Smoked turkey and collard greens give this hearty and comforting soup a Southern flair!
So like many folks out there, whenever we shop around the holidays we earn points towards a free turkey
So what to do with the free turkey when you’re celebrating Thanksgiving at someone else’s house??
That’s where the idea for this recipe came from
So we broke the turkey down to get several meals. I removed the breasts, filleted one side and cut the other side into chunks and now we have two future meals right there
We were left with the legs and the wings and then inspiration struck
We love the Southern flavors associated with collard greens with ham hocks so why couldn’t we make a play on that? And better yet we will make a hearty soup out of it
Since ham hocks are typically smoked before their braised with the collard greens I figure we should start there by smoking some turkey
If you don’t have a smoker you can certainly roast these in the oven, either way this part can be done several days ahead of the actual soup making
First thing I’m doing is soaking some apple wood chips in water so that they smoke and don’t just burn up when I add them to the coal in my smoker
I have added two starters worth of lump charcoal to my smoker and sprinkled in the apple wood chips
Now that the smoker is going, let’s talk turkey!
Here we have 2 turkey legs and 2 turkey wings
Sprinkle the turkey with kosher salt and ground black pepper
Let’s get them on the smoker which is sitting at around 225 F
The wings will cook faster then the legs so test them every so often
You want the turkey to reach 165 F
Now we are talking!
Once done, remove and set aside
As previously mentioned you can do this step a couple days ahead of time
Next we want to peel the turkey and discard the skin which will just get soggy in the soup
Plus the skin will have a very strong smoke flavor and removing it will tame it a bit
Pick the turkey meat off the bones and cut into even chunks and set aside
This yielded around 4 cups of meat
Discard the bones
Didn’t smoke your turkey? That’s fine, just add a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke for a similar taste.
OR leave out the smoke all together and enjoy a roasted turkey and greens version of this soul warming soup
Next we will need 1 onion, 3 potatoes and 2 cloves of garlic
Peel and chop the onion and garlic
We left the skin on the potatoes and gave them a dice as evenly as we could
Next up are the collard greens
We like to soak them in the sink and give them a rinse to remove and excess dirt or grit
Once clean, lay the greens on a cutting board and the stems off
In the larger leaves, the stem tends to be tougher so I like to remove it
Just cut a “V” around the stems and discard
Stack the leaves on top of each other and slice them lengthwise down the center
Stack them again and slice into strips
Set them aside
So now it’s time for my favorite part… It’s time to cook!
We have everything prepped which will make the cooking part easier
The French refer to this as “mise en place” which means everything in its place
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a pot
Add in the onions and garlic and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper
Cook 4-6 minutes stirring occasionally allowing them to sweat out and soften
Add in the potatoes and turkey meat
Mix to combine and cook 2-4 minutes
Next up we will need 8 cups of turkey stock
You can certainly use chicken stock here as well
Add in the stock and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes covered
Now for a little Southern secret weapon
If you remember in the beginning I was inspired by braised collard greens with smoky ham hocks
Well there are two ingredients that just make that dish pop and they are hot sauce and red wine vinegar
We will need 2 tablespoons of each
Add the collard greens to the pot along with the hot sauce and red wine vinegar
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the collard greens reach your desired doneness
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Soups on!
Sprinkle with a bit of crushed red pepper
Serve up a bowl of hearty and fulfilling comfort food!
Check out a few of our other popular soups:
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Enjoy!!!
Simply Sundays! ~ Turkey & Collard Greens Soup
Ingredients
4 cups of smoked turkey chopped
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
3 potatoes
3 tablespoons of oil
kosher salt
ground black pepper
8 cups of turkey stock (or chicken)
1 bunch of collard greens
2 tablespoons of hot sauce
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
crushed red pepper for serving (optional)
Directions
For smoking the turkey
Soak around 4 cups of apple wood chips in water for 30 minutes or so. Use two starters worth of lump charcoal to get the smoker up to 225 F. Season the legs and wings with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Smoke the wings for 1 hour and the legs for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165 F
Once cooked remove the turkey and set aside to cool. This step can also be done a couple days ahead of making the soup. Remove the skin and discard. Pick off the turkey meat and cut into chunks. Discard the bones
For the soup
Peel and chop 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves. Chop 3 potatoes leaving the skins on. Place 1 bunch of collard greens into a sink filled with water and give them a good rinse to remove any dirt or grit. Cut off the stems. Remove the stems from the thicker leaves by cutting a “V” in them. Discard the stems. Stack the leaves and slice down the middle lengthwise. Stack them again and cut into strips
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and garlic and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Cook 4-6 minutes stirring occasionally allowing them to sweat out and soften
Add in the potatoes and turkey meat. Mix to combine and cook 2-4 minutes. Add in 8 cups of turkey stock and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes covered
Add the collard greens to the pot along with 2 tablespoons of hot sauce and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the collard greens reach your desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with some crushed red pepper (optional) and serve
Tools used to make this recipe
Anchor Hocking 8 Cup Measuring Cup Glass Batter Bowl with Spout
Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood
ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch
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