Turkey Parsnip Barley Stew

1 Turkey (or chicken) carcass with some meat still on it; more meat
1 celeriac (also called celery root), quartered
bay leaves
herb stems*
2 carrots, snapped in half
1/2 onion, skin on

left-over gravy and/or bouillon
8 large parsnips
1 medium onion
2 celery stalks
2-3 medium russet potatoes
1 to 1 1/2 C whole barley or other whole grain like rice
1 bunch fresh Italian parsley
several sprigs of fresh thyme
several sprigs of fresh rosemary
fresh ground pepper
1 c dry white wine

After Thanksgiving is done, most have a turkey carcass and/or some left over meat, leg bones, etc. I freeze this all until I’m going to make this stew.

Put the carcass in a large stock put and fill with *cold* water – this allows the flavour to go into the broth – don’t use hot water. Also add in the bay leaves, carrots, onion, celeriac, and herb stems. Let it warm up slowly on low and bring to a simmer on medium-low for several hours until the meat is about to come off the bones. Use a spider to remove the vegetables, meat and bones, picking out the meat and putting into a bowl to add back to the broth later. Strain the broth through fine cheesecloth and return to the rinsed-out pot.

Check the stock for flavour and saltiness. I add in a couple of tablespoons of turkey bouillon (which is hard to find) I use “Better than Bouillon” brand, which is quite good. I also add in a the Chardonnay or other dry white wine. This time I used wine in my gravy which I had left-over from Thanksgiving, so I didn’t add any more in to the stew. This is when I add in the gravy (if I have any). Don’t add too much salt as you want this to cook down quite a bit more before you serve it, and you don’t want it to become too salty.

Peel and chop the parsnips into about 1/2″ chunks. Parsnips are a lot softer than carrots and will nearly dissolve into the stew if you cook it long enough (which I always do). Chop the onion, celery and dice the potato and add to the stock. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Now chop half of the parsley, and take most of the thyme and rosemary, tie them together with kitchen twine and set in the broth with the vegetables. Most of the rosemary and thyme leaves will come off into the stew, and this is what is desired. Simmer on medium with the lid off so you concentrate the flavours a little more. It will look like soup at this point, but once you add in the barley, it will absorb a lot of the liquid, so don’t worry about it.

After about 45 min. add the meat back in and simmer for another 45 min. and add in the barley. It takes a while for the barley to cook through. As soon as the barley is done you can serve it. By now it should be quite thick, past soup stage and on to stew. If not, leave the lid off and evaporate more of the water, but be careful that you don’t evaporate too much of it, even after the barley is cooked, it will continue to take on water.

Right before I serve it, I finely chop the rest of the herbs and add them to the stew, or put them in little bowls for to place on the table. Fresh rosemary is amazing, and goes really with the parsnips in this stew.

From first adding the water to the pot, this should take about 5-6 hours until it is ready – so for supper you should start this about 12.00.

*When I’ve used the leaves from fresh herbs, I put the stems in a ziploc bag and place in the freezer until the next time I’m going to make stew or soup, and use them to flavour the stock, rather then letting them go to waste. I do the same with bits and pieces of poultry like the wing tips, backs/spines etc.