In laws came to visit after the Christmas and brought a turkey and a ham. My in-laws do not buy in small quantities so we had leftovers coming out of our ears.
I love making soup this time of year so I tried making the best of what we had. I've made so many soups that I don't measure any more. Hopefully you can follow along:
I took the larger turkey bones and cut them in half. Put them with the ham bones in a stock pot with a bottle of beer...minus the bottle... and filled with water until the bones were all covered by about 1/2" of water. Threw in a few bullion cubes for flavor. Cover and simmer for a few hours. Turn off heat let cool a little, remove bones, and any leftover chunks of meat and fat, give larger ham bone to dog, pitch the rest. Cover the stock and put in the fridge.
That was last night.
This morning, in a separate pot, chop a large onion, green pepper, 6 large gloves of garlic, and half a celery bundle and place in water. Cover and simmer/boil on medium for a few hours.
The stock that was in the fridge has separated it's fat and floated it to the top. Remove that and pitch it. There's still some fat content in the stock and the extra will give your soup a greasy texture.
After the vegetable start to wrinkle from being cooked for a few hours, turn off heat, remove cover, and let cool. After it's cooled enough to work with, put that mixture in a blender and puree. Combine with "bone stock".
Peel and cube up 4 medium potatoes and simmer/boil in your soup on medium, covered. Potatoes will start to disappear and soup will get a little thicker. If you want it even thicker, add 1/4 cup of quick-cook tapioca and bring you soup to a boil for several minutes to blend the tapioca. If you don't boil long enough, the tapioca granules will still be visible.
Salt and pepper to taste. I like a little tangy zip to my soup so I add some extra sharp cheddar to the soup. About 8-12 ounces total.
Cube up some leftover ham and get ready to enjoy some thick, hardy soup!
I love making soup this time of year so I tried making the best of what we had. I've made so many soups that I don't measure any more. Hopefully you can follow along:
I took the larger turkey bones and cut them in half. Put them with the ham bones in a stock pot with a bottle of beer...minus the bottle... and filled with water until the bones were all covered by about 1/2" of water. Threw in a few bullion cubes for flavor. Cover and simmer for a few hours. Turn off heat let cool a little, remove bones, and any leftover chunks of meat and fat, give larger ham bone to dog, pitch the rest. Cover the stock and put in the fridge.
That was last night.
This morning, in a separate pot, chop a large onion, green pepper, 6 large gloves of garlic, and half a celery bundle and place in water. Cover and simmer/boil on medium for a few hours.
The stock that was in the fridge has separated it's fat and floated it to the top. Remove that and pitch it. There's still some fat content in the stock and the extra will give your soup a greasy texture.
After the vegetable start to wrinkle from being cooked for a few hours, turn off heat, remove cover, and let cool. After it's cooled enough to work with, put that mixture in a blender and puree. Combine with "bone stock".
Peel and cube up 4 medium potatoes and simmer/boil in your soup on medium, covered. Potatoes will start to disappear and soup will get a little thicker. If you want it even thicker, add 1/4 cup of quick-cook tapioca and bring you soup to a boil for several minutes to blend the tapioca. If you don't boil long enough, the tapioca granules will still be visible.
Salt and pepper to taste. I like a little tangy zip to my soup so I add some extra sharp cheddar to the soup. About 8-12 ounces total.
Cube up some leftover ham and get ready to enjoy some thick, hardy soup!
