Every year I cook a turkey before Thanksgiving, so we have lots of leftovers to enjoy at our home (since we usually spend Thanksgiving somewhere else). This weekend I cooked an 18 lb turkey and made some yummy Turkey Soup. It was easy and it made my husband very happy. Here’s how I did it:
I picked a “medium size” turkey (18lbs) so we would have lots of leftovers but not get sick of them. I would say we had enough to easily feed 6-8 people with leftovers. I thawed it in the refrigerator for 2 days and followed the roasting instructions on the package. I do recommend investing in a big roasting pan (usually on sale this time of year) and a meat thermometer (I don’t trust those pop up ones!). If you want to get creative in your seasonings, you can do some google searching and come up with a spice rub or glaze your turkey with butter. My turkey took about 5 hours to cook and we basted it several times during the process.
After we cut the breast meat from the turkey, I picked off all of the bite size pieces from the carcass and kept those for turkey soup and to freeze (leftovers are great for white chili or a turkey casserole). Then I put the carcass in a stockpot and put it in the fridge for the night (or you can make the soup immediately).
Tip : This is also a great time of year to look for a deal on a big stockpot.
Turkey Soup
1. Fill the stockpot 3/4 of the way with water (you don’t need to completely cover the carcass). Boil the carcass for 2 hours.
2. Let it cool, remove all of the meat and bones by straining the liquid. This process might take a while, because you want to keep the meat separate to add back to the soup later.
3. Add 1-2 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. (You will add more later).
4. Add 1-2 packages of frozen mixed vegetables, the turkey meat (as much as you want) and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add more seasoning to taste.
5. Add 1-2 packages of ramen noodles about 10-15 minutes before serving.
:: This freezes great (put in a ziploc gallon bag and lie flat in the freezer).
Notes : Instead of poultry seasoning, I save the chicken flavor seasoning packets from the Ramen Noodles and use them (I use 4-5 packets but I have a huge stockpot). For frozen vegetables, I save my leftover veggies all year long in a ziploc freezer bags and use them in this soup.
–Christina Stewart
