If you’re planning on cooking a turkey this holiday season, an excellent use of the leftover meat and bones is turkey soup. Rather than disposing of the turkey carcass when the holiday meal is over, it’s really easy to simmer the bones in a big pot with some veggies to make delicious turkey stock, which will serve as the base for this hearty soup. We’ve posted instructions on how to make turkey stock before, and although it takes time to cook, it is well worth the (minimal) effort. Simply place the turkey carcass and other bones in a large stock pot full of water, then simmer on the stove (or cook in the oven at 200 degrees) for about 6 hours. Add 2 bay leaves, an onion, 2-3 ribs of celery, 2-3 carrots (roughly chop the veggies into big pieces) and about a teaspoon of cracked peppercorns to the pot and simmer on low for about 2 hours. Drain the stock through a fine mesh strainer and discard all the bones and veggies. Refrigerate the stock until you’re ready to use it (you can also portion out some of the stock to freeze for later use), or use it right away for the soup. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make homemade turkey stock (but we highly recommend you do!), then you can use its lesser, not-as-flavorful cousin, chicken stock. The other ingredients for this soup are simple: olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, barley, leftover turkey meat, fish sauce (or soy sauce) and parsley for garnish. Despite its simplicity, this soup is rustic and filling with dominant turkey flavor and interesting texture from the barley.
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