meat and makes the chicken easier to pull apart.

4. Pull the Dark Meat

Remove the legs and thighs and pull the meat from the bones. Chop or shred the dark meat into bite-sized pieces for the soup.

Set the breast meat aside for another meal. Keep the bones and carcass too if you'd like to make broth.

5. Make the Soup

Prepare the Soup of Success Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix according to the package directions, with one Farmstead adjustment: use 2 cups Chicken Broth, 2 cups Beef Broth, and 4 cups water for the liquid.

Add about 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes from Piedt Acres along with the pulled dark meat from the chicken.

6. Finish & Serve

Finish cooking the soup according to the package directions. Taste before serving and add salt if needed.

Farmstead Tip

MAKE THE WHOLE CHICKEN WORK FOR YOU.

Dark meat for the soup. Breast meat for another meal. Bones for broth. One chicken can do a lot more than feed you once.

Know Your Cut: Whole Chicken

Our whole chickens are pasture-raised, fed non-GMO feed, and raised without antibiotics. Buying the whole bird also gives you something individual cuts can't: options.

The legs and thighs have richer, darker meat that works especially well in soup. The breast meat can be saved for sandwiches, salads, wraps, casseroles, or another dinner. And once the meat is gone, the bones and carcass can become broth.

If you've avoided whole chickens because they seem complicated, don't. You don't need to know how to perfectly carve a chicken to make good use of one. Roast it, let it rest, and start pulling it apart.

Why Pasture-Raised Chicken?

Pasture gives chickens access to fresh air, sunshine, grasses, insects, and room to move. It also puts the animals back into the farm system rather than separating livestock from the land.

As chickens move across pasture, their manure returns nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Managed well, rotating animals across the farm can help cycle nutrients and support healthier soil while giving the pasture time to recover between grazings.

That's part of why pasture matters to us. Raising good food isn't only about what comes out of the field. It's also about taking care of the ground we're asking to produce it.

Why Dark Meat for Soup?

Chicken thighs and legs have more fat and connective tissue than breast meat, which gives them a richer flavor and helps them stay tender in a pot of soup.

Using the dark meat here also leaves the breasts intact for another meal. Instead of putting the entire chicken into one pot of soup, we're stretching one bird a little farther.

Why Chicken Broth + Beef Broth?

The Soup of Success recipe calls for 4 cups Chicken Broth and 4 cups Beef Broth. We're using 2 cups of each and adding 4 cups of water.

The broths we carry have plenty of flavor, so this still gives the soup a rich base without requiring two full quarts of broth. Taste the soup toward the end and add salt only if it needs it.

Meet the Maker: Soup of Success

Soup of Success in Elkhart, Indiana, is more than the maker behind this week's Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix. It is a program of Church Community Services with a mission to empower women through education and resources, helping them build self-esteem, develop independence, and improve their quality of life.

Their intensive 20-week program helps women find their voices, establish goals, work through obstacles, and build skills for what comes next.

The soup and dip mixes are part of that bigger story. That's one of the things we love about filling The Farmstead with products from people and organizations worth knowing: sometimes the story behind what's on the shelf is every bit as important as what's inside the package.

What to Do With the Rest of the Chicken

Once the soup is made, you're not finished with that chicken.

• Breast meat: Slice it for sandwiches or chop it for chicken salad, wraps, pasta, or another quick dinner.
• Extra bits of meat: Pull anything remaining from the bones for tacos, casseroles, or lunch the next day.
• Bones and carcass: Freeze them if you aren't ready to make broth. Add vegetable scraps later and turn them into another pot of food.

That's the value of learning to use the whole bird. Dinner tonight can make tomorrow's lunch easier and give you a head start on another meal after that.

What You'll Find at The Farmstead

Most of what you need for this meal is waiting at The Farmstead: a whole pasture-raised chicken from our farm, Moo-ville Butter, LFK Veggies & Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning, Soup of Success Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix, chicken and beef broth, and fresh tomatoes from Piedt Acres.

Add a little salt from your pantry and you've got a big pot of soup, plus chicken left for another meal.

Made Possible by Local Producers

• Moo-ville: Butter
• LFK: Veggies & Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning
• Soup of Success: Spicy Tortilla Soup Mix
• Piedt Acres: Fresh Tomatoes

These are the producers and makers featured in this Farmstead Meal. What's available changes with the season, which is part of the idea: start with good meat, see what local farmers and makers are bringing in, and build dinner from there.

About The Farmstead

The Farmstead by Jake's Country Meats brings together meat from our family farm and food from neighboring farms, fisheries, and local makers. It's a place to know where your food comes from, meet the people behind it, and find simple ways to enjoy what's in season.

Through good food and shared recipes, we're building a stronger local food system, one meal at a time.

Visit us at 57470 M-51 S, Dowagiac, MI, just south of town.