Secret Ingredient for Turkey Soup

Turkey Soup with Ancini de Pepe Pasta
Notice the stray tarragon leaf that escaped
from the bundle of herbs.

A few years ago I hit upon the idea to add some depth to historically bland day-after-Thanksgiving turkey soup. A generous dose of Spanish sherry added a nice undertone.

This year there was no sherry in the house, so Marsala wine was used. Terrific. It's worth going so far as to now call either of these a secret ingredient.

Here's a link to the original recipe:  Leftover Turkey Soup.

These are some of the other choices / techniques which helped make this year's version a success:

• Use chopped fresh fennel in addition to onion, celery and carrots.
• All my rich stock was used up on Thanksgiving day, so this stock was make simply from simmering the turkey carcass for a few hours, then adding onion, celery and carrot for the last hour. Strain and reserve just the liquid.  
• About 2/3 cup of Marsala - more than original recipe calls for. 
• Ancini de pepe pasta - little balls the same size as peppercorns. Cook separately, and under cook by about two minutes from the suggested cooking time - about 6 minutes total for mine. 
• A bouquet garni of fresh tarragon and thyme - removed before serving. 

A bouquet garni is simply a small bundle of herbs, tied together with kitchen twine, which allows one to remove the herbs easily. If dried spices or seeds are used, the ingredients can be put into small cheesecloth bags made especially for this purpose. 

Rich Turkey Stock - One Thing That Will Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner the Best Ever

Dear god, that sounds like a headline from Cooking Light magazine or something. Sorry about that.

For quite a few years now I've made a large batch of rich turkey stock a few days or the weekend before Thanksgiving. I strongly recommend you do the same. Here's why:

• The recipe is very easy to make, with surprisingly little time and effort.
• The rich stock will make several of your thanksgiving dishes richer and more tasty than ever. I use it in gravy, stuffing and for braised vegetables.
• It can save you a few dollars while massively increasing quality, compared to buying the ubiquitous cans of stock that suddenly appear en masse in the grocery stores in early November.
• You'll start the "thanksgiving kitchen smells" a few days early!

Rich Turkey Stock

6 pounds turkey wings, drumsticks, and thighs

3 onions, cut into halves, skin on

3 celery stalks, cut into 3 pieces

3 carrots, cut into 3 pieces, skin on

Fresh Herbs: 10 parsley stems, 1 bay leaf
Spices: 10 whole black peppercorns, kosher salt
Equipment: Large roasting pan, large stock pot, thermometer (candy, oil, or instant read)

1. Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Place turkey parts skin side down in a raosting pan. No oil or seasoning needed.
3. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn peices over and roast another 20 minutes until golden brown.
4. Transfer turkey parts to a large stock pot.
5. Add vegetables to the fat in the roasting pan. After 10 minutes stir vegetables around and cook another 10 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Transfer veg to stock pot. 
7. Place roasting pan on stove (use two burners) and add 2 cups water. Turn heat to medium high and scrape up brown bits until they are released from the bottom of the pan.  Note: if there is excessive oil in the pan, drain some off before adding the water.
8. Add the liquid and vegetables to the stock pot.. Add parsley stems, bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, and 4 quarts water.
9. Bring water to 180 degrees and cook at that temperature  for 3 hours. Do not let the stock boil.
10. Pour stock through a Chinois or large strainer discarding solids. If you wish, strain the stock a second time using a layer of paper towel or cheesecloth.

Stock before straining

Roasted Turkey Pieces

Roasted Veg