Turkey Soup For The Soul

A few days after Thanksgiving, there was a turkey carcass sitting in a plastic bag, on the bottom shelf of the 2nd refrigerator in my aunt and uncle’s basement. I opened the door and heard it whisper “Use me. I will make you the most tasty and delicious bowl of soup.” And, so it was. And, so it was true. I removed the turkey carcass from the plastic bag, cleaned out her cavity so there were no more stuffing remains, trimming some fat and gelatinous bits.

I cut the remaining leftover turkey and put 2 large wings aside. Then I proceeded to dice onions, celery and carrots. The latter 3 ingredients would make up the base of the turkey soup.

Into one large crock pot went:

—1x turkey carcass
—2x turkey wings
—4 medium sized peeled carrots
—the interior stalks and leaves from a bunch celery (only, not the exterior stalks, get that celery leaf flavor)
—3 large cloves of garlic
—1x diced shallot (1x small onion is also fine)
—4 large, dried bay leaves
—2 tablespoons of whole peppercorns
—1 tablespoon of salt
—10 large sprigs of parsley
—all of the above was then covered with water

I allowed the veggies and herbs to mingle with the carcass and wings, bringing it to a boil and lowering to a simmer for 2-2.5 hours (boil to simmer to flame off) until the meat was falling off of the carcass and wings.

I removed the pot from the heat and used tongs to lift the carcass and wings from the pot, placing them in a large glass pyrex bowl (heat safe); allowing it to cool as I placed a mesh stainer over another large stock pot and strained the broth from the pot that contained the carcass, wings and veggies.

I put the strained broth aside and cleaned my other large stock pot to get ready for the main show, aka the actual soup making.

Now it was time to melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Then the diced onions, carrots and celery were added with 3 tablespoons of poultry seasoning, 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Magic! I sauteed until fragrant and coated 20 minutes. As the veggies were being sauteed, I picked all of the meat from wings and carcass, adding them to the pot of veggies with poultry seasoning. Now it was time to add the turkey stock to the pot with a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, simmering for 30 minutes until the veggies are just fork tender.

Serve turkey soup piping hot with orzo, pastina, large egg noodles or as is. Sprinkle with Locatelli cheese and red pepper flakes for a salty and spicy dream. Share with people you love, like I did.