LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING TURKEY SOUP

First and foremost – eat way too much food on Thanksgiving and put on spandex pants.  When you are done carving the turkey, either place the carcass in the fridge, if you will be making soup in the next few days, or in the freezer and you can make your soup anytime in the next few months.  If you have a really large carcass, I use a small trash bag for storage.

Place your turkey carcass in a large stock pot.  Add the onions and celery to the pot and cover the carcass with water by1-2 inches.  Add bouillon cubes, salt and pepper.  Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a low boil/simmer and let cook for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.  Using a large spoon, periodically skim the fat and foam off the top of the stock and discard, so the soup is not greasy.  Your house will smell AMAZING during this process…

Remove the turkey carcass (which will most likely be falling apart) from the stock to a large bowl and let cool.

Add the carrots and barley to the pot and keep at a low boil. Once carrots are tender, about 20 minutes,  the carcass should be cool enough to pick the meat off with your hands.  Depending on how much meat you left on the bones, you might want to add some additional leftover turkey to the soup as well.  Stir in parsley just before serving.