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Truly American food, wild rice enriches any stock By Sarah Lemon Dec 02, 2019 01:10 PM A A As you’re taking stock of what’s left in the fridge from Thanksgiving, don’t overlook making stock from the turkey remnants. That was the final kitchen task Saturday evening before my family and I departed San Francisco, where we spent the holiday with my sister- and mother-in-law. Much of the stock became turkey pozole , which my husband prefers to the Thanksgiving turkey. But there also was plenty of stock left over to leave a couple of quarts in the freezer. For cooks who don’t want to tangle with the turkey parts, it’s easy enough to stash the carcass in a couple of Ziploc freezer bags (depending on its size) and consign it to the deep freeze until motivation arises. A friend who had cooked a duck as a festive meal for two polished off his leftovers in similar fashion. Duck stock has no peer, in my opinion, and, along with the fabulously flavored fat, is reason enough to roast one for any occasion any time of year. While my friend was content with a straightforward vegetable-noodle soup with his duck stock, I would take the opportunity to make a less typical recipe, such as this Minnesota favorite with a truly American food, indigenous wild rice. It also would be a cinch with turkey stock. Once the stock is made, the soup comes together with just a handful of ingredients. If you lack a ham bone for the stock, you could render a few strips of bacon to start the onion, celery and carrot sauteing with the butter, then add the crumbled bits back to the soup. You also could add any bits of turkey or duck stripped from carcass. Just be sure to precook your wild rice, which takes up to an hour, while the stock is simmering. This recipe is courtesy of Tribune News Service, originally from the Orion Room restaurant in Minneapolis. Orion Room Wild Rice Soup For stock: Duck bones or chicken carcasses from 1 to 2 birds 1 bay leaf 1 whole onion, sliced 1/4 bunch celery, chopped 2 carrots, chopped Salt and white pepper, to taste 3 teaspoons liquid Maggi seasoning 1 smoked ham bone For soup: Butter, as needed 1/2 onion, peeled and finely minced 2 ribs celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 2 cups cooked wild rice 2 pints heavy cream 2 teaspoons chopped peeled almonds Place the stock ingredients in a large kettle with 1 1/2 quarts water; cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large container or pot. When ready to proceed with soup, in a separate soup pot, melt the butter and saute the onion, celery and carrot. Add the wild rice. Fill pot with strained stock and cook on medium-low heat for 60 to 75 minutes. If necessary, thicken with cornstarch. Add the cream just before serving and garnish with the almonds. Tribune News Service photo