In commercial and home kitchens alike, soups and stocks are regarded as an easy, economical way to use up leftover scraps. “Bah humbug!” you say, “After a week of busting my tail for Thanksgiving, the last thing I want to bother with is a complicated recipe or—ugh—more grocery shopping.” Hey, I hear you there. But luckily for you, great soups don't require much work. They also rely on stuff you've already got laying around, like “throw-away” scraps, leftovers and pantry staples. And at temperatures of 165º F or higher, reheating your precooked poultry meat will kill off most of the bacteria it's picked up over the past few days in your refrigerator.
We've got two very different turkey soup recipes here that'll really maximize the return on your holiday bird. One is a light, fresh soup to brighten up your late fall. The other is a creamy chowder that's a real comfort on cold nights.
As an added step, you can recycle your leftover turkey carcass (which includes the neck, back, wings and other bony, meat-poor parts) into a stock that's a rich and cost-effective backbone for the two soups you'll find here, and beyond. If you don't want to bother, skip the stock—a canned, low-salt chicken broth will work just fine.
