Turkey barley soup is a comfort-food favorite that stretches your turkey into another meal. Simmer your Thanksgiving turkey carcass to create a rich homemade turkey stock that forms the base of a delicious soup, loaded with aromatic vegetables, barley, and mushrooms. Perfect for lunch or dinner with a slice of crusty bread, this may just be the best turkey soup ever.
Ingredients
- quarts water: 5 piece (or as needed)
- turkey carcass: 1 piece
- ½ cups coarsely chopped onion: 1 piece
- carrot: 0.5 cup (chopped)
- stalks celery, cut in half: 3 piece
- whole black peppercorns: 10 piece
- bay leaf: 1 piece
- pinch dried thyme: 1 piece (to taste)
- ½ pounds carrots: 1 piece (cut into 1-inch chunks)
- medium onions: 2 piece (diced)
- stalks celery: 6 piece (cut into 1/2 inch slices)
- barley: 1 cup
- mushrooms: 0.5 cup (chopped)
- bay leaves: 2 piece
- salt: 2 tsp (optional)
- marjoram: 1 tsp (dried)
- ground black pepper: 0.5 tsp
- pinch dried thyme: 1 piece
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Gather all stock and soup ingredients. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo
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Make the turkey stock: Combine 5 quarts water and turkey carcass in a large stockpot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Add onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf, and thyme. Reduce the heat and simmer, skimming excess fat and foam from the surface as needed and adding more water as it evaporates, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo
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Remove carcass to a cutting board and cool. Strain stock; discard solids and return liquid to the pot. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo
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Pull meat from cooled carcass and discard bones. Shred meat and refrigerate until needed. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo
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Make the soup: Add carrots, onions, celery, barley, mushrooms, bay leaves, salt, marjoram, pepper, and thyme to stock; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until barley is fully cooked, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo
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Return shredded turkey to the soup; simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve. Allrecipes/Nelly Cuanalo