Food - Whale Lines

I have a confession to make. This soup is my favorite part of Thanksgiving leftovers. Many people like warming up a plate of potatoes, yams, beans, turkey and stuffing (or ‘dressing’, if that’s your thing). Others like turkey sandwiches (someone I know grew up eating leftover turkey with mayonnaise and green olives on white bread).

All that aside, what follows is my Turkey Noodle Soup recipe.

Turkey Noodle Soup

FEL_RUNNRX

A turkey noodle soup using your Thanksgiving turkey carcass. This is a great use of and my favorite part of Thanksgiving leftovers.

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Prep Time 2

Cook Time 16

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 or more

Equipment

2 Large pots 1 pot for noodles (> 4 quarts) and 1 for soup (6 or more quarts)
knife
cutting board

Ingredients

2 onions
1 head of celery
1 turkey carcass (all the bones, neck, and "Pope's Nose")
10-12 quarts water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 pounds turkey meat much of this is on the carcass; some may need to be added
4 large carrots
salt to taste
pepper to taste
sage, ground to taste

Instructions

Making the Stock

Remove any skin and stuffing from the carcass. Put the carcass in a large Dutch oven or pot and cover it with water. Add one onion, quartered, and several celery stalks.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 6 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally. When you check it to stir, skim off any fat that has risen to the top.

The 'Great Separation'

This step needs to be done in stages unless you have a gallon-sized fat separator.
Pour liquid into a fat separator. When the fat rises to the top, pour the stock into jars or other containers.
Now pick through all the solids. You want to discard all the cartilage, skin, vegetables, and bones. Reserve all the meat. This can be a tedious process but it is well worth ensuring you don't choke on a bone.

Making the Soup

Finely dice one medium onion and several stalks of celery. Put one tablespoon of avocado or olive oil into your soup pot and heat on medium. Add the onion and sauté until golden. Add the celery and sauté until soft.
Add three to four sliced carrots.
Now add the stock and the meat. Bring to a simmer on low. Stir occasionally.
While the soup simmers, in a separate pot, boil the extra-wide egg noodles per the package instructions. When done, drain the noodles and add them to the soup. Continue to simmer the soup for four to six hours. Add salt, pepper, and sage to taste.

Notes

Keyword leftovers, Thanksgiving, turkey

I took the easy route when it came to food — prepackaged meals from Peak and Backpacker’s Pantry.

Peak

Three Bean Chili Mac
Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Chicken Teriyaki Rice
Beef Pasta Marinara

Backpacker’s Pantry

Santa Fe style Rice and Beans with Chicken
Wild West Chili and Beans

Lunches were simple — bars from Rx Bars and Kind. Others tended to make a hot lunch. I was intentionally running on a caloric deficit but had back up food if needed.

Breakfast was just coffee — more about this in a minute.

Water

Despite all my goings on about filters (here), I only packed the Sawyer Mini. As a group we mostly used Arlyn’s Sawyer Squeeze. We did use the MSR Dromedary water bag. On top of individual water bottles and Ken’s Camel back, it carried enough filtered water for the night’s meal, coffee, and much of my water needs the next day.

I carried a 1500mL Nalgene bottle during the day. I supplemented the water with ‘nuun’ tabs, mainly for the taste. I usually drank two of these per day.

Speaking of Coffee

I carried a Bialetti ‘moka express’ 3-shot espresso maker. Yes, it weighs half a pound, but the flavor of real Italian espresso every morning is worth every ounce! I drank that from my MSR titanium cup. I wish I had had an insulated mug with me.

Stove, etc.

I boiled water in an MSR titanium pot using my first generation Snow Peak ‘Giga Power’ stove. And I ate dinner with a Toaks titanium spork.

Others ate meals mostly from ‘Good to Go’ which I didn’t taste. Jason however made various dinners from ingredients he brought rather than prepackaged meals. His peanut butter pad thai with ramen noodles was excellent. I need to step up my backcountry cooking game.

In Glacier

Out at the Belly River Ranger cabin there is both a propane and wood-fired stove/oven. I packed in the ingredients to make “Sukhi’s Family Curry” a’ la me (recipe to follow).

Sukhi’s family is Sikh and therefore vegetarian. She taught Kathleen and I how to make this. We add chicken and coconut milk. I’ve made it with white fish before and sometimes we vary the vegetables.

Now on to the “Bedroom”

In the next post we will talk about tents and my sleeping system. Or feel free to jump to another chapter:

Introduction — Debriefing the Odyssey
Foundations — what was on my feet?
Walls — which pack did I use?
Kitchen — what did I eat and how?
Bedroom — my tent and sleep system
Closet — clothing
Furniture & Appliances — all the other stuff

Sukhi’s Family Curry

Olive or Avocado oil (less than a tablespoon)
2 pinches cumin seed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
~1 tsp. ginger, fresh, minced
1 large onion, chopped small
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. turmeric
Thai or Serrano chili, seeded, finely chopped

1# chicken, diced (white fish works too)
Various vegetables, try 1/2 a cauliflower, zucchini, potatoes, sweet potato, carrots, a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, etc.
1 can coconut milk
juice of half a lemon

Directions

Heat oil in a deep saute pan. Add cumin seed, onion, garlic, and ginger one at a time in that order, sauteing each for a minute or two between additions — long enough to soften but not carmelize.

Add salt, pepper, turmeric, and chili. Saute for a minute or two — let your nose tell you. Stir or toss constantly to avoid sticking.

Then add meat and vegetables. Stir in coconut milk and juice. Simmer, covered, until cooked through, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Serve with Jasmine or Basmati rice.