# Thanksgiving Turkey Soup Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419 "2014-11-23T18:34:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Homo\_litoralis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homo\_litoralis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homo_litoralis)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/21 "2014-11-25T02:00:05Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > I don’t know that the simmering actually sterilizes the stock… With Wikipedia to the rescue, it turns out that boiling, or the slightly cooler simmering, does not technically sterilize a turkey stock because, even though it kills every squirming little bug in 15 minutes or so, boiling fails to inactivate bacterial spores. Of course, those would be the same spores that infested the turkey you just ate, and all the produce that you could have eaten raw. I suppose if I left that stock pot on the kitchen counter for a week or two, all manner of fauna could build homes and raise families inside, but a twice-simmered stock has got to be one of the least-infected things you put in your mouth over the holiday weekend. The point already mentioned about a hot pot spoiling other food in the refrigerator is another reason not to be too eager about immediate chilling. Sorry about dwelling on recipes for bacterial soup here, but Thanksgiving is a matter of life or death, man! ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/22 "2014-11-25T10:17:45Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > Bah, I did indeed mean head, not stalk. I should have used the scientifically correct designation of “thing” of celery. > > I couldn’t even tell you what each element adds to the stock, since this is the way I’ve done it forever after watching my father do it this way forever, and I only get it once a year, and if I subject it to the scientific method and leave out one element and take notes on the flavor, that means I’d be getting substandard turkey broth at some point, and life is just too damned short to risk that. I do know that the carrots add sweetness and some color to the broth, but that’s as far as my analysis goes. Well, no apple this time so you can report on that. I’m curious what it adds to the stock, having never heard that as an ingredient. As to that, do you prefer any kind of apple? Howis it prepared, peeled, halfed, quartered , stemmed and seeded or chucked in whole? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/23 "2014-11-27T15:54:10Z")
Made Turkey Pho for dinner last night. Soooooo goooooood!! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/24 "2014-11-27T16:50:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Made Turkey Pho for dinner last night. Soooooo goooooood!! Shut. Up. By which I mean, post that recipe, darn you! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/25 "2014-11-27T17:04:42Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Barley. I’m telling you guys, nothing beats mushrooms and barley in turkey soup. Try it, and I’ll bet you never go back to noodles or rice. The barley stays firm, and adds a slight nuttiness. Leftover wild rice and mushroom stuffing! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/26 "2014-11-27T17:07:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Shut. Up. > > By which I mean, post that recipe, darn you! Well, I use Mai Fun, which I think are technically Chinese noodles, but they’re really good. You have to soften the noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes. I use the soup pan, set on low. After the 10 minutes are up, add the noodles to the stock. Bring the stock to a boil, and make sure it’s seasoned to taste. Use soy sauce instead of salt. Add a few drops of sesame seed oil. Simmer for about 5 minutes. At about 4 minutes in, add whatever vegetables you want. I usually just use a plentiful amount of scallions, chopped pretty thinly, and some mushrooms. Pour into a large bowl with the meat\* and then add whatever condiments you desire. Usually, that’s: A few sprigs of basil A lemon or lime wedge, squeezed for the juice. A little bit of Hoisin sauce Some Sriracha sauce if you like it spicy. \*I put the cooked meat (in this case, turkey) in the bowl unheated (that is, right from the fridge). Once the stock is poured in, the soup heats up the meat and meat cools down the soup enough that it’s ready to eat in about a minute. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/27 "2014-11-27T17:24:48Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Barley. I’m telling you guys, nothing beats mushrooms and barley in turkey soup. Try it, and I’ll bet you never go back to noodles or rice. The barley stays firm, and adds a slight nuttiness. Sounds very Hungarian. Try seasoning with some paprika and sour cream. I usually stir in some tomato paste as well. Or add some good spaghetti sauce and grated cheese to the plian soup for an Italian variant. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/28 "2014-11-27T17:35:45Z")
Sorry, typo. That should be “plain soup.” Not some exotic ethnic variant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/29 "2014-12-21T16:55:00Z")
Rather than start a new thread for Christmas… Since I’m eating at a friend’s house for Christmas, I made my Christmas turkey yesterday and today is soup day. Now, I know you’re supposed to “skim the scum”, but I’m wondering: where does the scum come from? I usually don’t have have ANY scum when I make turkey soup, but today was scum city in my soup pot. Anyone know what gives? And I noticed that when I skimmed it, a lot of the herbs came out, too. I use dry herbs and they tend to float on the top, at least early on, so note to self: **don’t add the herbs until after the scum skimming is done.** ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/30 "2014-12-21T17:02:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Rather than start a new thread for Christmas… > > Since I’m eating at a friend’s house for Christmas, I made my Christmas turkey yesterday and today is soup day. > > Now, I know you’re supposed to “skim the scum”, but I’m wondering: where does the scum come from? I usually don’t have have ANY scum when I make turkey soup, but today was scum city in my soup pot. Anyone know what gives? > > And I noticed that when I skimmed it, a lot of the herbs came out, too. I use dry herbs and they tend to float on the top, at least early on, so note to self: **don’t add the herbs until after the scum skimming is done.** The scum is denatured proteins that are released as the muscle starts to tighten and cook. You’ll get more of them with a hard boil (although the hard boil sometimes breaks them up so you don’t see them as easily) and less with a soft simmer. You’ll get more with raw or lightly cooked meat and less with precooked meat, and more with lots of meat and less with little meat and more bones. So if you don’t like skimming scum, keep the heat gentle so that you’re getting only 6-10 small bubbles per minute, instead of a hard rolling boil. (This also gets more collagen out and converts it to gelatin better, so it’s a superior method for two reasons.) You may have to skim once or twice, but usually less than with a boil. ---
**Author:** ![Homo\_litoralis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homo\_litoralis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homo_litoralis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/31 "2014-12-22T03:04:56Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > …6-10 small bubbles per minute… **WhyNot** , you are obviously a soupmaster extraordinaire, and your advice is spot on, but I must ask, do you really calibrate your simmer so precisely? Inquiring mind wants to know! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/32 "2014-12-22T04:40:24Z")
> [@Homo\_litoralis](#): > > **WhyNot** , you are obviously a soupmaster extraordinaire, and your advice is spot on, but I must ask, do you really calibrate your simmer so precisely? Inquiring mind wants to know! Oh, are you kidding me?! That’s my rough estimate method! 😃 When I started getting serious about stock, I had two digital probe thermometers set up, one at 190 (set to go off if it went below) and one at 205 (set to go off if it went above). When either one alarmed, I’d adjust the heat. Eventually I learned the proper bubble count and put the thermometers away. Is it really that important? Probably not. But you can bounce quarters off my stock, it’s so full of luscious gelatin. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419/33 "2014-12-22T15:13:28Z")
What a timely thread resurrection! I took the thanksgiving carcass out of the freezer yesterday and made stock. The whole house smells like turkey and I had turkey dreams last night. I’ll spend the next week or so using it in soups and stews. Used some to thin a squash soup last night and it imparted a very distinct turkey flavor to the soup. Strong turkey! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanksgiving-turkey-soup-thread/705419.md?page=1)