JUNE 30 • 2022 | 43

meat, season with salt as 
needed for good flavor 
and set aside for service. 
Save the skins to make 
gribenes (crisp chicken 
skin cracklings with fried 
onions) as a garnish. 
4. Place the broth back 
over medium-high heat 
and bring to a simmer 
once again. Allow the 
broth to reduce some-
what; you’re looking to 
end up with roughly 2 
quarts of finished broth.
5. While making the 
broth, you’re also going to 
make matzah balls. Place 
6 egg whites in a clean 
bowl and whip until they 
form stiff peaks. I strongly 
recommend an electric 
mixer of some type for 
this part, as hand-whip-
ping egg whites can take 
a while. 
6. Add the matzah meal 
in quarter-cup increments, 
and fold gently into the 
egg whites to combine. 
The mix will be loose, but 
it shouldn’t be very thin; 
add more matzah meal to 
get to a consistency that 
easily smears but holds its 
shape rather than flowing 
back together. Add the 
schmaltz, salt, pepper and 
parsley, and fold just to 
combine. Cover and rest 
in the refrigerator for an 
hour.
7. Mix the cornstarch 
and egg yolks together 
well, until they form a 
smooth paste. Add the 
lemon juice and mix well.
8. Ladle a small amount 
(2-3 ounces) of simmer-
ing broth into the bowl 
with the egg mixture and 
whisk well. Repeat 2 more 
times, then slowly pour 
the warmed mixture back 
into the main soup pot, 
whisking well. This pro-
cess is called tempering 
and will keep the eggs 
from scrambling as they’re 

added to the mix. Check 
the seasoning of the soup 
here, and add salt and 
pepper as needed.
9. Bring a large pot of 
water to a boil, reduce to 
a simmer and add some 
salt; if you like, you can 
go further and use extra 
broth, chicken stock or 
simply add some flavor to 
the water in the form of 
bay leaves, onion, garlic 
or herbs. 
Take the matzah ball 
mix out of the refrigerator 
and check the texture. 
It should have solidified 
somewhat in the interim; 
using oiled hands, gently 
form the mix into balls 
roughly the size of a wal-
nut (2 Tbsp. is a good 
measurement) and roll 
carefully to round them off 
before carefully dropping 
them into the simmering 
water. They should float 
readily to the surface 
within a few moments and 
not stick to the bottom. 
Repeat until you either 
use up all of the mix or 
fill up the pot with one 
layer of matzah balls; 
cover the pot and simmer 
until done, 10-30 min-
utes, depending on the 
size you end up making 
them into. Check one for 
doneness and make sure 
they’re cooked all the way 
through. Repeat with any 
remaining mix as needed, 
saving matzah balls with 
some of the cooking liq-
uid and some vegetable 
oil drizzled over them to 
keep them from sticking, 
and from drying out.
10. Add the chopped 
chicken meat to the soup 
and check the season-
ing (it’ll have changed, 
maybe!). Garnish bowls of 
soup with matzah balls, 
gribenes, fresh herbs, salt, 
pepper and good olive 
oil. 

After 36 years in Southfield,

Mcvee’
s is now open at

our new location in Troy

1129 E Long Lake Rd, Troy Michigan 48085

(248) 817-2980 | www.mcveespubandgrub.com

Monday & Tuesday: 11am – 10pm

Wednesday-Saturday: 11am – 11pm

 Sunday: 12am – 9pm

