Roasted Turkey Barley Soup


Cooking the carcass for soup the next day makes the kitchen smell like Thanksgiving all over again. The broth is rich and flavorful, and the soup is delicious and not too heavy, just right for after the holiday.

This recipe is All Leftovers from Thanksgiving plus a couple pantry items.
Saute onions, leeks, celery, and carrots until soft, then add garlic and cook for another couple minutes.
Meanwhile add 2 bay leaves to the turkey broth and add pearl barley.
Cook for about an hour until the barley is tender.
Add the vegetables and diced turkey. Simmer for about 10 minutes more.
To finish, add chopped parsley and low sodium high-quality soy sauce.
Salt and pepper to taste.


The 25 lb. beauty, pictured here.
My “Do Nothing” recipe for cooking a turkey:
1. Loosely stuff the cavity with roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery, lots of butter and salt and pepper.
2. Rub the entire outside of the bird with soft butter and salt and pepper.
3. Put more roughly chopped onions, carrots and celery in the bottom of the roasting pan with enough chicken stock so that the pan does not dry out.
4. Roast at 325 for about 5 hours and leave the bird alone, don’t baste, don’t cover, just “do nothing” and then marvel at the beautiful bird when it reaches 165 to 170 degree internal temperature.

I believe the secret is to start with a great turkey. This is a fresh Diestel Turkey Ranch Premium Range Grown Broad Breasted Young Hen Turkey.

5 thoughts on “Roasted Turkey Barley Soup”

  1. Your Turkey looks fantastic and I love your no fuss recipe!!I always feel I have to baste it, but you’ve proven you don’t have to!!

  2. I wouldn’t mind having some turkey left right now for I would definitely use it in a soup like this. Unfortunately, we don’t celebrate thanksgiving here in France, so I am only drooling at all these leftover recipes. Soup I’ll have any time, I love it!
    ronell

  3. You are making turkey soup! 🙂
    Me too.

    I learned to make stock from the carcass from Phyllis Richman, when she was still the food critic at the Washington Post. Have done it ever since. I added noodles this year, but I also like to use barley in soups. I love its nice chewy texture, besides it’s so much healthier than white noodles! Sometimes I make barley risotto, with mushrooms.

    Btw, you turkey is a beauty!
    I agree with you, that the quality of the bird is of the essence. Luckily I got mine delivered by a butcher who sells only organic meats. It tastes as good as our turkey back in the States (organic also). I paid 90 Euros for our bird, not cheap, but it was so meaty, I had half of the breast left after feeding a crowd. It had “only” 20 lbs., and was done after less than three hours roasting at 325F! I had put only some flavourings into the cavity, herbs and citrus slices, maybe that’s the reason why it cooked so fast. I like to bake the stuffing in a casserole.

  4. Hi Ronell and Cynthia – the soup recipe is simple, but it was one of my all time favorite soups. That is because the broth from the roasted carcass was so rich and flavorful!

    HI Marie – no one can believe I do nothing to the turkey but peek at it once in a while!

    Hi Merisi – after years of cooking turkeys, I like the simple recipe the best…same with the dressing. And oh, the barley is a nice change of pace for a soup. Barley risotto sounds good, I’ll have to try that!

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