Turn Your Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Into a Killer Soup Overnight

Alleviate post-meal cleanup while you make the best turkey soup you’ve ever had.

Credit: Amanda Blum

It’s the end of the Thanksgiving meal. Looming over the kitchen clean-up crew is the turkey carcass, while stacks of plates are being hauled towards the counters by “helpful” dinner guests—as are serving dishes, glasses and tableware ephemera. At this point in the meal, you usually want to throw everything at the wall, but you need to keep it together long enough to dispense with leftovers and start the dishes rolling. Allow me to make your life easier by solving one problem quickly: We’re going to make turkey noodle soup that is so good, you will find yourself making it again next month—and it actually saves you work. 

How to make the best turkey soup

At the end of the meal, have one person assigned to removing any turkey left on the carcass. The goal isn’t slices; just get it off the bird as best you can—the larger the pieces, the better—and throw it in a resealable plastic storage bag. Have a large, empty stockpot waiting on the stove and toss the carcass in there, as well as any bones that made it back from the table. It’s fine if there’s leftover meat on the bones; it’ll help flavor the broth, too. If there happens to be vegetables lying around from appetizers or prep (raw or cooked carrots, onions, garlic, celery, fennel, or mushrooms), toss those in too. In fact, you can save carrot and garlic peels, onion trimming, and other vegetable ends during meal prep to toss in at the end of the night. Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the carcass, then put that pot in the oven and turn it on to the lowest setting, usually 180-200°F, and ignore it until the next morning. 

In the morning, remove the pot and allow it cool just enough to pour it through a colander, so the soup ends up in a smaller pot, and then throw away whatever remains in the colander; you should be left with a nice, clear, golden broth. Turkey has very little fat, so you don’t need to strain it again. 

Next, chop up celery, carrots, and mushrooms, toss them into the pot, and heat it up over medium heat to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for thirty minutes, taste it, and adjust with salt and pepper, then toss in your egg noodles. Allow them to simmer for five to 10 minutes, and if you feel so inclined, throw some chopped parsley in.  It is great as is, but a minute or so before you serve it, you can toss in some leftover shredded turkey meat, just long enough to heat through. 

This soup makes the best of a bird that is often only so-so. The bones have been roasted, so they offer depth to the broth. Turkey broth, it turns out, is far tastier than the turkey itself. Mostly, though, you’ve managed to delay dealing with the carcass until the next day, and you ended up with an entirely separate meal that is fantastically easy to reheat.

Post-Thanksgiving turkey noodle soup

Ingredients:

1 turkey carcass

Cold water to cover

16 ounces of carrots, chopped

1 whole stalk of celery, chopped

8 ounces of mushrooms, chopped

12 ounces of egg noodles

2-3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Leftover shredded turkey meat (optional)

Add carcass and leftover vegetables to a stockpot, cover in cold water and place in oven. Turn oven to lowest setting, and leave on overnight.

Remove pot, cool enough to handle, and pour entire contents through colander into a smaller pot. Discard whatever is in the colander; the broth should be golden and clear.

Put pot on medium heat, add chopped celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Allow to simmer for thirty minutes, season to taste, and add the egg noodles. Simmer for five to 10 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Add shredded turkey back in, if desired.

Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired, and serve.

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