Mom's Turkey Soup

Mom's Turkey Soup

290 min
8 servings

A big turkey dinner means turkey soup is on deck! Use up leftover turkey and the turkey carcass in this delicious turkey noodle soup to enjoy for days.

Ingredients

  • For the stock:
  • 1 turkey carcass, leftover from carving a whole turkey, including any leftover drippings or giblets (not the liver) if you have them
  • Cold water
  • 1 medium to large yellow onion, quartered or cut into thick wedges
  • 1 to 2 carrots, roughly chopped (can include tops)
  • Several sprigs of fresh parsley
  • 1 to 2 sprigs of thyme, or a teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 celery rib (roughly chopped) and some celery tops
  • 5 to 10 peppercorns
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • For the soup:
  • 3 to 4 quarts of the turkey stock you just made
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups each, chopped carrots, onion, and celery
  • A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves chopped (about 2 to 4 Tbsp)
  • A couple cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning (more to taste) or a combination of ground sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube
  • 2 to 4 cups of leftover chopped or shredded cooked turkey meat (don't use any of the meat from making the stock, the goodness will have been cooked out of it by then)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 to 8 ounces of egg noodles OR 1/2 to 1 cup dry rice (optional, skip egg noodles for gluten-free version)

Directions

  1. 1

    Remove the usable turkey meat from the carcass: Save the meat for making sandwiches and for adding to the soup once the stock is made.

  2. 2

    Sauté the carrots, onions, and celery: Heat butter or olive oil (or turkey fat rendered from the stock) in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes.