Jane Brody’s Turkey Carcass Soup

With our leftover turkey carcass, what better to make than Turkey Carcass Soup? It’s so satisfying using every last bit of your Thanksgiving turkey, down to the bones. Plus, it’s a a brothy yet hearty soup with barley and mushrooms — perfect for a chilly evening by the fire. The recipe comes from an old Jane Brody book called “Jane Brody’s Good Food Book.

Sarah get us started:

Step by step photos and the recipe, after the jump.

First you want to pick off most of the meat from your turkey carcass. I’m working that angle:

We needed a little more meat than was left on our turkey, so we supplemented with some roast chicken leftovers from a couple nights before.

To make the broth, you put some vegetables (including turnips, which I don’t usually use for stocks) and the turkey carcass in a big pot and fill with water.

For the soup proper, you also need some vegetables. Chop those finely. Carrot.

Onion.

Mushrooms, celery and garlic:

Saute the onion and garlic, then add the rest of the vegetables. Add some flour to the pan and let that cook a bit. It will thicken the soup later.

And then add the broth and the barley.

Let it cook for about an hour, then season with hot sauce. Absolutely delishy.

Turkey Carcass Soup

Recipe by Jane Brody

For the stock:

1 turkey carcass, broken into pieces
Any defatted pan juices or gravy that may be leftover
12 cups water, or enough to cover the carcass completely
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 ribs of celery, diced, with leaves if available
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup well-washed leek
1/2 cup diced turnip
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Bouqet garni, with parsley, thyme and bay leaf

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring the stock to a boil, and simmer it, partially covered, for 2 to 3 hours. Strain the stock and skim off the fat.

For the soup:

2 tablespoons minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
6 to 7 cups turkey stock
1 teaspoon marjoram or thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked barley or rice or 1/3 cup raw barley or rice
1 cup diced turkey meat
Dash of hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

In a large stockpot, saute the onion and garlic in butter until they are soft. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms, and cook, stirring 5 minutes longer. Add the flour and cook the mixture, stirring, for another minute.

Add the stock, marjoram, salt and pepper and barley. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer for about an hour.

Add the turkey meat and the hot pepper sauce, adjust the seasonings and heat the soup to boiling. Sprinkle the soup with parsley just before serving.