From: Chef/restaurant manager Dorian Mills, The Guenther House, San Antonio. Yield: 24 servings, 8 oz. each.
TURKEY AND STOCK:
3 quarts cold water
4 lb.turkey parts (wings, legs, thighs, breast)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 3 chunks
1 large sweet onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, rough cut
SOUP:
1 lb. unsalted butter
1 lb. yellow onions, diced
3 Tbsp. garlic, minced
2 oz. fresh jalapenòs, seeded and cut into small dice
1 lb. corn tortillas, chopped into 1⁄2”cubes
11⁄2 lb. tomato purée
11⁄2 lb. Cheddar cheese sauce
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1⁄4 cup chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
11⁄2 tsp. dried oregano
4 oz. old-fashioned biscuit gravy mix to taste, salt and freshly ground pepper
For turkey and stock: Bring cold water to a boil and add turkey parts, carrot, sweet onion, and celery. When turkey is cooked through, remove it from stock. Chill turkey, debone it, and return bones to the stock. Continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
For soup: Melt butter over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic, jalapenos and corn tortillas. Cook for 3 minutes while stirring. Add 2 qt. strained turkey stock, tomato purée, cheese sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce, chili powder, cumin and dried oregano. In a small sauce pan, bring 3 cups of the reserved stock to a boil. Add biscuit gravy mix to the remaining 1 cup reserved stock while it is at room temperature and whisk together. Add the 1 cup slurry to the 3 cups boiling stock. Whisk while it is simmering until it has thickened. Add thickened slurry to the soup. Return cooked turkey to the soup and reheat thoroughly. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.