HOLIDAY LEFTOVERS - Turkey Soup

Leftover holiday turkey

Just when you think you're done with all that turkey business, along comes the question of what to do with the leftovers.   There are pot pies, stews, casseroles, and sandwiches....croquettes, salads and so on. 

The most common use of leftover turkey, most notably the odd wing, orphan leg and that old Pope's Nose? Soup.  Lovely, warming, wholesome soup. King of comfort food, a dish for any season, there's nothing like a steaming bowl of the stuff to make you feel cozy when ya need it most!

Everybody has their own version of the stuff; some like it creamed, some like it hot and spicy....there are as many variations as there are people in the world; here's just another version to add to the pile.

Broth and veggies

Make sure your stock pot is deep enough for the job, because the very first thing you need to do is boil the carcass. Soup making is not pretty work.  Done right, some parts of the process can be downright yucky!
But done right, you end up with a wonderful soup rather than a flavorless liquid with junk floating around in it.

I usually take the meat off the bone before putting the turkey away after its first serving.  Years ago folks left the cooked meat on the bone, put a damp towel over it and put it in the fridge, but in these days of CSI and forensic science, we've come to know it's not such a good idea. 

Anyway, once done with the dismantling I'm usually dog tired so I wrap the bones in plastic and put all the meat in containers and put everything in the refrigerator until the next morning. 

That's exactly what I did this time, too.  After our Thanksgiving feast, Jack cleared the table while I dissected the remains, then stored it all in the fridge for the next day. I mean, heck!  After three plus days of prepping and cooking, a good night's sleep was in order!  Besides, the L-tryptophan was kicking my butt!


This morning I woke feeling pretty good for someone who'd been on a cooking jag for the previous several days.  While the coffee brewed I began by pulling the bones out of the fridge and putting them in the big stock pot, filled the pot with water and put it on a back burner for a long simmer.

Broth set aside to cool

While that was going on, I chopped veggies and put them aside in covered bowls in the fridge. Then I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee and a piece of Sweet Potato Pie for breakfast....one of my favorite breakfasts!

As the carcass simmered, it filled the house with that great turkey aroma!  Two hours later those bones were cooked and the base broth was done.  I removed the big pieces by hand, reserved the still-useful pieces of meat and threw the bones away.   Then I strained the broth and poured it into a tall storage container and set it aside to cool.

I pulled out the veggies, including the ends which were reserved too, and began the rest of the process. 

I've seen lots of people make soup. Most of the time they just toss everything together with some broth and let it rip.  That's perfectly fine....but I like to go the extra distance for the extra flavor. To me cooking is more than just heating things to a palatable point....it's about textures and flavors and dimensions and finding the best ways to bring it all together.  

Veggie ends browning

First things' first.....seasoning the soup pot.

Wing bits browning

I took the veggie ends and scraps and put them in the pan along with some grape seed oil and let them brown on all sides.  The brown bits that develop in the pan are good sources of flavor. Then I added the wing bits and browned them.

Straining the pan seasoning brew

I added a bit of water and let this simmer for about 20 minutes, then removed the big pieces and poured the liquid through a strainer.  This liquid is dark and concentrated and contains a great deal of the flavor that forms the backbone of this soup.
I shudder to think of all the yumminess that would have been lost by skipping this step! 

"Hard" veggies added

While this cooled, I added the "hard" chopped veggies (carrots, turnips and potatoes) to the still warm stock pot along with some grape seed oil.
I use grape seed oil sometimes because it doesn't add much flavor and is lighter than other oils. 

Skimming fat from broth

 Anyway, as the vegetables browned, I skimmed the base broth made from the carcass.  Because it had cooled, all the fat had risen to the surface and was easy to remove.  What remained behind was lovely and slightly gelatinous.  Perfect.

Skimmed broth

Then I added this broth and the darker reduction made earlier to the still browning vegetables and let it come up to temperature. I added some previously browned and chopped onion, celery and garlic at this point, too. Anything for a bit of taste!

Jack came down the hallway to see what was going on.  "Smells good in here!" he said, licking his lips.  I smiled, turned down the heat and covered the pot so it could simmer for about 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes

When this cooking time was done, I opened the stock pot and smiled.  It looked and smelled great!  The coloring was a rich, golden brown....vegetables done but not mushy.  It was time for the next installment; a hand full of broken up angel hair noodles, soft veggies (mushrooms, cooked peas),  the left over turkey....and, since it was available, stuffing that I rolled into tiny little balls.   

Pan covered loosely to simmer

After tasting and seasoning, a little salt and pepper, a little poultry seasoning and a dash more garlic, I covered the pan loosely and let it simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Mmmmmmm, good!

The object here wasn't so much to cook anything further as to allow the flavors to mingle.  Fifteen minutes is about the maximum simmering time you want to give the soup at this point.  Any longer and the turkey begins to dry out!  Then, after a final tasting and seasoning, you're done!

It's soup!

 Well, that's my version of Turkey Soup...a little complex, but worth the extra effort.
As always, please fee free to share your ideas, memories and recipes.
Enjoy!




 

Hurricanes and Hurricane Soup

The weather has been beating the east coast like a rug!
Water, water and wind, tornadoes....evacuations!  Even my poor mother had to leave her little home in New Jersey.  Thank God for dear cousins Joy and Tom....I'm sure she was kept safe and snug 'til the danger passed.
But even now, as the storm slowly leaves them, I wonder what will be left behind.

There's talk of massive flooding from Irene...a name usually synonymous with old songs and petticoats.  No dainty little feather, this one!  Hurricane Irene was big, even though not a powerful storm in its own right...she moved in and lumbered slowly up the coast, reeking havoc from beach town to city street.  Whooo!

And just a few days previous, the same area was hit with an earthquake.

Is somebody trying to tell us something?!?

Those of us not in the storm's path sat glued to the t.v., internet or other info service for news of storm intensity and peoples' safety.  Many have relatives who live in or the storm's path...wishing to be able to do more than watch, wait and pray.

Prayer is a powerful thing.  Many more lives could have been lost than have been reported so far....and while I'll not rule out planning, coordination and follow-through, I believe the bottom line is simple-even Mother Nature answers to a Higher Authority.

So for those folks who've been through Hurricane Irene, how about a nice big steamy bowl of something I'll call Hurricane Soup...a little bit of this and that, to warm the body, mind and soul. Our love, thoughts and prayers go to you all!


HURRICANE SOUP
So-called to send a warm, homey, comforting bit of love to those in need of some right now.

Soup bones if you have them

Hurricane Soup

If not, clean and cut veggies and add the refuse along with bits of meat skin, bones, stuff you don't want in the final soup.  These will make your basic stock.

Heat a large soup pot, add some olive oil.  When it comes to fragrance, lower the heat to medium and add the refuse to the pot.  Stir it around periodically so it browns.  Things like onion tips, carrot ends, celery bottoms, broccoli stems and so on would do real nice.   Add some extra celery, onion and garlic too...and a bit of butter once everything gets going.

If you want meat, any ends, bones and bits that would be too tough for eating can still be used for flavor.

There's talk against using skin for stock these days....I think it's a personal option, and will say that it does add a great deal of flavor, especially browned like this.  But remember to remove the grease from the resultant stock!  Otherwise the entire top portion of your broth will be nothing but grease.

There are commercial stock separators around, kind of like a measuring cup with a spout that comes up from near the cup's base. These work fine. But if you don't have one, simply pour the stock in a clear or opaque bowl and refrigerate it for a while, maybe 20 minutes.  The grease will separate and float on top of the other liquid and you'll be able to skim it off, carefully, with a spoon.

If you do have soup bones-lucky you-they can be prepared by pan browning or oven browning. Both methods require attention so they don't burn.  There are good points to both methods...I like the oven browning, followed by an immersion into the veggie/meat stock that's been developing on the stove (yes, even with bones I like to have a stock pot base).  It just adds that extra something...a richness not possible via boiling alone.

If you do add the soup bones after oven-roasting, don't forget to add the pan drippings too! Maybe even find a bit of wine, apple cider or even just a bit of your broth and put it in the roasting pan.  Swirl it around with a spoon and get all those brown bits, all that gelatinous smooshiness in the corners and mix it into the liquid, then pour it into the stock pot too!  That's the defining difference between a flavorful soup and a watery soup.

While the stock is developing, cut up your remaining ingredients being mindful to keep meat and vegetables separate-from cutting board and knife to where you put them afterward! I use a red handled knife for meat and a black handled one for veggies-and of course two separate cutting boards and two separate bowls.
Remember: Cross contamination is dangerous!


Season and brown the meat you intend to add....brown it lightly and quickly in a skillet.  Remove the meat from the skillet and set aside.  Pour some wine, water, cider or some stock (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) into this pan and stir while it reduces.  When reduced by about 1/2, add this to the developing stock.

After the stock has been prepared and degreased, bones and refuse all removed, it's time to add the other ingredients.   Start with your "hard" veggies; those that are going to take some time cooking and won't get all watery in the process.   Carrots are a good candidate....rutabagas, turnips, potatoes....that sort of thing.
But remember, even these fellers can get over cooked, so pay attention.

As these hard veggies start giving up the ghost, you can add your mid-range veggies.  Things like onion, garlic, celery, string beans, broccoli bits, corn...including baby corns are good here.  They'll cook up as the hard veggies finish their process.

After that come the "old softies,"  you know the ones...zucchini, mushrooms, peeled crushed tomatoes (if you want)....whatever you want.  However the kitchen sink should have been thrown in with the "hard" veggies-porcelain, you know...takes a while to cook.

The final thing to add is the meat.  It should go in only long enough to cook for about five or ten minutes, no more.  Remember it's been cooked already!  AND you've been capturing it's flavor since the very beginning, so don't worry about the soup being watery or bland.

The last thing to do?  Taste and adjust the seasonings to your personal taste.
A little bread and butter, a little glass of wine....mmmmm!
Bound to take the chill away!