This is an original recipe that I have refined over at least 20 years. It is a hearty soup made from the carcass of a large turkey the day after Thanksgiving, with a generous amount of leftover turkey meat, barley, and lots of herbs and vegetables.
1. When serving the turkey, reserve a drumstick, the neck and giblets (if not used for gravy), and a piece of browned, crisp, seasoned skin (plus additional white and dark meat, if you can get away with it). Wrap the carcass and meat in foil, or place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate overnight.
2. On the day after Thanksgiving, simmer the carcass, drumstick, neck and giblets, piece of skin, and any other saved meat in 1 1/2 gallons of water, covered, for one hour. (You will need a soup kettle capable of holding this amount. I use a large, white enameled stock pot.)
3. After this time, remove the carcass and meat from the broth (be sure to get all the bones out), let them cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones (including the neck), picking over the morsels of meat as you do so to remove gristle, membranes, small bones, and any other waste, then discard all the inedible parts, saving only the meat and giblets. (The skin is just for adding flavor and color to the broth and should now be discarded.)
4. Return the meat to the broth. If you intend to use them, also add the giblets back into the broth.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, for another hour. If you have tied the peppercorns in cheesecloth, dig it out and discard it.
The only laborious part is picking the meat off the bones. That will probably take about an hour. The more meat there is, the heartier the soup will be. I always try to add additional sliced white and dark meat, if any remains after serving the turkey, or even a whole drumstick. If you use the giblets in the soup, they should be separately roasted in the oven with the turkey until well browned; they will contribute flavor and texture to the soup.
I do use a whole bunch of parsley, torn into pieces, but with the stems discarded.
I prefer to use small, whole white onions, but then many servings of the soup will have no onion in them. Alternatively, use medium onions and cut them up; they will disperse throughout the soup.
I personally like the black peppercorns left whole and also left in the soup, but my friends prefer to wrap them in cheesecloth so they can be removed before serving.
This soup can be frozen in small containers and thawed as needed all year.
(I have made no effort to compute nutrition information because the amount of turkey meat available after Thanksgiving is unpredictable. Note also that the number of servings is only estimated, not measured.)
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Serving Size: 1 Serving (646g) | ||
Recipe Makes: 16 Servings | ||
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Calories: 963 | ||
Calories from Fat: 399 (41%) | ||
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Amt Per Serving | % DV | |
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Total Fat 44.4g | 59 % | |
Saturated Fat 12.5g | 63 % | |
Monounsaturated Fat 15.7g | ||
Polyunsanturated Fat 11.1g | ||
Cholesterol 442.3mg | 136 % | |
Sodium 410.4mg | 14 % | |
Potassium 1725.2mg | 45 % | |
Total Carbohydrate 16.7g | 5 % | |
Dietary Fiber 3.7g | 15 % | |
Sugars, other 13g | ||
Protein 117.5g | 168 % | |
Powered by: USDA Nutrition Database Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are derived from linked ingredients (shown at left in colored bullets) and may or may not be complete. Always consult a licensed nutritionist or doctor if you have a nutrition-related medical condition. |
Calories per serving: 963
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