Basic non-greasy Turkey Soup after Thanksgiving

So last year, I tried to do turkey soup with the left overs of the turkey carcass....someone told me, just stick the skeleton of the turkey in water and you get this great soup. Turns out it was DISGUSTING. 

So this year, I tried again, a lot more carefully and guess what I succeeded, yes I did, but I have to be honest, that it took some work and basically this recipe involves some days, because getting a good soup means TIME, and bones dissolving....and that requires time. I was really proud though because I did not add any stock to the soup which is a huge achievement. 

INGREDIENTS:

-1 turkey carcass without any skin and without as 

much grease as possible
-6 sticks of celery (and its leaves).

-1 onion.

-3 cloves of garlic.

-1/2 lemon.

-2 carrots.

-1 teaspoon of pepper.

-1.5 teaspoon of salt.

-a good bunch of herbs like cilantro.

STEPS:

1. Leave the turkey carcass in the fridge for a night so that the grease cools off and you can actually cut it off with a knife. It is very important you do this step, otherwise you will have an insanely greasy soup. 

2. Once you cut off all the jelly grease stuck to the bottom of the turkey, take all the skin off, all of it!!! If you don't do this you are wasting your time. They say that if you do this step you are getting out 60per cent of the grease of a chicken.

3. Now put the whole turkey structure in a big pot and add the celery, onions, garlic, herbs, pepper, salt. Do not throw in the pot all kinds of things, like the stuffing, nope, nope. 

3. Okay now bring the whole pot to a boil and then after that, let it simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Now squeeze half a lemon into the soup or put in the soup. This is really important because the acid of the lemon cuts through the remains of the grease of the soup and gives it an entire different consistency...really transforms it, makes it a lot more light and airy.

4. Now after 4 hours simmering, turn soup off. Leave it outside until it cools off (I left mine out for a day), and then I sticked it in the fridge, with everything turkey, veggies, etc. You are doing this so that the liquid gets as much flavour as possible and so that the grease comes up to the surface and freezes.

5. Now after a day of the soup in the fridge all the greese will be up the top. Remove it with a spoon and toss it. Now time to drain the rest of the liquid with a big drainer. Pour everything, meat and veggies in the same pot and pick out the good meat. I find so much of it it's just trash.

6. Your soup is ready. Add some of that turkey meat and keep in refrigerator for the next times you want to serve. I add rice to it. 

7. Another trick to change the flavour of this broth, is to add some Chinese vinegar. It drastically changes the flavour but really goes so well together.

So these are my tricks, do you have any?  

I don't have a photo of the soup! yikes, of well, it looks just like a broth. I think next time I will do this recipe, looks awesome.

Hey, Christmas is coming! 

Thanksgiving Leftovers Pasta

             

I saw this recipe in Instagram a few days ago. It looked delicious! and I needed a good use of the left over turkey that I shredded from the soup. 

It's very simple and very very tasty. I altered mine a bit, but basically followed this lady called Thedaleyplate, if you want to look up her Instagram account.

INGREDIENTS

-300 grams of pasta (aprox)
-250 grams of shredded left over turkey (aprox).

-1 small onion.

-2 cloves of garlic.

-1 spoonful of butter.

-200 ml of single cream (nata liquida para cocinar).

-1 cube of chicken stock dissolved in 125 ml water.

-A good bunch of spinach.

-50 grams of corn (if you have it).

-1/2 teaspoon of onion powder.

-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.

-1 teaspoon of chilli flakes.

STEPS

1. Get the pasta going first of all in a pot while you assemble the sauce.

2. In the meantime, dice up onion and sautee with the butter (not oil) in low fire.

3. Add garlic in small thin bits for another 5 minutes. DO NOT LET IT BURN.

4. Now add the fresh corn if you have it. This is a good addition because it will add a crunchy element to the dish. Sautee for another 5 minutes.

5. Now add the turkey that has already been shredded and cook a little, like 2 minutes, adding now all your spices, which are the garlic powder, the onion powder, and the chilli flakes as well as some black pepper. This will all give it a great colour.

6. Now add the chicken stock and let it soak a little, like 5 minutes to low fire. 

7. After this add the single cream and at the same time add the handful of spinach, so that it wilts. 

8. Give it all a good toss and let it come together for about 5 minutes until it is all cooked and mixed. VERY IMPORTANT: heat it all up with the cream, but do NOT let the single cream get so hot that it boils because guess what will happen: it will curdle.

9. Now add this wonderful turkey sauce to the pasta that should be ready by now and mix together. No need of cheese in this recipe.

10. Add more chilli flakes and decorate with sweet potatoes here and there or onion flakes, it gives a great touch of orangy color.

SO SO SO good.  

A couple of pics of where the corn came from, was just decoration.

 

Easy turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas

I have made this recipe 3 times and it has always worked. 

I mean, seriously what's the fuss about cooking the turkey in Thanksgiving? 

I find the other plates SO MUCH HARDER. 

I think in Thanksgiving with so many cinnamony spices, etc, you want the turkey to taste as normal as you can. That is why I like this recipe, cause it's so simple.  

Now here is the secret to a good turkey: it has to be FRESH. If you start freezing the thing, forget it, your turkey will not be nearly half as good, but I understand this is not always possible in some countries. 

Fortunately, it is possible here in Spain.

INGREDIENTS:

For the stuffing inside and tray:

-1 turkey.

-3 onions.

-1 apple.

-1 lemon.

-1 tsp. of salt.

-1/2 tsp of rosemary

-1/2 tsp of thyme

-1/2 tsp of sage.

-1/3 tsp of black pepper.

For the butter paste to anoint the turkey with:

-3 big spoonsfuls of butter.

-5 garlic cloves minced.

-1/2 tsp. of salt.

-1/2 tsp of rosemary

-1/2 tsp of thyme

-1/2 tsp of sage.

-1/3 tsp of black pepper.

STEPS:

1. Firstly get your turkey outside to room temperature as you prepare it.

2. Cut up two onions in slices and place the turkey in a bed of onions.

3. Now prepare the stuffing. In a bowl I mix the salt, pepper and spices and mix it all together and then just put half of that mix inside the turkey, in the cavity. Reserve the other half to season the vegetables in the next step.

4. Now cut up 1 onion, 1 apple, and 1 lemon in medium cubes and season with the rest of the salt&spices. Toss them well so that they are well coated and now stuff it all inside the turkey.

5. Now dry off the turkey with paper towel until the skin is dry (if it isn't dry, you won't be able to brush it with butter, it won't adhere).

6. Now start making the butter paste for outside the turkey. Add the butter in a bowl and melt it for about 10 seconds in microwave until it is softer. Now add the rest of the ingredients until you create a tasty paste. 

7. Now stick inside the skin of the turkey, in between the breasts and the skin....make some space and add there the succulent paste. 

8. Now with the rest of the mix, with the help of a basting brush, paint the whole turkey with the succulent butter. It will give it a great awesome flavour and will make it crispy and help it get a tanned.

9. Ready! Now stick this baby into oven and cook in 150 degrees for 2 or 3 hours to begin with. Warning this is ALL depending on how many kilos your turkey is you will need to cook it for longer. But I have found that this ratio is true: 13-15 minutes per pound, so that is 450 grams for every 13-15 minutes. Another thing you can do that the turkey is done is to stick a thermometer and when it is 65 degrees celsius. 

So my last turkey was only 3 kilos so 1,5 hours or 2 was enough, and the previous one was 4 kilos son 3 hours was enough at this low temperature (150 degrees). And then the rest of the time I spent it making it gold, or as my husband said: the tanning session. 

10. The tanning session is necessary because a turkey simply will not come out perfectly golden in the right places. YOU are the person who browns it to perfection. Your oven won't do that for you magically....at least mine is not that smart. 

So what I do is to rotate the tray over and over and over as many times as I need it until the turkey beautifully browned and tanned. This is a lot of work, getting the tray in and out of the oven, but it's worth it. I make it to 200 degrees ALWAYS keeping an eye on the turkey because it can burn fast.

Another trick here is to cover it with foil in the places which have already been tanned, and continuing to work on the pasty white ones. Keep doing this until you bird looks darn good!

11. That's it. Once it is perfectly done, get it out and leave it on counter and cover with lots of foil until your guests come, it will give the turkey time to rest and the juices get relaxed, etc. 

12. Now show off your turkey for a second to your guests and then carve it! So good and juicy.