Making Turkey (or Chicken) Soup

When making turkey (chicken) soup, simmer the broken up carcass. tiny bits of meat left on the carving board, the wing tips and tail, in enough water to cover. Add a little celery, carrot, onion and a clove of garlic to the pot. Add a little salt and pepper.

Remember the stock will reduce and it's easy to over salt at this point. If the carcass has a little bit of stuffing in the nooks and crannies, so much the better. Once the stock has simmered for an hour or two, strain and cool. Discard the vegetables and pick any useable meat from the bones.

Put the stock in the refrigerator over night. All the turkey (chicken) fat will rise to the top and congeal. Carefully remove this fat and use sparingly to saute vegetables (celery, carrots, onions, plus whatever you like in your soup) until they are translucent. Heat the stock and add the sautéed vegetables and any leftover turkey (chicken) to the soup. Simmer until everything is tender and then season to taste.

By using this method your soup isn't greasy, and by using the turkey (chicken) fat to saute the veggies rather than oil or butter, has even more turkey (chicken) flavor, and you're using something that would have been thrown away.

By ShellyE from Las Vegas, Nevada