Homemade Turkey Soup

A lot of recipes for Turkey soup call for the turkey carcass but since my Thanksgiving turkeys are stuffed my carcasses are never really clean enough for soup.  So I buy extra turkey legs and wings to make turkey broth and throw that old  carcass away.

This is a great Soup for that first Saturday night after Thanksgiving.


Homemade Turkey Soup

2 large fresh or frozen Turkey legs

4 large fresh or frozen Turkey wings

3 quarts (12 cups) water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning or dried sage leaves

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

3 medium carrots, sliced (1 1/2 cups)

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)

3 cups cut-up cooked turkey

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a large soup pot add Turkey, water, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and bay leaf. Heat to boiling over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 1 hour 30 minutes.

Skim off any residue that rises to the surface. Remove bones, meat and bay leaf from broth; cool. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside. Discard bones and bay leaf.

Strain the broth through a sieve covered with wet cheesecloth into a large bowl. Discard the solids. Place the bowl in a bath of ice to chill broth quickly and let fat solidify.

Skim fat from broth; discard. Pour broth back into soup pot and add turkey meat cut from bones to broth; stir in barley. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in carrots, onion, celery and 3 cups cooked turkey. Simmer uncovered 20 to 25 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and barley are tender. Stir in parsley.

Serve in warm bowls.