How to Make Turkey Soup with Vegetables

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By AprilThomas
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Turkey Soup - Image: Nenad Nerandzic

There are many recipes for turkey soup. The steps below will help you recreate my own recipe for homemade turkey soup with vegetables. Soup is a wonderful comfort food, very nutritious and especially good for you when sufficient vegetables are incorporated in the turkey soup as part of a balanced meal. It is not difficult to prepare, but does need time to slow simmer. This is great to cook over the weekend. Note that a commercial gravy mix is used as well as no salt chicken bouillon. This will add to the great flavor of the turkey soup recipe below and with the amount of liquid and vegetables added, will not cause the turkey stock to be salty. When someone wants more salt, that can be added at serving time, but it really is not necessary.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

3 quarts water, plus 1 and 1/2 cups
3 lbs. bone in turkey thighs
2 packages name brand turkey gravy mix
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
3 teaspoons Wyler's no salt chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
12 carrots cleaned, peeled and cut in 3/4 inch sections cooked separately with the sugar mentioned, or plain as desired
16 ounces fresh or frozen cut green beans
6 stalks celery chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dried rice or 8 ounces dry noodles cooked according to directions separately

Step 1

Cook turkey thighs in a large fry pan with butter on low heat until the turkey thighs are almost cooked through. Keep a lid partially open on the pan so the turkey does not lose its moisture and flavor. Do not cook so long or on a high heat that the turkey thighs are well browned or hard crusted. Remove turkey thighs to a plate and remove skin and visible fat. Add 1/2 cup of hot water to the pan, scrape the bottom of the pan and pour the liquid into a cup. Remove the fat from the top. This can be done using a small gravy ladle or simply place the cup into the freezer for faster chilling and easier removal of the fat.
Step 2

Add 3 quarts of water to a large soup pot. Add the turkey thighs, onion, no salt chicken bouillon, pepper, parsley, and celery. When the liquid from the fry pan has cooled sufficiently to remove the fat, add it also. Bring to a boil, place the lid on the pot and lower the heat to simmer gently. The turkey soup mixture should simmer for about 3 to 3-1/2 hours.
Step 3

Carefully remove the turkey thighs with bone from the soup after 2-1/2 hours of simmering. Cover and cool enough to handle and cut half of the turkey meat into small chunks and return it to the soup. The other half of the turkey meat can later be used to create a turkey salad with onion, celery and mayonnaise. Discard the bones. Before discarding the bones, look at them to be certain that you have the whole bone there so no one gets any bone parts served in their soup. If parts of bone are missing or you are uncertain, it will be necessary to strain the turkey stock, remove the bone pieces by sorting through the vegetables in the colander, then return all to the pot and continue simmering.
Step 4

Prepare the 2 packages of gravy mix with 1/2 cup of water. Stir well, add 1/2 cup more water, stir well again. Let the mix sit for 5 minutes, stir again to remove any lumps. Add in liquid from the turkey stock that is simmering. Then mix and pour all back into the pot at once. Add the turkey gravy mixes about one hour before the turkey soup is finished. Be certain to mix this very well into the turkey soup, turn the heat up to boil while continuing to mix, lower the temperature back to simmer and replace the lid. Mix at least 3 more times during the last hour of cooking. Note that adding gravy mix to the turkey soup will make the soup a little murky, but this adds to both the flavor and body of the turkey stock.

If you have saved other turkey pieces or bones and want to incorporate that for a deeper and richer tasting turkey stock, cook those separately, strain well to remove any bones and defat before adding. Count the liquid used in cooking these as part of that mentioned in the list above. Do not cook extra stock with any turkey skins left on or before removing all excess fat, it can be impossible to remove enough fat from the turkey stock. Turkey soup with vegetables should taste like turkey, not fat.
Step 5

Add the cut fresh or frozen green beans 1/2 hour before the turkey soup with vegetables is finished cooking. If using frozen green beans, turn up the heat on the soup until it begins to boil, then turn the heat back down to simmer and replace the lid.
Step 6

Cook carrots in water with or without sugar, and rice or noodles ahead of time, or in time to coincide with the soup ready to serve.
Step 7

Place carrots and rice or noodles in the serving bowls, mix the soup well and ladle out servings.
Step 8

Serve the turkey soup with vegetables with a fresh chopped salad and crusty bread or rolls with butter. This makes a very hearty and filling soup. See chopped salad recipe below in resources.

Comments

klnygaard said

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on 7/14/2009 added to my favs- can't wait to try

veryirie said

on 3/30/2009 There is really nothing so comforting as a bowl of nourishing, homemade soup. Your turkey soup with vegetables sounds like it would hit the spot. :) Thanks for sharing this recipe!