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smoked turkey soup

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Meat & Poultry Soups & Stews

Caribbean Smoked Turkey Soup

12 Comments on Caribbean Smoked Turkey Soup

Smoked and/or salted meats are a must for a good Caribbean soup, so when my eyes crossed paths with the smoked turkey legs when we were out shopping a few days back.. let’s just say we shared a connection. Soups in the Caribbean are thick and hearty as most stews are in North America, so if this is your first time learning about how we make soups, don’t get alarmed. If you can’t source smoked turkey legs, you can certainly use necks or wings and if all fails, use any smoked meat you can source (ham bone, ham hocks..etc).

You’ll Need…

1 smoked turkey leg
2 potato
1 sweet potato
1lb dasheen
4 eddoes
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pack Grace cock soup
water (10-14 cups)
1 carrot
1 sweet corn
fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 cup black eye peas
1 tablespoon veg oil
4 okra
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 scallions

Optional – (flour dumplings)
1 1/2 cup   all purpose flour
pinch of sugar
water

Notes. Optional ingredients – yam, green banana, cassava.. etc. If you don’t have the Grace cock soup.. use a spicy noodle soup (Maggi) or chicken stock. You can add any greens you like (spinach, callaloo etc) or  cabbage as well . And a nice addition would be some cubed pumpkin.

Chop the onion, garlic, scallions and herbs. Then heat the oil in a deep soup pot and add the chopped ingredients. Allow that to cook for 3-5 minutes on low heat. To soften the onion and create a wonderful flavor base.

Wash and drain the black eye peas (a good substitute would be yellow split peas) and add it to the pot along with the chopped carrot. Then add the smoked turkey leg and  pour in the water, add the scotch bonnet pepper, salt and black pepper. Bring to a oil and reduce to a simmer.

Allow to to simmer away for 45- 60 minutes or until the peas are tender. In the meantime peel and prep the root vegetables. Using a potato peel or sharp pairing knife, remove the skin off the dasheen, eddoes, potato, sweet potato and remove the stems off the okra. Try to cut each in even sized pieces so they cook evenly. If you prepped this before it time to place it in the pot, remember to cover will cool water to prevent them from going discoloured. The corn is optional, but I like adding it. Cut each corn into 4-5 pieces and give a good rinse before adding to the pot.

After 50 minutes or so the peas should be tender and you should have a pot packed with flavour. Remove the smoked turkey leg and set aside to cool. Now gently add everything into the pot  and bring to a boil, including the packet of ‘cock’ soup. If you find that the liquid does not cover the vegetables, add a bit more water.

Strip the pieces of meat off the bone and add back to the pot.. add back the bone as well for additional flavor.

Usually it takes between 25 – 35 minutes to cook after you’ve added the vegetables. You’re looking for a thick consistency and the dasheen and other vegetables should be tender to the point where it starts to fall apart. Try not to over stir or you’ll end up with porridge.

Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. If you’re adding flour dumplings, do so the last 7 minutes so they have time to fully cook. Remember that as this soup cools it will thicken further, so don’t worry if it seems a bit thin when it’s hot.

An absolute treat! This soup is loaded with goodness and don’t be surprised if you get a case of the sleepies after you’ve done damage on a bowl. Remember to fish the scotch bonnet pepper out of the pot and try your best not to burst it during cooking.. or you’ll release the dragon!

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Recipe Card

Caribbean Smoked Turkey Soup
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Caribbean Smoked Turkey Soup

Courses: , Recipe Keys: Non Vegetarian Spicy
Difficulty: Intermediate Prep Time 25 mins Cook Time 1 hr Total Time 1 hr 25 mins
Servings: 6

Description

A rich, smoky Caribbean soup full of root vegetables, beans, and optional dumplings, perfect for feeding a crowd.

Ingredients

Soup Base

Beans & Vegetables

Aromatics & Seasonings

Optional

Dumplings

Instructions

Video
  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, scallions, thyme, and oregano. Sauté for 3–5 minutes until fragrant and softened.
  2. Stir in black eye peas and carrot. Add smoked turkey leg and pour in 10–14 cups water. Add scotch bonnet pepper, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
  3. Simmer uncovered for 45–60 minutes, or until peas are tender. Meanwhile, peel and cube the dasheen, eddoes, potatoes, and sweet potato. Remove stems from okra. Cut corn into pieces and rinse well.
  4. Once peas are tender, remove smoked turkey leg and set aside to cool. Add prepared vegetables, corn, tomato paste, and Grace cock soup mix to the pot. Add more water if needed to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil.
  5. Strip meat from the turkey leg and return both meat and bone to the pot. Simmer for 25–35 minutes, until vegetables are soft and soup has thickened. Avoid over-stirring to prevent the soup from becoming too starchy.
  6. Taste and adjust salt if needed. If using dumplings, mix flour, sugar, and water to form dough. Pinch into small pieces and add in the final 7 minutes of cooking.
  7. Remove and discard the scotch bonnet pepper before serving.

Note

Optional ingredients – flour dumplings, yam, green banana, cassava, etc. If you don’t have the Grace cock soup, use a spicy noodle soup (Maggi) or chicken stock. You can add any greens you like (spinach, callaloo etc) or  cabbage as well. And a nice addition would be some cubed pumpkin.

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Meat & Poultry

Turn Leftover Ham Bone Into A Comforting Caribbean Soup.

24 Comments on Turn Leftover Ham Bone Into A Comforting Caribbean Soup.

As my family and friends enjoy the blistering heat of the Caribbean sun, I have to settle for temperatures which are starting to dip below the freezing point and it will only get colder as we move into January and February. However, with a huge pot of ham bone soup simmering away on the stove, nothing brings me more comfort and memories of the sunny Caribbean. Ham bone soup is one of those meals I look forward to after the holidays… not only is it very delicious and easy to make, it helps me forget how cold it is outside as we get set for the shorter days and frigid temperatures.

Soup is a traditional “Saturday” dish on the islands and it’s one of those traditions we take with us wherever we may  now call home. Go to any West Indian market on a Friday evening or early Saturday morning and see people busy shopping for salted meats and ground provisions. No  joke.. I even saw two women almost fight for the last ‘hand’ of green fig (banana) a few years back at a West Indian store.

This is one of those soups where you put everything in the pot and allow it to do it’s thing as it takes about an hour and a half to cook. Ham bone soup is an excellent one pot meal when you don’t feel like staying hours in the kitchen and it’s very delicious and filling.

You’ll Need…

1 Ham Bone (or any smoked bones)
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1 1/4 tablespoon salt (see note below)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper
1 large onion
1 large carrot
3 large potatoes
3 cloves garlic
4 sprigs thyme
2 scallions
2 cups dry yellow split peas
1 1/2 lb butternut squash
2 tablespoon olive oil (or veg)
10 cups water

Optional – (flour dumplings)
1 1/2 cup   all purpose flour
pinch of sugar
water

Notes. If you don’t have a ham bone, you can use ham hocks and if pork is not your thing, smoked turkey or beef bones would work just as well. I used about 1 1/4 tablespoon salt, but since your tolerance for salt will be different than mine, start off with a tablespoon and adjust accordingly. You can certainly use stock instead of the 10 cups of water I mentioned, but I like to get the true flavor of the ham bone, so I try not to overpower it with any sort of stock.

We’ll start off by peeling and chopping all the ingredients. With the squash, carrots and potato,  be sure to leave them in huge pieces so when they cook down they won’t totally melt away.

 In a large pot, heat the olive oil on a med/high heat, then add the sliced garlic and onion and cook for a couple minutes (until they’re soft and edges start going brown). Now add the black pepper, thyme (I left the thyme on the sprig as I love the extra flavor from it – at the end of cooking I can remove the sprigs), cubed potato, cubed quash and carrot. Give the split peas a good rinse with cool water, drain and add it to the pot as well. Give everything a good stir.

Since I had some leftover meat with my ham, I stripped what I could off the bone and gave it a rough chop (cubes). Now add the coconut milk and salt  to the pot and give it a good stir.

Add the pieces of ham, the ham bone and the scallions (rough chop them) to the pot and stir as best as you can (it may be difficult with the huge ham bone).

Now is when you add the water (make sure everything gets covered) and place the habanero (or any hot pepper you have available) whole, to the pot. By adding the pepper whole, we’ll get some flavor and not the heat. However if heat is your thing, you can chop the pepper before adding or burst it later on in the cooking process as I did.

Turn up the heat and bring the pot to a boil. As it starts to boil you’ll notice some frothy stuff at the top, skim that off and discard. Now turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and allow to cook for one and half hours. Remember to stir things every 15 minutes or so. You will notice that as the split peas become tender the soup itself will get very thick… this is when it’s important to stir as the peas can stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

After 1 hr and 15 mins the split peas should be close to being fully cooked and there should be a wonderful scent throughout your kitchen and home. It’s now time to make the dumplings. In a bowl add the flour and a pinch of sugar, give it a stir with a fork, then start adding water to form a dough. In the video below you’ll see how I did it. Basically you’re looking for a soft, smooth dough. After the dough is made, pinch off pieces (about the size of a large marble) and form into a large cigarette and add to the pot. Basically all you do is… roll the dough between both hands to form the shape of the dumplings.


After adding the dumplings, allow it to cook for another 15 minutes, then it’s all done. Check for salt as I’m sure your tolerance for salt will be a bit different than mine. Now is when you would fish out the habanero pepper and the sprigs from the thyme we added earlier in the cooking process.

This is a huge pot of soup, so why not make it a family affair and invite some relatives and friends over. If not, put the remainder in a freezer container and freeze for a couple months at least. All you do is thaw, add some water in a pot and reheat. Additionally, this soup will get VERY thick when it cools down, so if you’re reheating on the stove, do add about 1/2 cup of water to thin it out a bit.

Before you go I invite you to leave me your comments below.. even if it just to say hello. It’s always appreciated. And don’t forget to join us on facebook and do check out the cooking videos.