Turkey Soup

Turkey Soup – have you tried it?

What do you do with your Thanksgiving turkey after you have carved as much meat off  as possible? You know there is still some on it. Do you give it to the dogs? Do you toss it? Before you do either – try this recipe. Served with bread, rolls, or muffins, it is an after Thanksgiving tradition for our family.

For my turkey soup recipe, I normally just put the carcass in the stockpot and cover it with water. It is a recipe which takes very little preparation time. I usually simmer this soup most of the day – it helps warm the house and smells so good!When I am not planning on using the carcass immediately, I have placed it  in a gallon freezer bag and frozen it for use in this recipe at a  later date.

NOTE: This recipe is very flexible, just add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Just experiment with your favorite spices and ingredients. The basics are the carcass, onions, and rice. I usually throw in what I have on hand and it has turned out great every time. It is a real fool proof recipe!

VARIATION:  Make it with your Christmas turkey!

Turkey Soup

  1 turkey carcass (with a little meat left on)
  several onions, chopped
  a few cups of rice
  celery (optional)
  carrots, chopped (optional)
  salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in stock pot. Add enough water to cover plus several cups. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until rice is done. Stir frequently and check water level . Add more water as necessary. As stated earlier, I normally will simmer this recipe most if not all day. A slow cooking seems to release more flavor from the carcass and the meat left just falls off.