Viv’s Turkey Soup

This is my mom's turkey soup, with some tweaking by Bryant Fairley

Read all the way through for all the ingredients – before starting!

Save the wishbone, then salvage your turkey bones, cartilage, skin, etc.  Freeze if you’re not ready to make the soup while you’re still stuffed.  Don’t strip the bones off all the meat; it’s good for the stock and the soup.

Use a stock pot – it does make a difference to have a heavy, tall, large pot with a flat bottom (they are truly called Stock Pots).  The flat bottom makes even and high heat conduction, and the height lets the flavours concentrate while holding a large amount. This is a great explanation http://jacquelinechurch.com/essential-kitchen-equipment-a-stock-pot/

Stock is the base liquid that gives soup great flavour.  Use raw vegetables in the stock; they are there for flavour.  The stock needs to cook for a good while: You are extracting the flavours.  Leftover veggies from dinner can be pureed and added to the soup; they make an excellent thickener for rib-sticking warm winter soups.

STOCK

• 1 turkey carcass, broken up
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Stalks from broccoli, chopped
• Water, enough to cover everything to ¾ full of the stock pot 

Put all the stock ingredients into the pot.  Put on the stove at High and bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer (soft but steady bubbles).  Simmer for 2 hours.

SOUP

Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl. 

Separate the vegetables and puree them (hand blender, blender, food processor, ricer...)

 

Remove skin and cartilage and discard. 

Strip the meat off the carcass, and chop the meat into smallish pieces.

Put the stock (liquid) back in the stock pot.  Add the pureed vegetables and chopped meat.

To the stock pot add 

(See! These are the ingredients I warned you about at the beginning!)

• Chicken bouillon – one or two cubes or teaspoons of powder
• Bay leaves
• Turnip, cubed
• Broccoli heads, chopped
• Rice/barley/alphabet macaroni
• Mixed vegetables (corn/peas/carrots)*

Simmer till turnip and rice/barley/macaroni are cooked.  *If using frozen vegetables, add just a few minutes before serving.