Old Timber Outdoors
More wild turkey recipes

Wild turkey legs and thighs, bone-in

Wild Turkey Leg Noodle Soup

Wild turkey legs and thighs simmered for hours into a rich broth, then pulled and returned with vegetables and egg noodles.

Serves
6
Hands-on
50 min
Total
4 hr 30 min
Skill
Easy

Cooks on: Stovetop · Lunch, Dinner

Ingredients

  • 2½ lbWild turkey legs and thighs, bone-in, legs and thighs from one bird
  • 1Onions, diced
  • 3Carrots, sliced
  • 2 clovesGarlic, minced
  • 2 tspSalt
  • ½ tspBlack pepper, ground
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 10 cups low-sodium chicken stock, or half stock and half water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 6 oz wide egg noodles
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

You'll need

  • Stovetop
  • Dutch oven
  • Instant-read thermometer

Contains

Egg, Gluten. Store-bought stock and noodles can contain soy or other allergens. Check the labels.

Method

  1. Pat the turkey legs and thighs dry. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers and brown the pieces well on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. The browning gives the broth its depth.
  2. Add the stock, bay leaves and thyme and scrape up the browned bits. Bring just to a boil, then lower to a bare simmer, partly cover, and cook until the meat slides off the bones and the thigh meat falls apart at a fork, 2½ to 3½ hours. Skim any foam in the first 20 minutes. Older birds take the longest; tenderness decides, not the clock.
  3. Lift out the turkey and let it cool until you can handle it. Pull the meat, discard the bones, skin and the hard tendons, and chop the meat into bite-size pieces. Skim most of the fat from the broth.
  4. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and salt to the broth. Simmer until the carrots are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.
  5. Stir in the egg noodles and simmer until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
  6. Return the turkey, add the pepper, and heat until the soup reads at least 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bay leaves, stir in the lemon juice, taste for salt, and serve topped with the parsley.

When it's done: fork-tender: the meat slides off the bone

Wild turkey legs and thighs pass 165°F early in the simmer but stay tough for hours. They are done when the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork and the thigh meat falls apart. If it is still tight, it needs more time at a bare simmer, not more heat.

If it goes wrong

Meat still tight on the bone
Wild turkey legs are tough. Keep simmering gently and check every 30 minutes.
Soup too salty
The stock was full-salt and reduced over the long simmer. Use low-sodium stock or half water, and salt only at the end.
Cloudy, greasy broth
It boiled hard. Keep it at a bare simmer, and skim the fat off the top before adding the vegetables.
Noodles swollen in leftovers
They keep soaking up broth. Add stock or water when you reheat.

Leftovers. Divide into shallow containers so it cools quickly, and refrigerate within 2 hours. Reheat to 165°F.