Stuffing Dumpling Soup
Updated Dec. 14, 2020

- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1turkey carcass, picked clean (about 4 pounds)
- 1tablespoon apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into bite-size cubes
- 1medium yellow or white onion (about 10 ounces), chopped
- Kosher salt
- 1pound kale (any type), stripped from stems and coarsely chopped (about 6 lightly packed cups)
- 4garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and chopped
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
- 2cups cubed leftover turkey
- 2½cups leftover stuffing, slightly warmed
- 2large eggs
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon baking powder
For the Turkey Stock
For the Soup
For the Dumplings
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the stock: Roughly chop the carcass so you don’t have any pieces bigger than your hands. (This is just so the pieces fit more compactly in the pot — don’t overthink it.) Place in a pressure cooker. Add the vinegar and cover with 2½ quarts water. Bring to full pressure and cook for 1½ hours. Allow the pressure cooker to cool down naturally, pluck out and discard the larger bones, then strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. You should have 9 to 10 cups of stock. (You can also prepare the stock on the stovetop in a large pot, simmering for 3½ to 4 hours, and topping off with water as needed.) Leftover stock can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
- Step 2
Prepare the soup: In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the sweet potatoes, onion and a big pinch of kosher salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the kale, garlic and red-pepper flakes, and season with a big pinch of kosher salt. Cover the pot and cook until the greens are wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Add 2 quarts of the prepared turkey stock and season with kosher salt to taste. Increase the heat to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to an active simmer and cook, partly covered, until the greens and sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Step 5
While the soup simmers, prepare the dumplings: In a medium bowl, combine the stuffing and ⅓ cup of the turkey stock, and mash with a potato masher until the stuffing is broken up. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder and a big pinch of kosher salt, and mix until well combined.
- Step 6
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to taste with more salt, red-pepper flakes and vinegar, if needed. Stir in the turkey.
- Step 7
Using two big spoons, plop the stuffing mixture into the soup like big drop biscuits. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer until dumplings feel set and firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 8
Divide soup across bowls. (If storing leftovers, scoop the dumplings out of the soup and store separately to prevent them from soaking up all the broth as they sit. Dumplings and soup will keep refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Private Notes
Comments
Dumpling tip: If you’re a chunky-stuffing maker (if you’ve got sausage or chestnuts or anything that doesn’t break up easily) and you’d like a smoother dumpling consistency, feel free to toss the warmed (but not hot!) stuffing and cooled extra broth in a blender with the eggs. Then I just ice-cream scooped the dough directly into my soup. Also, feel free to vary the amount of liquid added. If your stuffing is moist, you might not need much - the eggs alone could be an adequate binder.
I make it all the time with cornbread stuffing and it’s amazing. The soup also freezes well. Happy Thanksgiving!
I have read elsewhere that the vinegar helps to leach the minerals out of the bones. The bones will get soft and the broth will get more gelatinous and mineral-rich.
I get annoyed with people who have to change every recipe. However, I didn’t make the soup as written but from leftovers I turned 2 legs, a partial thigh and a wing into a soup with added onion, carrot and parsnip. I then made the dumplings as written. Wow. Great dumplings and worth making extra stuffing so I can make these again.
Made this last night using the bones of our whole turkey breast and probably more stuffing than the recipe called for. The first few balls fell apart in the water, even using an ice cream soup; I persevered and used a firmer hand, rolling and gently placing the remaining balls in the broth. Those remained intact, and early disintegrated ones added a velvety luscious to the broth. The final product was absolutely delicious, both familiar and a little different, and possibly one of the best recipe adaptations from a Thanksgiving leftovers. Definitely a keeper.
If stuffing is moist, may need only one egg. Definitely needed refrigerating before putting into the soup.
