After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup

I did this as a long, putzy 2-day project, which I love.  Crank up your favorite tunes, pour yourself a mug of steamy-hot tea, or a glass of wine...and...COOK!  You need to chill the broth after boiling and straining, so the fat will rise to the top and solidify enough to be removed.  If you have freezer space, it can be done in one day if you allow enough time.  It's only 40° here and I don't have 'fridge OR freezer space, so it's chillin' on my deck.

Remove all the meat from the bones.  Refrigerate it with the rest of the leftover turkey.  Return bones, skin, clumps of toasty-crusty stuffing, etc. to the roasting pan.  Add 5 cups of water to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any little bits that are stuck to the bottom.
  

To this, add a head of garlic, still together, that you peel as much as possible, then slice each clove lengthwise.  Halve a large, strong yellow onion, toss in some peppercorns, a couple sliced carrots, some celery stalks, the core of a head of green cabbage, giblets: turkey necks, hearts, gizzards, and toward the end of cooking time, livers, for 10-15 minutes only, so they don't get tough.

turkey carcass, bones and skin

5c water

a whole or partial head of garlic

1/2-1 lg. yellow onion - cut lengthwise in 1/8ths

1T±  black peppercorns

a generous sprinkle of coarse sea salt

2 old carrots - scrubbed and sliced

4-6 outer stalks of celery scrubbed and chunked

a green cabbage core + a 1/4 head of cabbage

turkey giblets + (liver(s) added at the end

After the initial cooking time, take out the bones and discard.  Pick around the remaining skin and any miscellaneous meat that emerged, cut this up and give to your cat or dog as a special Thanksgiving treat.  You can use the gizzards and hearts in the soup if you want, or chop and add these to your pets' bowl.  I saved the carrots and livers.  I made up some Garlic-Black Pepper-Mayonnaise Aioli using the mashed garlic after it was boiled, as a dip for the cut-up liver and had this for dinner.

Day 2:  Stock skimmed, strained and ready to be soup!

Strain off and discard what's left in the roaster, mashing it through a colander, into a 5qt. covered pot.  Chill this broth well so fat accumulates at the top and can be skimmed off.  This will take 6 hours at refrigerator temperature, but quicker if chilled in the freezer.  Once the fat is gone, stir and warm remaining broth.  Strain, through a much finer strainer or layers of cheesecloth, to get rid of unwanted sediment.  The stock will be much clearer than after the straining with the colander.  Check the flavors now.  If needed add some chicken flavor Better Than Bullion soup base and more water.

In a large non-stick pan, put:  1/2 med. chopped onion

1-1/2c finely chopped (center more tender) celery

~Sauté:  in 1T+ butter quickly, browning just a little

~Add:  3-4c frozen peas and carrots - stir a few minutes
8oz. Spaetzle - Swabian egg noodles !?!

Add this to the warm, well-strained, stock in the 5qt. pot.  Simmer at a low bubble for 10-15 minutes, add some leftover turkey, necks  or other odd parts and gravy if you like.  For starch, texture or grain, stir in some rice, orzo or hearty egg noodles.  I used Spaetzle that I partially pre-cooked in another pot.  Simmer all this until the Spaetzel are tender and serve.  This is a recipe I'd categorize as "sick soup."  When you're fighting a bad cold, this, or some Lemon Chicken Soup are real lifesavers.

I hope all of you who celebrate it had a Wonderful Thanksgiving. . .Lin