Turkey Soup for the Day After

This is some very scrumptious soup to use up your leftover turkey and put smiles on everyone's faces.

Since Teddy can't go up and down steps with the cone, we have been taking her on a daily car trip for a few hours just to get her out of the house. She can't be off leash outside because she could rub her eyes in the bushes and that is a giant no no. As a treat, we stop at Mc Donald's and buy her 2 hamburger patties. Today, as my husband was placing her special order, she was doing a bit of puppy math. She was counting the days on her little pudgy toes and figuring out how long she wore the cone the last time. This summer we did not make the daily car trips and she did not get any burgers. After thinking it through, she let us know that we owe her 28 burgers! She would like them all at once.

Look who is right behind Sam Champion on the today show? Right over Sam's right shoulder! Yep, that would be The Blog Tech in his mouse ears in NYC.


Hey Sam, get your hand out of The Blog Tech's face!


Now to the soup.

Make a pot of stock using your turkey carcass. Fill a pot of water with the carcass in it. Add a halved onion, some celery stalks, 4 carrots, some peppercorns and juniper berries, bay leaves and thyme and rosemary. Let it simmer for several hours and then strain it to remove the solids. This can be refrigerated overnight so you can remove the fat.


Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a heavy pot.


Stir in the onions.


Then the carrots.


The celery.


Stir them for a minute over medium heat.


Then add 1 cup of flour.


Cook stirring for 2 minutes.


Start to add the stock. I added about 6 quarts of it.


Keep the heat set on medium.


Add 2 cups of rice.


Add 1 tablespoon of pepper. I added some Knorr's chicken stock concentrate. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.


Add 2 cups of half and half.


Cover and simmer over low heat until the rice is cooked.


While it is simmering, dice up the turkey and add it.


Just before serving, add a bunch of chopped fresh parsley.


This is one of my families favorite soups. It is outstanding.


Turkey is one of the dishes we are serving at my daughter's next event. This is the 4th one I made in one week.

In case any of you are not sure how to prepare your bird, I have a very simple full proof way. Place your rinsed turkey in your roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the bird breast side down, brush it with butter, cover it with some heavy aluminum foil. Make sure it is breast side down. This allows the dark meat to cook through and the juices pool into the breasts which keep them very moist. Cooking at a low temperature allows the fat in the turkey to melt slowly and baste the meat as it does. When you roast the turkey in a hot oven, the fat melts quickly and drips into the pan and you end up with a dry bird. Cook covered, breast side down for 3 hours for a 16 pound bird. After 3 hours turn the bird breast side up, cover it again and continue to cook for 2 more hours. After 2 hours, uncover it and continue to cook until it is done. The internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast should be 165 degrees. Remove from the oven, cover it again and let it rest for about 30 minutes. This allows the juice to reabsorb into the meat. The outcome will be a tender, moist falling off the bone turkey. Believe me, after roasting 70 odd pounds of turkey this past week, I know my birds!