So your holiday event was a blast and the turkey turned out to be a big hit! Now you can use that turkey carcass to make yet another delicious meal from all your efforts. Turkey carcass soup is nutritious and easy to make, and helps you to minimize the waste after the holiday season.
Turkey Broth
Making the turkey broth from the turkey carcass is similar to making chicken broth after cooking a whole chicken.
All I do is add the bones into a big pot (or an Instant Pot if you have one) and cook it for several hours. If you are going to make this in your Instant Pot, you will only need to pressure cook it for 1 or two hours to get the same effect as cooking the bones on medium for several hours stovetop.
I have heard from others to add some sort of vinegar to help the bones break down. I have also heard it popular to roast the bones in the oven before cooking.
I feel I have enough success without doing this, so I just add my bones directly into the pot with water and cook them.
Tools You May Need
You can use the kitchen equipment you already have, or consider these kitchen items to make this recipe easier. For this turkey soup, I used the following items:
Strainer
Large Bowl
I recently made a bone broth with beef bones on our stovetop. If you are interested in how to make bone broth on the stove, you can check out that video here.
For the turkey broth, I used our Instant Pot because it is slightly quicker and the turkey carcass soup was our dinner for the evening.
Turkey Carcass Soup in an Instant Pot
Directions for making a turkey carcass soup in an Instant Pot:
- Place the turkey carcass to the Instant Pot
- Add water to above the carcass (usually 1 part bones to 2 parts water)
- Pressure cook on high for 3 hours
- Add ingredients for soup (left over turkey meat, fresh carrots, fresh celery, and a cup of rice)
- Return lid and pressure cook another hour
Turkey Carcass Soup Recipe
The main secret to a turkey soup recipe is the turkey carcass broth. This, plus a few ingredients to match the flavour is what makes this soup so delicious.
The turkey carcass makes for a really good base, but the ingredients you pair with it will create the overall taste of your soup.
While you can add near most anything to a soup that you have in your house, I am going to add flavours that paired well with the original turkey we made for our holiday dinner.
Our recipe includes:
- turkey carcass broth
- carrots
- celery
- leftover turkey meat
- brown rice
- salt and pepper
Thanksgiving seems to bring out the “big chef” in me. I tend to lose sight of real food portions and cook far more than a handful of people can eat. If you are like me, you also have way too much food leftover after the feasting ends. While this is seemingly wasteful, the leftovers are a blessing. That is exactly what is so nice about this recipe, leftovers are recycled into a decision healthy meal.
The Instant Pot makes quick work of a turkey carcass. I like to make my broths on high for 3 hours, but if you are pinched for time you can lower the time and still get good broth.
Ingredients for a Turkey Soup
Carrots – I usually have a bag of carrots in the fridge lying in wait. This is great for adding to most any soup.
Pumpkin – chances are you made a pumpkin pie and have leftover pie! If you grew a giant pumpkin like us, you can use some of it in this soup. Just cut it into large cubes and toss it in!
Celery – I never used to buy celery, but now I keep a bunch on hand in the fridge for when the soup day strikes. It keeps real easy in the fridge and is a great addition to soups or stews. I also grew it in our garden for the first time last year, and it was surprisingly easy and help up well until our first frost! Little secret – if left in the ground it grows as a bush and continues to supply new stalks!
Rice/barley – I love adding some kind of grains to our soups. This makes for a more filling meal. I usually cook the grains separately and add them in at the end.
Leeks – Add leeks to your soup! This is a great way to add in a gut healthy vegetable, which feed the probiotics in your stomach. Not to mention the added flavour. I’m not sure about you, but eating leeks on its own is not really a part of our menu. But added into soups is a great way to eat them! This also makes sure that our diet gets a variety of foods and vegetables, which makes me happy!
My Favourite Kitchen Appliances
Other Mountain Valley Refuge Dinner Ideas
So much of our lives is spent eating, which is why homemaking is largely devoted to cooking! That is why I’m noting my recipes here and continuously finding my own inspiration to keep meals and snacks wholesome and good.
My meals aren’t perfect. I usually do things a little unconventional, but I am learning to use what I have to make meals that are healthy and tasty! You can find some of my favourite recipes here for inspiration.
The recipes have their “traditional” names, but I break some “rules” here and there to make it work for the kind o produce we buy or the grains we have on hand.
- Cottage Pie
- One Pan Fried Zucchini, Sausage and Relish
- Pot Roast
- Lasagna(takes a little longer but can be quick if you have pre-made mince)
- Boboti (SouthAfrican Mince Curry) with Yellow Rice
Pin it for Later
