Mom's Turkey Stew

In addition to the requisite turkey sandwiches, my Mom always cooked up a pot of turkey stew to use up all the Thanksgiving leftovers. Filled with tender pieces of turkey and vegetables, the stew is the perfect meal to keep you warm on a cold November night. So when my Mom offered me the rest of the wings and drumsticks from our family's recent Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, I immediately ask her for the stew recipe. Of course she laughed at me saying there was no real recipe but that she just used what was leftover from the dinner and what she had on hand. And this is what I believe makes a truly good cook. No recipe required just years of practice and experience. Not having learned this skill yet, I asked my Mom for the basics and a few tips. Here's what she gave me. Only two steps!

Step One: Create your broth. 

Leftover thighs, drumsticks, wings and the turkey carcass are the base for your broth. Simmered in water, the bones impart a surprising amount of flavor that doesn't require much additional seasoning. Carrots, onions and celery (aka a mirepoix) or any other vegetables you have leftover from your holiday meal add even more flavor and help to fill up your stew. I covered all of these in water, brought to a boil and then simmered uncovered for an hour. I let the whole pot simmer another 2 hours covered before I was satisfied with the taste. I was lucky enough to snag the leftovers from my Dad's grilled turkey which lent an amazing smoky element to the broth. 

Step Two: Add your fillings

Simple enough. Take the bones out of the broth and remove any meat. Having simmered the bones for 3 hours, the meat easily fell off. The meat plus some extra slices of turkey went back into the pot along with some thyme, rosemary, and oregano. I left this to simmer another half hour before adding in some farro and parsley. I cooked it only long enough to soften the farro and then seasoned with salt and pepper. And that was it! Making homemade broth and stew initially seemed intimidating to me but it really couldn't have been easier. 

Serve with some crusty bread and you have a hearty and comforting meal. Hope you enjoy it!