Turkey Carcass Soup

This old-fashioned turkey carcass soup will make the richest, most delicious turkey soup you've had. Straight from my Grandma's recipe box!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword noodle soup recipes, turkey soup recipes

Servings - 6 servings

Calories

Author Kathleen

1 turkey carcass, with as much of the meat and and stored in the fridge for the soup.
4 sprigs fresh parsley
2-4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2-3 sprigs fresh sage
1 large yellow onion cut into thick wedges
2-3 medium carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
2 ribs celery and celery tops (if you have them) cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns
1 generous pinch coarse Kosher salt
cold water

Place the carcass in a large soup pot. If necessary, break the turkey carcass apart at the joints. Add turkey neck if it's available and hasn't been used for another purpose (like stock for the gravy).
Gather fresh parsley (4 sprigs), thyme (2-4 sprigs), and sage (2-3 sprigs) into a little bouquet and tie and knot with butcher's twine.
Add fresh herbs, onions (1 large), carrots (2-3 medium), celery (2 ribs + tops), bay leaf (1), peppercorns (10), and coarse Kosher salt (1 generous pinch). Cover with water at least 1 inch above the carcass.
Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, or 4 hours. Skim as foam forms on the surface. Monitor and make sure not too much liquid is evaporating. Add more water if necessary.
Remove and discard the bones and vegetables and strain stock. Vegetables have given all the flavor and aren't worth saving.

Melt the butter (2 tablespoons) in a large pot and sauté onions (1 medium), carrots (2 cups), and celery (1 1/2 cusps) until onion is translucent and carrots are softening, about 10 minutes. (Remember they will finish cooking in the broth). Add garlic (4 cloves) and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir in the dried poultry seasoning (1 1/2 teaspoons), thyme leaves (1 teaspoon), and sage (1/4 teaspoon), bay leaf (1) and continue sautéing, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Pour turkey carcass stock (8 cups) into the pot then add Better Than Bouillon (1 heaping tablespoon) and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Add noodles (12 ounces ). If using the frozen egg noodles, you'll need to gently break them apart as they cook. When the noodles are almost done/tender, add the turkey (4 cups) and continue to simmer until the noodles are at the desired tenderness and the turkey is heated through. Serve.

Not Enough Turkey Stock? No problem. Sometimes we lose more broth than we expect during the 4-hour simmering process. You can supplement with prepared chicken broth. Don't worry your soup will be delicious with turkey flavor!
- It's good to have a few cartons of low-sodium chicken broth on hand in case, as above, you run short on turkey stock, but also remember, as your soup sits, the noodles continue to absorb the broth so you may need extra to thin it to a proper consistency.
Noodles: If you use frozen noodles, set them out at room temperature to slightly thaw when you begin making the soup.
- Also, remember they take longer to cook than standard semolina pasta such as Barilla pasta and also for American egg noodles. They require 12-15 minutes to cook in boiling water.
- Since the soup will only be cooking at a simmer, I find it's more like 20-plus minutes!
Switch Up The Pasta: As I said above, I love using "Grandma frozen egg noodles" but any other shaped pasta will work. If I'm not using egg noodles, I like a small shaped pasta so it fits nicely on my soup spoon along with a bit of veggie and turkey!