Turkey stock for soup
Easy
I love to have turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving, but nothing beats homemade soup made with what's leftover from the great roast : ) The way the house refills with the smell of Thanksgiving turkey is just awesome.
When all is said and done and everybody has feasted and you have gotten all there is to get from that awesome bird you made, set aside any meat and save the rest!
In a large pot, throw it all in, I mean everything! The carcass, any wings or legs not devoured, save any meat you can for soup later but the rest? Throw it in the pot.
I added some onion I had leftover, a few mini carrots, fresh parsley-stems and all...celery tops. I added the celery stalks I cooked the turkey on in the pan and threw the neck in for good measure.
Cover everything with cold water and simmer for 4 hours (I was hungry for soup so I only waited 3.5 hrs). During the simmering process if any film develops on top or deposits of fat or foam...just skim it off. After the simmering is finished, strain the mix through a fine mesh strainer a few times and discard the solids.
You can let the stock cool and skim any fat off that has floated to the top and make soup with it right away or refrigerate it, just be sure to remove the top layer of fat before using or freezing. Freeze all or a portion of the flavored stock for later use. It makes the best soup and is well worth the effort of throwing it all into a pot, covering with cold water and walking away for a few hours.
Delicious!
I ended up with enough for a pot of soup to serve 4-5 servings right away and two packages with 2.5 cups of stock each to save in the freezer : )
