Turkey Frame Soup

After Thanksgiving, there are always tasty leftovers to be enjoyed, like turkey sandwiches or curry turkey. My favorite leftover is the turkey frame soup that Mom always made.

It's called turkey "frame" soup because it starts by boiling the entire frame of your Thanksgiving turkey in a big pot. (This year our turkey was bigger than our pot, so I had to get MDS to break the turkey's carcass in half.) By the time you're starting the soup you've already cut off the big pieces of meat for Thanksgiving dinner and set aside more meat for turkey sandwiches, but as Carl Weathers once said, there's still plenty of meat on that bone. So you'll end up with a very meaty soup.


There are many variations to this soup. In the recipe below, I have added a can of diced tomato that Mom does not use. When used in conjunction with oregano, it makes it more of an Italian soup. If you prefer, instead of oregano, you could use basil, majoram, or thyme. As for the vegetables, Mom usually used a frozen "soup mix," which is what I used. You could use any standard soup vegetables, fresh or frozen, such as celery, carrots, parsnips, onions, broccoli, or any other vegetable. This recipe makes a lot of soup, so I usually freeze some, because, just as you can get sick of turkey leftovers, you can get sick of turkey soup leftovers.

Turkey Frame Soup 

• 1 meaty turkey frame
• 2 cups chopped, cooked turkey
• 1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3 cups soup vegetables
• 1 1/2 cup medium noodles

Break the turkey frame in half and place it is a large Dutch oven. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for about two hours. 

Remove the turkey frame. When the frame is cool enough to handle, cut the meat off the bones and coarsely chop. Add additional meat to equal about 2 cups, and set meat aside. Strain the broth through a sieve lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth; discard any solids.

Return the broth to the Dutch oven. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, bouillon, herb, pepper, and vegetables. Return to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in noodles and turkey. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes more or until noodles are done. Enjoy!