Archive: The Turkey's Last Stand....Turkey Soup

Original Post: Nov. 27, 2007

This is not a political commentary posting! It is about soup.

I grew up in a home that was not very enthused about turkey, but I married a turkey-a-holic!

It must be an inherited trait on the Y chromosome, because both my guys cannot get enough of the big bird!

Sadly, our turkey leftovers are history, but there is one last meal to be had from our Thanksgiving feast, and that is turkey soup. I make it just as I would chicken soup.

I take the roasted carcass and pick off all the meat I can and refrigerate. Place the bones, scraps, and even the skin into a large soup pot.

Cover with water and add a small onion, stalk of celery, and carrot. A few parsley stalks are good too. Simmer for a few hours.

Strain the contents through a colander into a big bowl or another pot and return the broth to the soup kettle. Skim off excess fat.

Peel a few carrots and slice into disks, chop a med. onion, and slice up a few celery stalks and add these to the pot.

Simmer an hour longer and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste and some freshly chopped parsley (or dried).

By this time the bones are cool enough to go through, removing any pieces of meat. Put the meat in the broth.

Add more of the meat you set aside when you started the soup and cut into bite-sized pieces and toss in the pot.

Now you have a choice to make: Turkey Dumpling Soup or Turkey, Rosemary, Rice Soup.

For Turkey Dumpling, just take 1 beaten egg, 1 t salt, and 1 C white flour. Mix together until you can't get any more four into the egg and break off little pieces of the dough and toss into the boiling broth. Cook about 20 min. My guys really like these crude dumplings, so I make double the amount.

For the Turkey, Rosemary, Rice soup, add a sprig of rosemary to the soup, some cooked brown and wild rice (if you have any), and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. This of course it to taste. Simmer 20 minutes and then fish out the rosemary. If you have a herb bag or large tea ball, this would keep the rosemary leaves together. This soup creation came from a friend and we really like it just as well as the dumpling variation.

Depending on how much turkey you had to start with, you might have to add a little chicken bullion to make it more flavorful.

Anyway, turkey soup, either variation, has become a real family favorite. I freeze the left overs and keep them for future meals. It is like money in the bank!

Try it with your Christmas Turkey.

Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation