My Roasted Turkey Barley Soup
Why I Love This Recipe
My husbands aunt gave me the idea of making turkey soup years ago and roasting the carcass prior to boiling it for the broth. The aroma is wonderful! I don't make measurements as this will always vary depending on the size of the carcass and how much the broth reduces. The instructions will be a bit loose since most ingredients added are on the fly depending on whats on hand and what smells good in the spice cupboard. Hopefully this recipe will give you an idea then you can just fly with it according to your tastes.
Ingredients You'll Need
Broth
1 Turkey Carcass leftover from Thanksgiving (if not doing this the next day, you can freeze it until its more convenient.) Leave on what ever scraps that you won't be using for sandwiches and other leftovers.
2 ea largely chopped up carrots, onions and celery
Garlic, Salt, Pepper, Parsley, Oregano, bay leaves, thyme
Soup:
Veggies such as carrots, celery, onions, corn, zucchini, turnips, etc
Seasonings such as garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, rosemary, cumin, celery seed, marjoram, and what ever else is your favorite.
2 cups or so of chopped turkey
1/2 cup or so of barley
Directions
Preheat oven to 450'
Place turkey carcass into a large baking dish and cook in the oven for about an hour. Add carrots, onions and celery and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, until everything is starting to brown.
Put everything into a large stock pot and cover with water. Add garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, bay leaves, thyme to the water. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain the simmer without boiling. Continue to simmer for about 4 hours, adding water as needed.
Let cool for a bit (about 30 - 45 mins) then strain the broth into a large pot, removing everything (bones, roasted veggies etc). Discard everything that was strained from the broth.
You can either continue simmering the broth to reduce it, let it cool and freeze or add the veggies for your soup along with the seasonings and chopped turkey. You should test your broth and adjust your seasoning through this cooking process. Simmer until veggies are almost done but not quite. Add the barley and continue simmering for another 45 minutes.
Serve with a nice rustic slice of bread.