Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup
Save the bones!
Time again for my Thanksgiving rallying cry. Every year, I beg you to save the carcass from your turkey. Why? So you can make my favorite soup ever, day-after-Thanksgiving turkey carcass soup.
This is my favorite Thanksgiving tradition. Every year, after all the dishes were done, my dad would pull out the gigantic enamelware pot - the one designed for entire clambakes. Into the big pot went all the turkey bones, onions, celery, and carrots. The pot would simmer on low overnight; the next day, the house smelled like heaven.
This is my take on dad’s big pot of turkey carcass soup. I make mine in the pressure cooker, of course. My pressure cooker is my favorite way to make broth, and that is the first step in the recipe. I reach for my bigger pressure cooker - 8 quarts is good, and if you have bigger, use it. The broth part of the recipe yields 4 quarts of broth, and we only use 2 quarts in the soup. I freeze the excess, and use it to make a quick weeknight pot of noodle soup a few months later. In the middle of January, a warm pot of soup on a weeknight is a blessing.
Top to bottom: Breaking up the bones; adding the aromatics, straining the broth; sauteing the aromatics
The tricky part of this is making the turkey carcass fit in the pot. Actually, I should say “the messy part”, not the tricky part. It’s not hard, if you’re willing to rip and tear and get dirty. (I do use a pair of kitchen scissors to help cut through bones.) I cut the backbone out of the carcass, like I’m butterflying the turkey, then break up the larger pieces enough to get them below the max fill line. 2
No pressure cooker? No worries. Instead of an hour under pressure, simmer the turkey broth on the stovetop (or, even better, in a 200°F oven) for 4 to 6 hours. The soup part of the recipe is non-pressured; it works just as easily on the stovetop as it does in an electric pressure cooker.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup
Video Time Lapse
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker…I go with my bigger, 8 quart Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
- Kitchen scissors or poultry shears
- Fine mesh strainer
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 quarts of soup 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup recipe. Save the bones! Use them to make homemade turkey noodle soup, ready in an afternoon thanks to the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
Turkey Bones Broth (Makes about 4 quarts of broth)
- Carcass from 1 roasted turkey, with clinging meat on bones (From a 12- to 14- pound turkey)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 1 rib celery, broken into pieces
- 1 carrot, scrubbed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 quarts of water (or to cover, or to the max fill line of the PC)
Turkey Noodle Soup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 quarts of Turkey Bones Broth
- 2 cups of shredded leftover turkey meat (about 1 turkey breast)
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups medium egg noodles
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Minced parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Pressure cook the broth: Break up the turkey carcass so it fits below the max fill line on your pressure cooker - ⅔rds of the way up the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and salt to the pressure cooker pot, then add water to cover by 1 inch, or to the max fill line on the pressure cooker. (About 3 quarts of water) Pressure cook for 60 minutes in an electric PC, 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally - about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the bones and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Reserve 2 quarts of broth for the soup, and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use. (I portion it into 2 and 4 cup containers, and freeze for up to 3 months.)
- Sauté the aromatics: Wipe out the pressure cooker pot. Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat (sauté mode in my electric PC). Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the aromatics start to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer the soup: Add the turkey broth to the pot, turn the heat to high (sauté mode with the “adjust” button set to high in my electric PC). Cover the pot, and bring the broth to a boil. While the pot is coming to a boil, whisk the corn starch and cold water to make a corn starch slurry. Stir in the noodles, shredded turkey, and corn starch slurry. When the pot returns to a boil, turn the heat down to medium (regular sauté mode in my electric PC) and simmer until the noodles are tender. (Ten minutes, or for the time listed on the noodle package). Add salt and pepper to taste, and don’t be shy with the salt - taste as you add the salt, and when the broth starts to taste sweet, it has enough salt. (Homemade stock is bland without salt; I add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to get the taste right.)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Notes
- No pressure cooker? No worries. Make the broth by putting everything in a large oven safe pot, bringing it to a boil on the stovetop, then cooking it in a 200°F oven for 4 hours. (Or, simmer on the stove for 4 hours – but the oven method is less work.)
- This is a great make-ahead meal – step one can be completed in advance, leaving about fifteen minutes of actual cooking time. Stock can be refrigerated for up to three days, or frozen for months.
- It also makes great leftovers – freeze the soup in 2 cup containers, and you have a lunch from the microwave in about 6 minutes.
- You don’t want to make turkey stock, but you still want soup? Sigh. I guess you can use two quarts of store bought chicken broth. But…it’s so easy…try making your own stock, just once, then see if that cardboard carton of stock seems like a good idea.
- Don’t be tempted to add more noodles to the soup. They will look lost in all that broth when you first put them in the pot. Don’t do it! The noodles soak up the broth as they cook; any more, and you’re left with noodle stew, not soup.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
What should you use that extra 2 quarts of turkey broth with? Here are a few suggestions:
Turkey Soup with Chickpeas and Vegetables
Southwestern Turkey and Black Bean Soup
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Turkey Ramen Soup
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos
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Taras says
Just excellent. Used stovetop pressure cooker. Followed instructions. Turned out great
★★★★★
Laurie says
Making this right now. It's my first receipe in the instant pot.??
Lisa says
Making this right now. Thank you! I've never made a slurry for soup before... I always thought people put cream or milk in soup to make it creamy!
Imnjupiter says
I'm starting this now! Luckily, I found the Thanksgiving turkey carcass in the freezer. I don't peel onions for stock...the onion skins add a nice golden color.
Since the carcass was frozen, I've added a little cooking time. Do you think that was necessary?
Mike Vrobel says
I use the same cooking time when I make broth from frozen bones - but it doesn't hurt to add extra time.
SLee says
This turned out great! Made it for dinner on Monday and had the leftovers for lunch today-even better. Thanks for the easy, tasty and healthy recipe with only a few ingredients - especially after a thanksgiving cook-a-thon!
Paula says
This was very good, and simple. I modified it to be gluten free, by cooking separately some gluten free spaghetti noodles broken into short lengths til al dente, then adding to the soup to finish cooking. I made the broth last night, then finished the soup for lunch in about 20 minutes.
★★★★★
Cary Hill says
Mike, after roasting a 16 pounder, I made your pressure cooker turkey stock which turned out great, the best I have ever made. I wanted to go on to make the soup in Mt 6 quart instant pot but after sautéing the aromatics, I couldn't bring it to a boil so resorted to a pot on the stove. I was otherwise very happy with that recipe as well. Thanks again.
★★★★★
KWilde says
Mike,
Thanks for the recipe. I just started hosting Thanksgiving dinner. My mother-in- law said I should save the carcass. So I went to Pinterest and came across your recipe. Great directions and great recipe. Told my husband after I was all done, that I just started a Thanksgiving tradition.
Thanks again!!!
★★★★★
Miranda says
This is happening in my kitchen right now! Thank you! I'm still learning how to use this new Instant Pot. This will be the first thing I make in it!
Bette Dolaher says
When using the oven method for four hours for the broth, do you cover the pan or leave it uncovered.
Mike Vrobel says
I leave it uncovered.
Picklesnit says
Thank you - in my house this is the ultimate comfort food. I have been known to cook a small turkey just to get to the soup. Now I have an Instant Pot I have this a go, and even my pickiest, reluctant-to-eat-ANYTHING daughter declared it delicious.
★★★★★
k says
No mention of removing excess skin, nor is there a de-fatting step. Just got this recipe going 10 minutes ago, so I don't yet know if it's a problem or not. I always de-fat chicken broth though...
Mike V says
There is a lot less fat on turkey than there is on chicken - you can defat it if you want, but I don't bother. And, leave the skin on, it adds extra flavor to your broth.
Sandy Toes says
Pressure cooker is on and the turkey broth is simmering. Your instructions make it look easy!
Mike V says
Thank you. And, it is easy - you'll love it!
Greybeard says
Well, of course this is what you do after Thanksgiving! We have friends who don't, so we get them to save their carcasses for us. We make sure to tell them that they get extra credit if they don't bring it to us in a Glad bag impregnated with Febreze 🙂
I use Trader Joe's turkey broth as a starter instead of water. Makes the broth that much richer. I do the same for chicken stock: if I don't have a carcass, I buy a rotisserie chicken (not one with the "20% solution" added, as those are too salty), pull off the white meat for chicken salad, and boil the rest in TJ's low-sodium broth for 24 hours or so. Makes great stock.
Joyce says
sounds yummy! thanks for tip. Am simmering carcass now, but will use your tip later on Mike V.'s recipe, which looks fool proof. LOL we shall see! Thanks Mike.
simmering now. can't wait to try it. I'll not throw the bones away once it's cooked. I'll save them, cook them longer and use them for my dogs bone broth.
Steve Coppage says
Mike: I love you chicken broth, so can't wait to try the turkey soup. FYI... I printed out the recipe and the great picture of the soup did not print with it. Don't know if it is on your side or mine. Have a GREAT Thanksgiving!
Mike V says
Thanks, Steve! I think I fixed the print problem - I wasn't seeing the picture in Chrome, but I did in Safari - updated something on the back end of the blog that looks like it fixed it. Try printing it again, if you're interested?
And, Happy Thanksgiving!