Turkey Day Soup

As I mentioned, J and I spent Thanksgiving in Peoria this year.  Although it was not at our house, we got the leftovers--specifically the turkey carcass (bones sounds better), turkey legs and turkey wings, which I turned into soup last night!

This is a great recipe and makes a ton of turkey stock, which you can use for all sorts of things from soups to risottos.  We had enough to make soup as well as a large container of stock which we froze for later use.

As I was putting away the extra stock, I realized something: I completed number 10 on my list of 130 Before I'm Thirty since I made a stock from scratch.  Now granted the recipe I used isn't Ina Garten's and it isn't chicken stock, but it is homemade stock, which is the important part!  And since it's my list I can bend the rules a bit, can't I?!?

I think I can.

10.  Make Ina Garten's homemade chicken stock accomplished 11/29/10!

This recipe is based on a family recipe and is great for using up all those Thanksgiving Day leftovers.  We added a few ingredients to make it our own.  Please feel free to do the same!  Unfortunately, because this is a from scratch recipe, I do not have calorie count or serving size information to share.

Final note: if you have a pasta pot insert (with holes for draining) I would recommend using it for this recipe. This allows you to drain the stock pot easily, leaving the yummy stock in the pot and removing all the veggies and turkey to cool and shred.

Turkey Day Soup

Ingredients:
1 turkey carcass (ours was from a sixteen pound bird)
Turkey wings and drumsticks
4 carrots, divided
1 onion, divided
4 stalks of celery, divided
Leftover stuffing, approximately 1/2 cup
Leftover green bean casserole, approximately 1/4 cup--if you don't have any leftovers, you could always add frozen green beans
1/4 cup rice
2 cups of egg noodles
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon French Four Spice
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning


Kitchen Supplies:
Large stock pot, preferably with pasta drain insert
Cutting board
Knife
Measuring cups

In a large stock pot, place turkey bones, half of an onion (quartered), two carrot sticks and two stalks of celery.  You do not need to peel the carrots and try to use the leafy parts in the middle of the celery bunch.  If you have any leafy tops of celery, throw these in too.  Add just enough water to cover the bones and produce.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.  Reduce and let simmer for one to four hours. (I simmered mine for 1 hour 15 minutes because that's all the time that I had.)

Remove from heat.  Drain, reserving liquid.  Remove and discard carrots and celery.  Leave turkey to cool in strainer.

Set aside approximately half of the stock and freeze or refrigerate immediately to use for other meals.  


Meanwhile, peel and dice two remaining carrots, the rest of the onion and two more stalks of celery.  Saute in a small pan with some olive oil and garlic for five minutes or so, until the onions and celery soften.  Add carrots and saute another two minutes.  Return stock pot (with stock) to the stove and add carrot mixture.  Add 1 bay leaf, spices, and leftovers (stuffing and green bean casserole) to the pot.

Remove turkey from bones and discard bones.  Shred remaining turkey into large bite sized pieces.  Add to stock pot.  Add rice and pasta.  Stir and allow to come up to a boil.  Boil uncovered for twenty minutes until ingredients are combined and heated through.

Serve with warm crusty bread.

Slurp and enjoy!