Mom's Traditional Boxing Day Turkey Soup

One of the things I look forward to at Christmas isn't necessarily the presents, the sweets, the sparkly lights or the big traditional Christmas turkey dinner. Truth be told, I don't really even like turkey all that much. I'd much prefer a lovely pork roast but tradition is important for some in our family (looking directly at you Dave and Laine), so a big turkey dinner it is. What I do look forward to however is what's done with the turkey after the big meal: my mom's Boxing Day turkey soup. When I was a kid, the making of the turkey soup always seemed like a big, day long production that ended with a comforting bowl of steaming soup shared with my family. A simple meal to make up for the gluttony of the day before. It was something that Mom and Dad did together (my Dad is the official Turkey Bone Cleaner), and then later my sister took up the tradition (a pretty good Turkey Bone Cleaner in her own right, think it's genetic.) I've certainly made my fair share of soups, but never a meat soup and never THE turkey soup. Not sure how I've made it this far without doing it, probably because I'm the baby of the family, we always get out of doing things. There I said it, I knew you were thinking it Sister K.

Cheers!

This year my niece and her fiance hosted the big Christmas meal at their new house (which actually took place on Christmas eve just to make it confusing for you), which meant that I got to host the soup meal at my house the following day. Not technically on Boxing Day but close enough. I was feeling quite special truth be told. And yet again, the baby of the family didn't help out too much as Mom and Dad jumped into action. Hey, before you judge me,  I provided the location, the kitchen tools, documented the event with pictures, took notes AND provided the booze to the "kitchen staff." I'd say that I played a pretty vital role here. Besides, I didn't want to ruin their process. It's taken years to perfect it.

Sid helping Mom with the veggies

As with most experienced cooks, Mom doesn't really follow a recipe so what follows is more a guideline for making the soup. It may drive some of you OCD cooks a bit crazy not to have exact measurements and cooking times. Pour yourself a glass of wine (who cares if it's 2 pm, you're on holidays!) Just relax and enjoy the process. You can't really mess this soup up, add whatever veggies or grains you like, add how much of it you like, if it's too watery add more stuff, if it's too thick add more water. It's all good. We tend to like thicker soups so we add a fair amount of barley. We keep adding as we go as sometimes you don't know how thick it's going to get until the barley has completely cooked, about 30-40 minutes later. Mom also adds celery to her soup. I HATE celery.... except in this soup. I make exceptions for this soup. And I finally learned the secret that makes this soup so rich and delicious: Mom doesn't strain the fat from the stock.  Gasp. Mmmmm turkey fat. Just ignore it when you see it the next day, congealing on top of the soup. Just grab a big spoon and mix it right back in there. All will be good in the world again, I promise.

Serve piping hot with some crusty bread, and most importantly enjoy with your family. That's what this soup is all about and I think why I love it so much. Cheers!

Mom's Traditional Boxing Day Soup

Ingredients

Turkey carcass
1 bag of carrots
6 shallots, chopped
a head of celery, chopped
2-3 cups of pot barley
2 bay leaves
about 4-5 cups of chopped turkey meat
salt and pepper
2 tsps of garlic (just in soup)
a few shakes of worcestershire sauce

Directions

Place the turkey carcass in a large stock pot, cover with water.  Chop up 2 large carrots, 2 stalks of celery, 2 shallots,  and place in pot. Add 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, for about 1-2 hours. Check and stir occasionally.

Once stock is ready, use a colander and strain out the carcass, bay leaves, etc, leaving the stock behind.  Place stock back into the pot.  Place turkey carcass on cutting board and pick off the remaining meat (this job usually gets delegated to my Dad.) Make sure to set aside the wish bone for later!

Add the meat back into the soup, plus more from your leftover supply of turkey meat if you like it meaty. Add the remaining chopped carrots, celery, shallots, garlic, pot barley, worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  Let soup simmer for an hour or so. Feel free to add whatever other vegetables you like.The soup will thicken as it cooks. You can gage how thick you like your soup, adding more barley and veggies if you like more of a thicker, heartier, stick to your ribs kind of soup.  Keep in mind that any soup leftovers will also thicken up the next day (which is why I love soup leftovers.) Serve with crusty bread or crackers. Happy Holidays from Bistro 164!