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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
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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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Gail says
Why the slurry
Don’t you want a clear soup
Mike Vrobel says
No, I don't want a clear soup. You can skip the slurry if you do, though.
Steve says
Easy to make, time consuming for the broth but well worth it. In addition to the carcass that still had a lot of meat on the bones I also added in the neck and giblets. After making the broth I first poured it into a large stock pot with strainer basket inserted to remove the large pieces and used a fine mesh strainer to remove the rest. It made about 2 and a half quarts of stock. Then I picked through the meat and used it (plus a little leftover breast meat) and the giblets for the soup. I diced the veggies up instead of just slicing to make it easier for my 87yo mom. I also used olive oil instead of butter but otherwise I followed the directions above. 2tsp and a pinch of kosher salt perfected the dish. I give this recipe 5+ stars and will use it again next Thanksgiving.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Al says
I have a 23 qt stove top pc. How long do I pc two turkey carcasses ? They were 16lb each I believe.
How many pounds of pressure is correct for this amount?
Mike Vrobel says
Use the recipe as written with the "stovetop PC" timings, and pressure cook at 15 PSI.
Lisa Marie says
This Soup turned out gourmet delicious !!!! There is NO boxed broth that can hold a candle to Homemade Turkey 🦃 Broth Using the whole carcus and all the leg bones to make the broth !!!! I used fresh Thyme as well in my Turkey Soup !!!! Thank you for this 5 Star Recipe !!!!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome - I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Jackie C says
This is the first time I used the insta Pot to do turkey Carcass soup. Loved it! Will never do stove top again! The meat fell off the bone and I put it in a container along with the carrot and celery to add to my dog’s food for later. The soup is very tasty and is on the hearty side. I did add lemon and dill and it turned out great! Oh, and froze two containers of the broths for later. This will be my go to recipe when I cook a turkey! Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
Great! I’m glad you liked it.
Myron L Wells says
Happy holidays to you Ms Jackie C:
Yes the meat on the bones and the carcus really did fall off the bone and as a matter of fact i actually found the wish bone with no trouble. I saved the soup/broth for my next pressure cook journey!!!
Mike Vrobel says
Great! You'll love having the broth on hand.
Vicki says
Made this last night, and hands-down, the best Turkey Noodle Soup I've ever made! I used to use the Bear Creek starter, but no more. It took a little longer, but so flavorful, and without all of the preservatives and other bad things. This goes on the short list of favorites for my meal rotation! Next time I might pressure cook the carcass the day/evening before, just for better timing.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Mary Anne says
My go to recipe for turkey soup. So easy to make and tastes great.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Janet Herbes says
Made it tonight but did not have any celery so I added fresh mushrooms. Came out wonderful.
Mike Vrobel says
Good substitute- glad you enjoyed it.
Deb B. says
Best Turkey soup hands down. The instant pot extract so much flavor from the Turkey carcass it’s absolutely delicious. My family loves Thanksgiving dinner but now is talking also about the leftover Turkey Soup!!!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you! I’m glad your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
Carolyn M Osborne says
Made this last night. The recipe makes a delicious, well-balanced classic turkey noodle soup and we loved it. The carcass I had was from only a bone-in breast I'd roasted, which tends to make blander soup than a whole carcass would (less skin/fat and connective tissue) so I made only 2 quarts. To build it up a little, I put in a tablespoon of gelatin and a tablespoon of chicken bullion powder, which worked well. Thank you for the suggestion about noodles: two cups seemed like so little, but it cooked up to just the perfect amount.
This recipe is a definite keeper. Beside holidays, we roast turkey about every two months year 'round and make a lot of turkey soup over the year.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Carol says
Looking forward to this soup so I’m making it now in the instant pot but I don’t have egg noodles. Will organic gemelli noodles work?
Mike Vrobel says
Any noodle will work. Simmer it for the time recommended on the package. Don't use too many noodles (2 cups or less) or the pasta will absorb all the liquid and you'll have a pasta and turkey stew. (Which is still good, but not a soup any more.)
Elise says
I have made this soup twice and I love it! When it comes to the soup part, I like to double the carrots and celery and add sliced mushrooms and diced potatoes. You do have to let the soup simmer for a bit longer for the potatoes to soften before adding noodles. Or, I have found that I like to cook wild rice and pour the finished soup over the top of it.
Nola says
Awesome recipe. Best turkey soup ever.
Mike Vrobel says
Glad you enjoyed it!