turkey veggie soup. perfect for those cold blustery nights

we had two birds for thanksgiving, a 23 pound monster i roasted in the oven, and a 13 pounder that met its fate in a pot of 350 degree peanut oil. damn were they good. after everyone left with goodie bags full of leftovers, i still had a lot of meat on the carcasses. now what should i do with it? STOCK of course.

Turkey stock:
ingredients:

• one (or two) turkey carcasses. pick off most of the meat, but don't get too crazy about it.
• 1 red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 carrots, peeled and split lengthwise
• 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped or sliced
• enough water to cover
• a small palmfull of peppercorns, whole

into a stockpot, add all the ingredients, and add enough water to just cover. turn the heat up to high until you just get a few boiling bubbles, then turn down to keep the pot at a very scant simmer. scant simmer means the water is hot enough to boil, with a few bubbles making it to the surface.
cover and leave alone for a couple of hours. it's pretty painless, and the smell is killer throughout the house. go do the crossword, chase momma, clean the garage, or take a snooze in the big chair.

after the stock has simmered for a couple of hours, pull it off the heat, and allow to cool a while.
strain the broth through a fine sieve. knock all the junk out of the sieve, and do it again. pick off the meat from the bones and reserve, and toss the rest into the garbage.

once the stock has cooled down, bag or seal-a-meal (wonderful invention) a quart or two per bag, label, and then toss in the freezer. same with the reserved meat and whatever scraps you have left. i tossed in a couple of wings and a thigh bone to add to the next soup pot. i got about a gallon plus of stock and two bags of meat from this batch.

Turkey veggie soup

• start with the stock made above. pull it from the freezer, and allow to thaw. if you DON't have a bag of home made stock, a couple quarts of chicken stock will do.
• ditto with a bag of meat (see the photo above). i used about 1 1/2 cups of shredded turkey meat
• 1/2 onion, fine/medium dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• salt free seasoning mix of your choice. i like to use Mrs. Dash, but that's because it's in the pantry.
• couple of big pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
• small palm full of kosher salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp smoky paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• a sprig or two of fresh thyme. a small palm full of dried will work too

in a big soup pot, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom, then saute the veggies until the onions start to get translucent.

add the stock, and bring to a boil. add the meat, spices, and herbs. Reduce to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
if you feel the need to add some starch to the recipe, add 1/2 cup of rice when the soup starts boiling, and add about a cup extra water. or toss in a couple of handfuls of egg noodles. whatever works for you, because this is a great soup by itself or as a base for further embellishments.

enjoy

as always, if you try this recipe, or it inspires you to try something different, please let me know how it turned out. i'm always looking for fresh and clever ideas to improve my own cooking skills and recipes.

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