What to do with the Turkey Carcass?

Cool, thanks. This is the exact reason I visited the forum tonight. I smoked a turkey today and thought it would make a good smoked turkey soup.

It does. We usually do two every year and hate to throw away all that good taste. We make a big pot of stock and freeze it in smaller quantities.

To tag onto to what to do with the carcass stock,the "coonass" relatives in New Iberia,La do one similar to this.

Turkey Bone GumboPrep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 0 min Cook Time: 3 hr 40 min Level:
0 Serves:
4 servings 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
salt
cayenne
1 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kiebasa, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices
3 bay leaves
6 cups turkey stock[concentrated down from cooking the carcass]
leftover turkey meat, about 3 to 4 cups
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon file powder
2 cups cooked long grain white rice


In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, combine the oil and flour and stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4-5 minutes, or until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sausage and bay leaves. Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the stock. Stir until the roux mixture and stock are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Add the turkey. Simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat . Stir in the parsley and green onions. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls with rice. you

Printed from FoodNetwork.com on 10/01/2008
© 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved

How about forget stock.. and just make soup . I do it with every carcass I can get my hands on. Finished a pot tonight and had some of it for dinner. Leftovers frozen in 1 G ziplocks for future cold nights that require comfort food.

One turkey carcass with neck and giblets. Cover with water ( for me about 12-16 C water).. toss in a quartered large sweet onion and a heaping Tbsp of either Garlic powder of garlic salt.. bring to boil for about 15-20 minutes.. simmer for a couple of hours. I cool mine by putting the pot in a sink full of cold tap water till it's cool enough to pull the meat off the bones. Keep the meat separate from the broth.. cool the broth further and put in frig long enough to let the fat gel.. over night is what I do. Skim the fat and toss in about three or four cups of diced turkey. and bring to a simmer.

Add:
2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes drain optional.
1 T of ground pepper.. white or black
1 T heaping of Knorr Chicken Flavored Boullion
1 T Basil
1 T Oregano
2 C Okra
4 C Mixed frozen vegetables

Simmer for an hour and add rice or noodles. I like to cook a pot of brown rice separately and put a large scoop of rice in the bottom of a bowl and put a few ladles of the soup mixture over the rice. The smell is overwhelming during the day while it's cooking.. I usually don't have to add any further salt.

If you make stock, you can store it for the next few months and make more soup.

Teach them to make soup and they do it once...

Teach them to make stock and they make soup forever...

Here are a couple more ideas for using left over turkey. Cream Of Turkey Soup and Turkey Tetrazzini.

First off I gotta say that Somkin's right on with the long, slow-cooking stock procedure. I think it's best to start the process with cold water since hot water tends to seal up the bones and it should be simmered for at least six hours or more to extract all of the strength from the bones, just like Smokin' says. Also, It doesn't have to be at a rolling boil or either a medium boil. Just a few bubbles coming up will do just fine. A slow cooker (Crock Pot) is great for this purpose.

Second, when the family leaves our house there's precious little turkey meat left hence the addition of the chicken breasts for extra meat in the soup.

The Turkey Tetrazzini recipe is pretty straight forward.

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Cream Of Turkey Soup

INGREDIENTS FOR THE STOCK
all bones from leftover turkey -- cleaned and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
6 whole cloves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 medium onion -- cubed
2 ribs celery -- coarsely chopped
1 carrot coarsely chopped
4 quarts water
.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SOUP
1/2 pound butter or margarine
3 large onions -- coarsely chopped
3 ribs celery -- coarsely chopped
2 carrots -- peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups flour
2 quarts turkey stock
3 medium size red potatoes, not peeled -- 1/2 in dice
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 pint cream
4 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts -- 1/2" cubes

TO PREPARE THE STOCK
Bring all ingredients to a boil in 4 quarts cold water. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for at least 6 hours. Strain. If there is less than 2 quarts of stock, add enough water to make 2 quarts. Cool then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. After broth has completely cooled remove the fat from the surface.

TO PREPARE THE SOUP
In the large stock pot melt the butter then add the onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Sweat these vegetables until the onion becomes translucent. Add in the flour and mix thoroughly.

Add the 2 quarts of the stock to the pot and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Add the potatoes and mixed vegetables and continue at a simmer until the potatoes are just tender. About 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the cream and chicken, add more salt if necessary and add any remaining stock or water if the soup is too thick.

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Turkey Tetrazzini

1/2 cup butter, unsalted
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic -- minced
1 cup scallions -- sliced
1/4 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
12 ounces mushrooms -- sliced thin
12 ounces spaghetti -- broken up
2 cups cooked turkey
salt to taste

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes, but do not brown. Add broth, sherry, cream, and oregano. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt remaining butter with oil in skillet. Add garlic, scallions, parsley, and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are brown. Remove from heat. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.

Combine sauce, mushrooms, spaghetti, and turkey; season with salt to taste.

Pour into greased casserole and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until bubbly

quote:

Originally posted by TaktEZ:
First off I gotta say that Somkin's right on with the long, slow-cooking stock procedure.

Ahhhh, just another man's opinion..

quote:

I think it's best to start the process with cold water since hot water tends to seal up the bones and it should be simmered for at least six hours or more to extract all of the strength from the bones

Ahhhh, just another man's opinion..

Thanks for the recipes, etc. Gotta give 'em a try with the next bird in a few weeks.

Actually, I whack all the larger bones with a cleaver.. not enough to shatter/splinter them.. but enough to open them. The "stock" soup base sucks all the good stuff out. Different methods.. but it all works.