Homemade Turkey Soup

  • Prep 30 min
  • Total 2 hr 55 min
  • Servings 10

Ingredients

  • Carcass from cooked 10- to 12-lb turkey
  • 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 cup chopped onions
  • 2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
  • 3 cups cut-up cooked turkey
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, if desired

Steps

  • 1
    Break up turkey carcass to fit 6-quart Dutch oven. Add water, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and bay leaf. Heat to boiling over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 1 hour 30 minutes.
  • 2
    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; reserve. Discard bones and bay leaf.
  • 3
    Skim fat from broth; discard. Stir in barley. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • 4
    Stir in carrots, onions, celery, 3 cups cooked turkey and reserved turkey cut from bones. Simmer uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and barley are tender. Stir in parsley.

  • Stirring in a generous handful of chopped parsley when the soup is done brightens the color and brings up the herbal notes in the broth.
  • A large Dutch oven or soup kettle (at least 6-quart size) is roomy enough for the bones from a large turkey, allowing the liquid to circulate slowly around them, releasing the essential flavors from the turkey. If you’d like, add a quartered onion with the skin still on—it will help add a nice rich color to the broth.
  • Barley is a favorite soup grain because it holds up well to long simmering and reheating.
  • If you have the time, strip as much meat from the bones as you can so it stays moist. Don’t worry if some is left clinging to the bones, it will flavor the broth. Refrigerate the meat until the Homemade Turkey Soup is nearly finished.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
140
Calories from Fat
30
Total Fat
3 1/2g
5%
Saturated Fat
1g
5%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
40mg
13%
Sodium
330mg
14%
Potassium
270mg
8%
Total Carbohydrate
13g
4%
Dietary Fiber
3g
11%
Sugars
2g
Protein
15g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
70%
70%
Vitamin C
4%
4%
Calcium
4%
4%
Iron
6%
6%
Exchanges:
1 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 2 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 0 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
1
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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