Turkey & Black Bean Soup

After hours of standing watch to ensure your turkey stays juicy, did you think to save what's left once all the meat has been picked free from the bones? Maybe in the haste to clean up and enjoy the rest of your evening, you didn't realize someone threw away the turkey remains. It's happened to me once or twice. Let's not have that happen after your next turkey dinner. Those leftover bones are full of flavor and is the base for a whole other meal or two. First recipe in this post is for homemade stock.

Every homemade stock will taste different. The flavor profile will depend on how you cooked your turkey. We have a no fail smoked turkey recipe we use every time we have a craving for a turkey dinner. This gives the stock a layer of smoky flavor. Click here for our recipe.

If you did happen to plan ahead and made stock from that delicious carcass or have plenty of store bought stock in the fridge, I have included a recipe for Turkey & Black Bean Soup. This soup is full of flavor and tastes even better the next day.

TURKEY STOCK:

1 turkey bones

3 celery stalks, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of peppercorns

1 tablespoons of kosher salt

PREPARATION TIP: Cut the veggies you need for the stock at the time you are chopping your veggies for your initial turkey dinner. Place the veggies for the stock in a labeled container and refrigerate. Once turkey dinner is done and all the meat has been picked off, start your stock and pull out your already prepared veggies. In about an hour, you will have stock.

In a large Dutch oven, add all your ingredients and cover with water.

Bring the stock up to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer until the leftover meat falls off the bones, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the bones and flavor enhancers from the stock.

PREPARATION TIP: If you decide to use your stock at a later date, give the stock an ice bath before putting it in the refrigerator. Setting your very hot stock in the refrigerator will only wreak havoc for the stock and other food in your fridge. Bacteria grows exponentially between 75-125 degrees. This kind of bacteria will make you sick. Cool the stock as close to 40 degrees as possible within the first hour. Then you can divide up the stock for a month long rest in the freezer or a five day stint in the fridge.

TURKEY & BLACK BEAN SOUP:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups of carrots, sliced into rings

1 cup of celery, diced

1 sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup of frozen sweet corn (or fresh corn off the cob if it's in season)

2-3 cups of leftover turkey meat

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon of Penzey's Chili 9000 or your favorite chili powder

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/4 teaspoon of coriander

6-7 cups of turkey stock

1 cup of light cream

Pickled jalapeños (Idea came from a friend of mine, Nashville Rachel, who entered one of my blog contests. I thought this was a brilliant addition and needed to share!)

Chicken Bouillon to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Add the carrots, celery and onion.

PREPARATION TIP: As I mentioned before, when you are cooking your initial turkey dinner and have your cutting board already out, why not cut the veggies for this soup too. Store the cut veggies in a labeled container, not to be confused with the veggies for the stock, and refrigerate. When you are ready to make the soup, pull out the veggies. Cut veggies will be good for several days.

When the veggies are soft, add the flour, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the broth to the pot and stir continuously.

Bring the liquid up to a boil and add the corn, turkey, black beans and light cream. Bring the soup back up to a boil.

Serves 8 people.