Mom's Turkey Soup

• WINTER SOUPS
• GLUTEN-FREE DINNERS
• HEALTHY SOUPS
• CHEAP DINNERS
• TURKEY LEFTOVERS

Mom's Turkey Soup

Classic turkey soup recipe! Take what's left of the turkey carcass and make a delicious turkey soup with the leftover turkey to enjoy for days.

Elise Bauer

Every Thanksgiving my mother takes what's left of the turkey carcass and makes a delicious turkey soup that we enjoy for days.

The first step is to make the stock, which you can get started on right after dinner.

Mom's Turkey Soup

PREP TIME15 mins

COOK TIME30 mins

TIME TO MAKE TURKEY STOCK4 hrs

TOTAL TIME4 hrs 45 mins

SERVINGS6 to 8 servings

The amounts shown are a guideline. Improvise at will depending on the ingredients you have on hand and how much soup you are making.

Ingredients

For the stock:

• 1 turkey carcass, leftover from carving a whole turkey, including any leftover drippings or giblets (not the liver) if you have them

• Coldwater

• 1 medium to large yellow onion, quartered or cut into thick wedges

• 1 to 2 carrots, roughly chopped (can include tops)

• Several sprigs of fresh parsley

• 1 to 2 sprigs of thyme, or a teaspoon of dried thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 celery rib (roughly chopped) and some celery tops

• 5 to 10 peppercorns

• Salt

• Pepper

For the soup:

• 3 to 4 quarts of the turkey stock you just made

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups each, chopped carrots, onion, and celery

• A few sprigs of fresh parsley leaves chopped (about 2 to 4 tablespoons)

• A couple cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning (more to taste) or a combination of ground sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube

• 2 to 4 cups of leftover chopped or shredded cooked turkey meat (don't use any of the meat from making the stock, the goodness will have been cooked out of it by then)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 4 to 8 ounces of egg noodles OR  1/2 to 1 cup dry rice (optional, skip egg noodles for gluten-free version)

Method

Making the Turkey Stock

1. Remove all the usable turkey meat from the turkey carcass:

   Save the meat for making sandwiches later or for adding to the soup once the stock is made.

2. Put turkey carcass, vegetables, drippings in a large pot, cover with water:

   If you are working with a large turkey carcass, you may want to break up the bones a bit so they fit better in the pot. Place the turkey carcass, neck (if you haven't cooked it with the turkey), leftover skin, and bones from dinner, into a large stockpot (at least 8 quarts or 12 quarts depending on the size of the turkey), and cover with COLD water by an inch.

   

   Add any drippings that weren't used to make gravy and any giblets (not the liver) that haven't been used already. Add thickly sliced onion, some chopped carrots, celery and celery tops, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns to the pot.

   

3. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, skim foam:

   Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower the heat to keep the stock to a bare simmer. Skim off any foamy crud that may float to the surface of the stock.

   

   (Note in the photo that even though the stock is at a bare simmer, it looks like it is boiling because of the foam that is beginning to come to the surface.)
4. Add salt and pepper:

   To the pot, add about 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. It sort of depends on how big your turkey is. You can always add salt to the soup later.
5. Cook for at least 4 hours:

   Partially uncovered, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.

   
6. Strain the stock:

   After 4 hours of a low simmer, use tongs, a spider ladle, or a large slotted spoon to remove the bones and vegetables from the pot. Then strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer.

   

   

   If you have a strainer but it isn't a fine-mesh strainer, you can line it with cheesecloth or with several layers of dampened paper towels and strain the stock through that.
7. Reduce the stock:

   If making stock for future use in soup you may want to reduce the stock by cooking it longer, uncovered, to make it more concentrated and easier to store.

Make the Turkey Soup

Prepare the turkey soup much as you would a chicken soup.

1. Sauté carrots, onions, celery in a large pot:

   In a large soup pot, heat some butter or olive oil (or turkey fat rendered from the stock) on medium-high heat. Add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts (about a cup each). Cook until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic, stock, parsley, seasonings:

   Add a couple cloves of garlic, chopped, and cook for a minute more, until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the stock to the pot. Add some parsley and seasoning—salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are cooked through (5 to 10 min)
4. Add turkey meat, noodles:

   Add noodles, rice, or even leftover mashed potatoes (skip all of these if you are cooking low-carb). If adding noodles, cook for 4 minutes. If adding rice, cook for 15 minutes.

   Take some of the remaining turkey meat you reserved earlier, shred it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the soup. Cook for 1 more minute to warm the turkey meat.

   You may also want to add some chopped tomatoes, either fresh or canned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes a dash or two of Tabasco gives the soup a nice little kick.

Elise Bauer

		NUTRITION FACTS(PER SERVING)
341	CALORIES
9g	FAT
29g	CARBS
34g	PROTEIN

 Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.