This soup is made from stock produced by the remains of a Thanksgiving turkey. You can add turkey meat to it, but I like to add chicken. It is so showstopping and spectacular, that it is absolutely guest-worthy.
Hearty Chicken, Turkey, and Dumpling Soup
Course: Dinner, Holidays, Leftovers, Main Course, Thanksgiving8
servingsIngredients
- For the soup:
1½ lbs chicken breasts
6 cups cool, tap water
3½ tsp coarse salt, divided
2 Tbs bacon fat*
2 Tbs butter
1 med onion, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons
7 medium celery stalks, sliced
¼ cup (loosely packed) minced fresh parsley, or to taste
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp dried rosemary, rubbed between your palms until crushed
½ tsp dried thyme
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 large roasted garlic cloves, or 1 clove large fresh garlic
½ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups homemade, unsalted, defatted turkey stock**
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Chicken bouillon, to taste (optional)
- For the dumplings:
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1½ cup + 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbs shredded Parmesan
¼ cup + 2 Tbs (packed) chopped flat-leaf parsley
4½ Tbs cold, unsalted butter
¾ cup + 3 Tbs buttermilk
Directions
- Make the soup.
- Trim any obvious pieces of fat from the chicken, if there are any. Place the chicken in a large soup pot, cover with the water, add 1 tsp of the salt, and place over high heat. As it nears the boil, use a slotted spoon to remove any “suds” that might appear. Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let the chicken simmer until it reaches 165ºF. During this time, at 5-minute intervals, open the lid to skim off more of the suds, and check the chicken’s temp.
- Remove the chicken to a plate. Pour the poaching liquid into a large mixing bowl and cover it to keep it warm. Rinse out the pan.
- Heat fat and butter in the rinsed-out soup pot over medium heat. Add veggies, herbs, and pepper. If using fresh garlic, slice it thinly and add it now. If using roasted hold it for later. Sauté until softened, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour in the reserved poaching liquid, deglaze if necessary, and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the turkey stock. Cover, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the veggies are tender, yet still just shy of what you’d prefer in the final soup, about 3 minutes.
- If using roasted garlic, mash it with 1 tsp of the salt and add it to the pot. Off heat.
- Dice the chicken and add it to the pot. (Add cream.) Heat through as you correct seasoning. Taste carefully; it may benefit more from a salty chicken stock reduction rather than from mere salt. Make additions bit by bit, stirring thoroughly, and tasting often. At this point, the soup can be held for a while (or refrigerated for up to 3 days, and reheated).
- Make the dumplings.
- Whisk powder, soda, salt, pepper, and flour. Stir in zest, Parmesan, and parsley. Use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter. Fold in buttermilk just until the mixture comes together and thickens. Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoons into barely simmering soup. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Off heat; let rest uncovered for at least five minutes before serving.
Notes
- *Substitutions: instead of bacon fat and butter, substitute all butter.
- **I don’t bother making an elegant stock with the turkey carcass. Instead, I make something quite crude, but it nonetheless makes this soup into something truly special. I simply strip the carcass of all useful meat (reserving it for another purpose), cleave the carcass into pieces that will fit neatly into a stock pot, cover it with water, bring it to a boil, simmer it for three hours, let it cool, strain out the solids, refrigerate the liquid, and the next day, skim off the fat.
Social Learning
This should be served piping hot. To get the most out of the presentation, set the table beforehand. While the soup is doing its five-minute rest, call the diners to the table. Bring the soup to the table, covered, and uncover at the table. To plate, start with a serving of dumpling, and then dig the ladle deep into the pot to get all the good stuff. After that, use shallow ladels to get the broth amount just where you want it. Serve with bread and butter.
It’s absolutely delicious leftover. The texture isn’t as elegant as it was at first, but the flavor and satisfaction quotient are through the roof.
Ingredient Options:
You could use leftover Thanksgiving turkey for this soup, of course – in which case, you would skip the poaching altogether.
Naturally, you could use chicken stock for this soup instead of turkey stock. However, I wouldn’t use a store-bought stock, or one that I reconstituted from bouillon or a reduction for this soup. One of the things that makes this soup so special is the texture that you get from a homemade stock.
The sky’s the limit in terms of veggie additions or substitutions: green peas, leeks, potatoes, corn, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms … you name it.
Don’t be tempted to skip the zest. You may question its role in these dumplings and in the dish in general. It’s magical. However, the dish doesn’t really depend on the zest. An excellent alternative to the zest is a nice handful of finely minced bacon. It’s a totally different direction, but still really good
Although I love the cream in this soup, sometimes it’s unnecessary. It depends on how thick the broth turns out, and how deep the flavors seem.
Cooking Options:
You don’t have to poach the chicken. Roasted or pan-fried breasts (or dark meat) would be delicious in this soup. In that case, substitute straight-up water for the poaching liquid.
If you decide to make the soup ahead and reheat it, undercook the veggies.
These are incredibly good dumplings. Pro moves: 1) The soup must be at a simmer when you add the dumplings. 2) Try not to open the lid at all while the dumplings are cooking. 3) Do not let the soup boil as the dumplings are cooking. The soup must gently simmer, not “boil.” Err on the side of having the heat too low. 4) When you open the lid at the 10-minute mark, soup should have forced its way through the dumplings here and there, and should be gently bubbling. 5) The finished dumplings will feel steamed, but when you touch them lightly with your finger, no dough should cling to your finger. If it does, raise the heat slightly, re-cover, and continue cooking.
The Backstory
In my house, leftover turkey gets put to highly revered, traditional uses (sandwiches, of course, but also old-fashioned breakfast hash), while the stock I make from the turkey carcass outlasts the leftover turkey meat. That’s why I use chicken for this soup. I can’t stress enough how “homemade” this soup tastes, in all the best senses of that word. The combination of chicken and turkey results in an eyebrow-raising depth of flavor. The light, fluffy, tender dumplings are quite sophisticated and elevate this delicious soup to something special. I proudly serve this soup to guests, and it never fails to please.
Hearty Chicken, Turkey, and Dumpling Soup
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There are just enough differences between this and the soup I make that I’m looking forward to trying your version. And the dumplings are perfect — made just the way a good dumpling should be. When I moved to Texas and discovered they consider a rolled and cut piece of dough a “dumpling,” I was astounded. Those dumplings looked like noodles to me, but then I was a Yankee!
That’s interesting! It sounds tasty – I mean, who doesn’t love dunking bread into soup? But that’s not quite a dumpling. Go Yankees!
Dumplings. Love them. My mom used to call them “doughboys”, conceivably because they float in the stock like the buoys around the coast. Yes, she was an Anglophile… GREG
I love it!
Love leftover turkey! Yes to the sandwiches, yes to turkey pie. And yes to this turkey soup. Yum!
Thanks, Neil!
Fabulous! And I really like the dumplings. I always forget to do that to wintery soups. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
Combining chicken and turkey together? Brilliant idea! Sometimes I think turkey tastes a bit dry, but using the bones as a stock sounds like a good idea. AND adding those dumplings? I’m salivating here!
You know, I used the chicken because I’d already eaten most of the leftover turkey, and I was surprised at what a nice combination it was.
I am so intrigued with the buttermilk dumplings! This looks like a perfectly comforting and delicious winter meal.
I really love them.
Love the seasoning in those dumplings, nice soup.
Thank you!
Oh my gosh, an original way to use my leftover turkey. John loves dumplings and I haven’t made them forever. This recipe will be a delicious surprise for him!
Awesome!
Jeff, you got me thinking chicken and dumplings now. But, your Chickeny Turkey Soup with Dumplings sounds very tummy pleasing. I really like the dumpling recipe. I’ve never tried dumpling with lemon zest and Parmesan, but it sounds wonderful. Surely, a must try dish.
It was a new one for me, too, Ron. I read about it and thought it sounded good, and it was very good.
mmm. . . This looks like a tasty comfort food, and the perfect way to turn left-overs into a wonderful new dish.
Laura makes a very similar dish based on her childhood growing up near the Pennsylvania Amish community. (She’s not Amish, but Amish recipes are very common in her area.) But I think her dumplings are a little boring. They need a boost like what you’ve got here. Plus, the bit of lemon zest in there is intriguing. Oh, and your mention of Scarborough Fair makes me think of The Graduate. Damn good movie.
Really good movie! And yes, I think you’ll like these dumplings.
What a wonderful recipe, it looks incredibly delicious and so savory! Love the beautiful texture of the dumplings and the ingredients as well, I never would have thought to add parmesan and lemon zest, sounds fabulous!
You know, the lemon and parmesan weren’t my idea. In doing research for the recipe, I stumbled on it … and I really love it.