Sunday Soups: Spicy Turkey Posole

I know everyone is sick of turkey by now, but I hope you'll still appreciate this unexpected twist on the usual turkey soup.  On Friday, I made turkey stock from the remains of our 29 1/2 pound bird.  (I say remains because I hate the word carcass.  It sounds so vulgar.  Remains isn't much of an improvement, though, is it?)  I've learned over the last few years to break down the turkey soup process into stages, otherwise I find it to be overwhelming.  Getting the stock out of the way is a managable task the next day while putting things away and vacuuming up crumbs (and a few raw green beans I found in odd places?) and taking a nap on the couch, if you are so lucky.  I stayed out of the kitchen on Saturday.  On Sunday, I skimmed the fat off the top, and filled two large containers for the freezer, so over the course of the next several months we can have a quick turkey soup or minestrone or whatever else strikes our fancy.  The rest went into the Spicy Turkey Posole.

Before I get to the recipe, I want to mention that the highlight of Thanksgiving for me this year, besides the wonderful time spent with family, turned out to be my mom's biscuits.  We've been eating them for breakfast with butter and jam, and for lunch with turkey and cranberry sauce.  I don't think it's possible that we'll ever get tired of them.  I was looking for the recipe online so I could share, and I found that Deb from Smitten Kitchen uses the same recipe: James Beards' Cream Biscuits.  She recommends preparing them to the point of baking and then freezing them, so you can pop a few in the oven for fresh biscuits any time.  That is a dangerous piece of information.

Spicy Turkey Posole
from Food and Wine

Carcass from one 13-pound turkey, plus 6 cups shredded turkey (about 2 pounds)
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 bay leaf
Two 15-ounce cans yellow hominy, drained
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 large jalapeño, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
Avocado chunks, shredded Monterey Jack cheese and warm corn tortillas, for serving

1. In a large stockpot, cover the turkey carcass, onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf with 16 cups of water and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Simmer the turkey stock over moderate heat until the broth is flavorful, about 2 hours. Strain the broth through a coarse sieve into a large heatproof bowl.
2. Return the broth to the stockpot. Add the hominy, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeño and cook over moderately high heat until the broth is reduced to 6 cups, about 30 minutes. Add the shredded turkey and chopped cilantro and simmer until the stew is heated through. Season the posole with salt, ladle into deep bowls and serve with the avocado chunks, shredded Monterey Jack cheese and warm tortillas.

Note: The turkey broth can be made up to 2 days ahead.

To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time I've tried hominy.  I wasn't even sure what it was.  (If you don't know, allow me: It's dried maize, treated with lime or lye to remove the hull and germ causing the grain to puff to twice its size.) The taste was mild, but it added an interesting texture, and the jalepeno and garlic brought plenty of flavor.  I thought this soup was an outstanding use of leftover turkey.

I've noticed that our neighbors have put up Christmas lights, but I haven't been able to wrap my mind around the idea that we have legitimately entered the holiday season.  The weather has been so nice, and I took advantage with several walks by the water over the last few days.  Otherwise, I spent a lot of time in the basement, exercising patience while removing thousands of staples and upholstery nails from the antique chairs, now in progress. 

How was your holiday weekend?  Did you discover any creative uses for leftover turkey or find any Black Friday deals or start any tedious projects?