• 30 ml vegetable oil
• 907 g bone-in skin-on chicken pieces preferably a mix of thighs and breasts
• 20 ml kosher salt divided
• 1,920 ml low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small yellow onion coarsely chopped
• 2 celery stalks sliced 3 mm thick
• 1 large carrot peeled halved lengthwise and sliced 3 mm thick
• 5 ml freshly ground black pepper plus more
• 60 ml finely chopped fresh parsley
• 480 ml water

1. Heat the oil in a large deep pot over medium high heat. Season the chicken on all sides with 10 ml salt. Place skin side down in a single layer. Cook about 5 minutes until deeply golden then turn and cook about 5 minutes more.
2. Add the stock thyme bay leaf and the 480 ml water. Bring just to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce to medium low and simmer gently. Cook until an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of a breast reads 74°C about 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Transfer the breasts to a board. Continue cooking the dark meat about 40 minutes more. Move to the board and cool about 10 minutes. Remove skin and bones and discard. Shred all the chicken into bite sized pieces.
4. Discard the thyme and bay leaf. Add onion celery and carrot to the pot. Simmer gently 7 to 8 minutes until just tender.
5. Stir in the shredded chicken and the pepper. Season with the remaining 10 ml salt to taste.
6. Ladle into bowls. Top with parsley and a little extra pepper.

NOTE: The soup keeps up to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat gently until steaming.