This recipe is all about using up leftovers; all the ingredients are either left over from Thanksgiving or pantry items. Ryan smoked our Turkey this year, and I suspected that smoked turkey would result in a good turkey soup. I did remove as much skin as possible from the carcass, so that the smoke taste wouldn’t be overpowering. It turned out that the stock made from the smoked turkey was unreal!  It basically tasted like it had been flavored with a generous amount of bacon.

Ingredients

• For the stock:
• Carcass of a smoked turkey, with majority of meat picked off and skin removed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 3 carrots
• 3 stalks of celery
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• For the soup:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp Bell’s seasoning
• ~3-4 quarts smoked turkey stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups of cooked turkey, cut into cubes
• 2 cups of cooked wild rice
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Add the turkey carcass, onion, carrots and celery to a large stockpot over high heat. Add enough water to cover the carcass.
2. As soon as the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the carcass falls apart and any remaining meat comes off of the bone. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer into a large bowl and discard the leftover turkey bones, meat, and vegetables (these have had all their flavor extracted at this point).
4. Reheat the same stockpot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Sauté the onion, carrots and celery until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme and Bell’s seasoning.
5. Add the strained turkey stock back to the pot, along with a bay leaf. Return to medium low and cook for 40 minutes.
6. Add the cooked turkey and rice. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Cook the soup for an additional 20 minutes to warm up the turkey, then serve with crusty bread, like ciabatta, on the side.