Lots of ways to skin that cat, but what's your "go to"?

Mine starts with sautéed, chunked chicken breast, chicken stock, roasted green chilies, and a hint of ancho chili purée. I add black beans, a little corn, onion and fire roasted tomatoes.

The last recipe I used I cut chicken breasts into very thin slices and just dropped them in raw into the soup to cook for a few minutes. Made for very tender chicken.

Roast a chicken (rub garlic, chile, oregano, cayenne etc. Under skin before roasting).

Debone. Save drippings for stock. Use carcass for stock.

Onions, garlic, stewed tomatoes, roasted poblanos, cilantro, salt to taste. Adjust seasonings from there.

The mansion at turtle creeks (dean fearing)recipe is the bomb. I will hunt it down.

http://www.recipesource.com/soups/soups/diabetic/00/rec0002.html

I use the CPK recipe. Sometimes I cook chicken thighs in the pot first, take out and shred and add at the end.

3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 1/2 seven-inch Corn Tortillas, cut into 1" squares
1 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh Garlic
2 tablespoon minced White Onion
1 1/2 teaspoon minced Jalapeno Pepper
1 pound White Corn kernels
1 1/2 pounds chopped, ripe red Tomatoes
1/3 cup Tomato Paste
2 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground White Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 1/2 cup Water
1 quart chicken stock
24 blue corn tortilla chips (optional garnish)
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional garnish)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional garnish)
Instructions

Over medium-high heat, fry tortilla squares in olive oil until they begin to crisp and turn a golden yellow. Add garlic, onion and jalapeno; cook 1 to 2 minutes, until onion becomes translucent. Add half the corn along with all other ingredients (except garnishes), reserving other half of corn to be added at the end. Bring the soup to a low, even boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Use a hand-held propeller blade processor to process in batches to the consistency of a course puree. You can also process in batches in a blender.

Return the soup to the burner and add the reserved corn. Bring the soup to a boil once again being extremely careful to avoid scorching or burning the soup. Serve, garnished with blue corn tortilla chips, cilantro and sharp cheddar cheese.

I'm building off this base every attempt. The name is awful but it's pretty damn good soup.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/why-the-chicken-crossed-the-road-santa-fe-tastic-tortilla-soup-recipe.html

I'm a fan of Rick Bayless's recipe. http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=51 It is deceptively simple, but it is dead-on. If you can't find epazote (but do your damnedest to find it), use cilantro.

These all look very good, but I am surprised Skip Bayless does not have any comino in his. It does not seem right to not have any. I always thought one big distinguishing flavor between chicken soup and tortilla soup was the comino flavor. I guess he wanted to style this one on regional cooking further South instead of Northern Mexico.

Gig 'em Aggies!

These recipes look awesome.

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These all look very good, but I am surprised Skip Bayless does not have any comino in his. It does not seem right to not have any.

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I tried Skip Bayless' recipe for chicken tortilla soup and it tasted like ass.

Rick Bayless' recipe was pretty good, though.

If you didn't know, they're brothers.

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I have read that before. I'm definitely partial to Rick of the two.

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The mansion at turtle creeks (dean fearing)recipe is the bomb. I will hunt it down.

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http://www.fearingsrestaurant.com/recipe.aspx?id=1&TB_iframe=true&height=547&width=840&modal=true

My super easy, but tasty on a warm night recipe. I'm sure the food gods will sneer at it.

- Cut up some tortillas, season with chili powder and whatever else you want, bake til crispy

- Chop up an onion and sautee it
- Add 8 cups of chicken stock
- Add 16 oz tomato sauce
- Add a shredded roasted chicken
- Season with some chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and whatever else you want

- Garnish with cilantro and jack and tortilla strips

Bayless's receipe looks really good and for the most part really authentic save for the chicken breast or parts in it.

Truly authentic Tortilla Soup or Sopa Azteca does not have much chicken in it save for some broth and that is to thin out the tomato/chile based broth or base that is made.

The Tortilla Soup I am the most fond of does not use fried tortillas of any kind, it uses stale or dried up tortillas. Maybe hit briefly in a pan with a little oil, but not fried.

Tortilla soup, like Chilaquiles, was mainly a way to eat the ever cheap tortillas that were a mainstay of Mexican and Indian diet's. Waste not, want not. All the good stuff like avocados, cheese chunks, dried chile pieces and such that go a long way into making the soup. I do not care for over chickend Tortilla Soup, but it has basically evolved into a "soup as meal" in the US so I can understand it.

I would encourage some to try making tortilla soup with stale tortillas cut into strips and left out to get hard. To me it is better texture and offers more substance and less fat than the frying method.

I'm gonna try chip's simple recipe.

RGV, I lightly spray tortillas with oil and bake in the oven. Probably a similar texture to what you like.


http://krausnickitchen.com/2012/03/29/bohemian-soupsody-americas-test-kitchen-chicken-tortilla-soup/

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That's what I do too.

[This message has been edited by SmilingBob (edited 2/21/2014 8:58a).]

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That sounds like a winner and I will have to try it. Do they end up crispy/crunchy? I am not a fan of greasy crunchy totillas in the soup. I prefer stale and hard that get softer slowly.

I'm trying Rick Bayless's Sopa Azteca right now, first time I have ever used epazote, it certainly gives off a different odor. Just added the chicken but the base taste good, lets just say I added a tad bid more salt than Rick calls for, just different tastes for different folks.

You should be doing that anyway. If you're seasoning and not tasting, you're doing it wrong.

I'll have to try Bayless' recipe, but my go to is ean Fearing's tortilla soup recipe...

It's a decent amount of work, but it's pretty damn tasty.