Smoked Turkey Soup

Smoked turkey soup is a great way to follow up your Thanksgiving dinner and use some of that leftover turkey meat along with those bones from the turkey. This does not have to be exclusive to your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers, anytime you have made a turkey and have leftovers, this is a great way to use them. During those colder months, there is no doubt, everyone in the family will love this smoked turkey soup recipe and it will warm you to the bones when its cold out!

I did this smoked turkey soup on my Weber Kettle, using a pecan wood and some B&B char logs. I did a snake method on the Kettle and set out for a temp of 225°.

Recipe For Smoked Turkey Soup

First thing we need is the turkey. After Thanksgiving I will collect the bones and whatever meat is left, in particular I am looking for those smaller pieces that are perfect for a soup. I will usually do this the day after Thanksgiving but I have also vacuumed sealed what I gather and do it at a later time. If you happen to have too many leftovers from Thanksgiving, vacuum seal it all and do it at a later time. It is just as good!

For starters we are going to slice some vegetables. For this soup I used celery, carrots and potatoes. Slice them up in the manner you prefer for your soups. I used 5 stalks of celery, 5 small potatoes and a handful of baby carrots. Once I sliced or diced everything up I threw it into a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and sautéed them for about 15 minutes, just enough to start softening them up.

I typically use a vegetable broth or chicken stock for this smoked turkey soup recipe. For this particular version I tried something different and used Better Than Bullion, which I got at Costco. I will say, I could not tell a big difference in using this vs. actual broth so go with what you have or works best for you. You could also go ahead with some chicken broth, I have always made this soup with vegetable broth.

I used my 5qt. cast iron Dutch oven for this smoked turkey soup recipe. As a side note, if you have not yet purchased one, look into it. These things are great and very versatile. Lodge is the cream of the crop and as long as that fits your budget I would recommend going with a Lodge. Once you have your broth ready, go ahead and add the vegetables in, along with the turkey. Add some salt and pepper to taste, about a teaspoon each should do it and you are ready to get this on the smoker.

How To Smoked A Turkey Soup

I did this smoked turkey soup on my Weber Kettle, using a pecan wood and some B&B char logs. I did a snake method on the Kettle and set out for a temp of 225°. Now that your Dutch oven is filled and ready to go, let’s get our smoked turkey soup on the smoker. As I mentioned above, you are going to set your temperature for 225°. I would recommend this regardless of what style smoker you are using.

What we are ultimately looking to accomplish, especially if you are using any turkey bones if to have any meat left on the bones, just falling off when you pull the bone out of the broth. Again, this applies if you are using bones, your other goal is to try and pull as much flavor as you can from those bones. That is why I do not go heavy with a lot of other spices in the soup, the turkey bones should provide a lot of flavor and I already love how easy it is to pull this entire recipe together.

The only thing you need to do is on occasion give the soup a stir just to keep that smoke flavor catching all parts of the turkey and vegetables in the Dutch oven.

So the soup is on and you are going to let it ride for about 5 hours. We are really just mimicking the same process of a slow cooker just with some added smoke flavor. By then any meat left on those bones should be falling off and what is not, should come off easily enough with a knife. After you hit that 5 hours mark, go ahead and pull it off. You are ready to serve while hot, although it may need a few minutes too cool down before serving.

Smoked Turkey Soup Wrap Up

So you are serving your soup now. You can add a nice French or Italian loaf of bread to dip in there or garnish it with some parsley or scallions. If you want to beef the soup up a bit, you can always add some wild rice or noodles as well.

I hope you enjoy this smoked turkey soup recipe. If you are looking for some other cold weather ideas here are some recipes that may interest you:

• Smoked Drip chili
• Smoked butternut squash soup
• Smoked Beef Stew

Looking for some other recipe suggestions here are a few:

• Smoked Meat Loaf
• Smoked Turkey Legs
• Grilled Chicken Street Tacos

Thanks for being here and checking out this Smoked Turkey Soup recipe. I hope you enjoy it! We always appreciate comments, 5 star recipe rating and social media shares. As always, keep that smoke rolling!

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