RECIPE AND PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY Felicia Lisa
Here’s my smoked turkey carcass soup with Maw♥Maw’s dumplings swimming in it…lol. I thickened the soup to hold the dumplings up a bit. It photographed a little “pale” in the bowl. it was more the color of what photographed in the stock pot. My husband was “humming” when he ate dinner….LOL I’ve not fixed him dumplings in awhile, and he was thrilled. GOOD ONE Serena!!!
Ok… there is nooooooooooo recipe…lol I come from a long line of soup makers, and I’ve been doing this for about 40 years. I take one of my deep kettles and put in the carcass (sometimes cracked in half), enough LOW SODIUM chicken broth to cover it by about 3″ and any other left over portions like wing sections, drumstick(s). Just whatever’s left. Then.. I dice up an onion, and toss parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, some lemon pepper and a touch of liquid smoke. I don’t DUMP in the spices/herbs. I just use some (maybe 1/2 – 3/4 t. of each item listed. Just some – the hard part is this depends on how big your turkey carcass is. I’m sure in my younger years I made a batch or two that was too herby or too salty. Anytime you’re working with premade chicken broth you have to really watch the salt. It can get salty easily.
I just simmer (and occasionally stir) the covered pot full of YUM until I see the final meat falling off the bones and the carcass starting to fall apart. Depending on the humidity it can be 1 – 2.5 hrs. I tong out the larger bones (put them on a platter/plate to cool). I pour the hot soup base through a big Tupperware colander. You can’t SKIP THIS STEP~
A word of caution here. TURKEY SOUP IS FAMOUS FOR HIDING SMALL BONES so you really really need to hand pick the meat well. I am triple cautious when making this soup and yet I always find at least 1-2 small bones that still slip past me! I wash my hands well and just maul my way through every shred of meat. I do this when the meat is cool, but not cold. I don’t like handling cold turkey meat.. it’s just not fun.
While the meat is cooling I finish the soup base. I add any combination of veggies and simmer until done. Green beans, diced carrots, fresh mushrooms, broccoli. If I have any cooked veggies in the fridge they go into the pot to be warmed up. In the past I’ve dumped in leftover stuffing and/or gravy.
As a rule I don’t cook pasta, potatoes or gnocchi in the soup base. I cook it on the side and store it.
Sometimes I’ll sauté the onions, mushrooms in butter then puree them prior to adding to the soup. I do all sorts of crazy stuff. Like with Serena’s Maw Maw’s dumplings. I felt the soup was a bit brothie so I thickened the soup base a little prior to dropping the dumpling dough in. It worked very well.
LASTLY, once the soup is done I never EVER reheat the whole pot again. Keep in mind the turkey has been twice cooked now. So.. I just heat our soup up in individual bowls. I’ll add a scoop of noodles, potatoes or gnocchi’s and heat through. I often add a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese to the hot soup prior to serving. I serve it with a good French bread or dinner rolls.
*** – I never put garlic in turkey soup. IMO – It just changes ALL of the poultry soup flavors and expectations.
That’s about it. You’ll eventually learn what you like and the soup is easy. Often I put in just a LITTLE MORE poultry seasoning close to the end of the simmering time.
I hope this helps… if you have any questions ask away….
poof*
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