Turkey Frame Soup

Hearty Leftover Ideas

Rich homemade broth w/fresh herbs, veggies, turkey & rice

Turkey soup - hearty bone broth, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, rice, thyme & sage

I first tried this in Thanksgiving 2009 and I find my mouth watering as much for this soup as for the roasted turkey. Making a meat based stock like this works well for most bone-in cuts that have been roasted. You can adjust seasonings and/or amount of water and make this style of soup using roast chicken (including leftover rotisserie chickens), smoked & roasted hambone, or roasted beef soup bones. I do a smaller scale soup like this using the turkey neck. If you don’t have fresh herbs, try ¼-½ tsp of dried instead. For my turkey soup I use fresh Rosemary, Sage & Thyme.

PHOTO CREDIT: Vintage drawing from Culinary Posters site; Artist: Constance Lael

  It has been a family tradition to see our city’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We walk several blocks downtown, hang out in the open air with a bit of caroling, and as dusk deepens see the dramatic switch flipping on the festive lights. Last year there was snow on the ground already. I usually wear flannel lined jeans. Especially on those particularly cold Fridays, it is so cozy and welcoming to come back inside my home with the scent of this hearty soup hanging in the air.

 

Vintage photo of one horse open sleigh; Property of Plainfield Public Library

Another family tradition is to read or sing “Over the River and Through the Woods” leading up to or just after Thanksgiving Day. I used to sing the song with my mom when I was kid. Now I read a picture book to my kids; I like the vintage look of the artwork by Brinton Turkle.   I knew the song was from past times when I was a kid, but I didn’t realize it was written in 1844. And I didn’t know anything about the biography of the woman who wrote it. Lydia Maria Child was amazing!

Lydia Maria Child, 1870; public domain photo

She held an editing job, founded a children’s literary magazine, wrote novels & nonfiction books and political pamphlets. She advocated for abolition, for Native American rights, and for bettering the economic and political power of women. More on her biography as well as a sing along can be seen in the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk-IaIvsSdY

 

 

 

Turkey Frame Soup

By Cathi

Inspired by: http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/turkeyframesoup.htm

Broth/Turkey stock

1 leftover turkey frame

(optional - 2 Tbsp pan drippings and/or skin for extra flavor)

1-2 ribs celery, quartered – with leaves on if avail

~10 baby carrots, whole

1/2 large red onion, cut in large chunks

2-4 cloves garlic, halved

3 fresh Sage leaves

3 sprigs of fresh Thyme

2 sprigs fresh Rosemary

1 bay leaf

1½ teaspoons sea salt

10-12 black peppercorns

½ teaspoon Hungarian or Smoked Paprika

12 cups water

Broth Directions:

Put the turkey frame into large stock pot (break in pieces if necessary to fit pot). Add in other broth ingredients, pour water in last.

Bring soup up to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-4 hours.

Let cool. Carefully strain the cooled broth through a sieve into another large pot. Keep all the strained broth. 

Remove frame from sieve. It may start coming apart in your hands so be near plate or trashcan. Using fingers, pick out or pull off the usable meat and put on plate or in container. Discard the bones, cartilage, skin and unusable parts. Discard broth vegetables and whole seasonings.

Example of how much meat you may get off the frame; neck meat is a smaller amount

 Soup

~10 baby carrots, diced

1 rib celery diced

1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled & small dice

Ripped or diced Turkey meat from frame

½ cup rice (I use brown or jasmine)

 Fresh herbs – sprig of thyme, snips of fresh sage leaves

Add diced veggies to the broth and bring back to boil. Add in dry rice and stir. Add in fresh herbs and turkey meat. Stir. Lower heat a bit to low simmer and cover pot. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test rice & veggies for doneness - adjust cooking time longer if needed. Season to taste.

ALLERGENS: does not contain any of the top 8 food allergens