I know, I know, we are all sick of turkey recipes at this point and everyone is busy thinking about Christmas cookies and your Christmas meal at this point. However, I still have a couple of recipes leftover of things I made with turkey so I thought I would put them out here. These recipes are for a very simple turkey stock that I made and then I used most of that stock to make a wonderful turkey soup from some of the leftovers we had of turkey. You could easily substitute some chicken for the turkey in the soup or the stock and get good results from both. First, the turkey stock.

Turkey Stock

1 leftover turkey carcass from a 10 to 15-pound turkey, including the neck, wing and leg bones

4 or 5 onions, quartered

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

4 large celery ribs, cut into chunks

2 cups white wine

2 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Kosher salt

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Using a sturdy knife or your hands, cut or tear the turkey carcass into large pieces. Arrange the pieces in a single layer in a roasting pan and roast until the pieces are brown and sizzling, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the pieces from the oven and transfer them to a stockpot. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the empty roasting pan and place it over medium heat. Saute them briefly, just to loosen the crusty turkey bits in the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the oven and cook until the vegetables are browned around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it back over medium heat. Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is reduced to a syrup, about 3 minutes.

Add the wine-vegetable mixture to the stockpot with the turkey pieces. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaves, black peppercorns and stir. Add 6 quarts of water and place the pot over medium-high heat just until the mixture comes to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low, skim any foam floating on the top and simmer, skimming as needed, for about 3 hours. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and taste. If the stock tastes too watery, keep simmering until the stock is flavorful. Taste for salt again and add more if needed.

Strain the stock through a sieve into a large container or containers. Discard all the solids. Let the stock cool slightly and the refrigerate or freeze it.

It’s a simple method that takes some time but gets maximum turkey flavor out of the carcass and what is left over. You get a wonderful roasted flavor into the stock that gives it a great addition. I froze some and used some for this soup recipe from Michael Chiarello.

Turkey Soup

8 cups turkey stock

3 cups diced turkey meat, white and dark meat

1 carrot, peeled and minced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 onion, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups leftover cooked vegetables (Brussels sprout, sweet potatoes, green beans)

1 tablespoon chopped sage

In a large soup pot, heat the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Allow it to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the minced carrots, celery and onions. Sweat the vegetables over medium-low heat until softened, about 7 to 8 minutes.

Dice the leftover vegetables. Add the sage to the soup pot along with the turkey stock and 1 bay leaf. Bring the stock to a simmer. When the pot is simmering, add the Brussels sprouts, green beans and diced turkey meat to the soup. Bring the mixture back up to a simmer. Add the sweet potatoes to the center of the soup and gently push them down. Turn the heat off and cover the pot. Allow the soup to sit and steam, about 5 to 7 minutes. let the soup simmer for 5 more minutes before serving.

It is a quick and easy way to make good use of turkey meal leftovers or any chicken meal leftovers. it’s a simple soup that you can put together for a weeknight meal that will taste great and it makes for even better lunches the next day or two. I also added some frozen peas to the mix just to round everything out.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!