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one ordinary bowl of clear amber turkey-carcass stock soup with small dark green-brown lentils, pale turnip cubes, finely diced orange carrot and bite-size roast turkey pieces, with no bones, noodles, rice or garnish
Andre Lewis

Turkey Carcass Soup

Save the carcass for stock while keeping the meat you want to eat refrigerated until the soup is nearly ready. The overnight broth gives green lentils and turnip a savory base without another carton of stock. Strain carefully and measure the amount you need rather than assuming every bird gives the same yield. The bones and spent vegetables have finished their job, while fresh carrot, lemon and reheated turkey pieces make the strained broth into a complete soup instead of returning scraps and bone fragments to the bowl.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 9 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cooked roast turkey carcass about 2 to 3 lbs, edible meat removed and reserved separately
  • 1 large yellow onion quartered, for stock
  • 2 carrots roughly chopped, for stock
  • 2 celery stalks roughly chopped, for stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 12 cups water for stock
  • 2 cups additional water reserved to adjust strained stock yield if needed
  • 3/4 cup dry French green lentils rinsed and picked over
  • 1 small turnip about 8 oz, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 fresh carrot finely diced, for soup
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 3 cups cooked roast turkey skin removed and diced
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method
 

  1. Break the cooked carcass into pieces that fit in an 8-quart slow cooker. Add stock onion, stock carrots, stock celery, bay leaf, peppercorns and the 12 cups water, keeping below the cooker maximum-fill line; cover.
  2. Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 6 to 7 hours. Keep the reserved cooked turkey refrigerated while the stock cooks.
  3. Lift out large bones with tongs and strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof container. Discard all bones, peppercorns and spent vegetables and skim excess fat.
  4. Measure 8 cups strained stock into a 6-quart soup pot, topping up with the reserved water only if necessary; cool and refrigerate or freeze any extra stock promptly. Add lentils, fresh carrot and salt and bring to a simmer.
  5. Simmer for 15 minutes, add turnip and continue for 20 to 25 minutes until lentils and turnip are tender.
  6. Stir in the refrigerated roast turkey and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until it reaches 165°F. Add lemon juice and serve, checking that no bone fragments entered the strained stock.