The day after Thanksgiving my father-in-law and I took the carcass and turned it into turkey stock. I ended up with about eight cups of awesome light-brown gelatin, which I froze in one-cup batches in zip-top sandwich bags.
Two days later I made soup with the turkey that was left, a mirepoix with garlic, some of the stock, and home-made pasta. The girls said it was the best soup they ever had. Cool.
Then today I came home and my wife said, “Thanks a lot, you’ve spoiled the kids.” Ummm … huh?
Apparently she was in a hurry and had offered them canned soup for dinner. They turned it down flat. The four-year-old said, “You can get the machine out and make the noodles.”
Oops. Sorry honey. I’ve taught them to like real food.
Ingredients
4 cups pre-cooked turkey[1]
1 cup turkey stock
2 cups carrot, sliced 1/8-inch thick
1/2 medium onion, diced (~1cup)
1 cup celery, chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup white flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp fat (rendered bacon fat or lard)
salt and pepper
Directions
In a heavy bottomed 4qt (or larger) pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt enough fat to coat the bottom. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is a little past clear and starts to pick up some color. Stir it frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrot. Turn everything over so the carrot is mostly on the bottom and the onion/garlic mix is mostly on the top, and add one tsp each salt and pepper. Let the carrots cook for five minutes or so, until the center of the top side just starts to get a little soft.
Add the celery and the turkey, in bite-size chunks, and turn the heat up high. Stir frequently, but gently — you don’t want the turkey to crumble — until the turkey is lightly browned.
Add enough water to barely cover everything, then add the stock. Allow the water to come to a boil and reduce heat to low. While it simmers for 20 minutes, make a thick pasta with the egg, flour and 2 tsp salt. Cut into noodles 2 inches long and 1/4-inch wide. Add the noodles to the soup and simmer another 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Check the salt and pepper.
Serve with fresh-baked crusty bread and home-made butter.
1. Dark meat is more flavorful. I go all dark when I’m making it for myself, but I’ll go as high as half white meat if I’m going to share.
