On Christmas Eve of 2019, we had roast duck. We were left with a generous amount of duck meat and all the bones from which the meat had been carved. The neck was intact; so was the back. Both were covered with fatty skin that browned during roasting. In short, there was still a lot of flavor that could be squeezed from what was left of our roast duck.
So, the duck bones went into the slow cooker overnight to make broth. The next day, the duck bones were scooped out and the broth was strained into a pot.
While the broth simmered, mushrooms and scallions were added. To give the soup body — that is, to make sure that the eggs won’t just sink to the bottom of the pot — a bit of starch dissolved in water was stirred in. When the soup had thickened, beaten eggs were poured in and allowed to set partially.
The soup was stirred to break the eggs into wisps as delicate as feather and it was ready to be served. I filled a bowl for my daughter, Sam, who was on a non-meat diet at the time. The carnivores in the family, myself included, enjoyed a slightly different version of the soup.
Ours had duck meat. What ever meat I could pluck from the bones was shredded and added to the soup. Meat attached to the bones are no longer flavorful but still very much edible. It is up to you whether to add the scrap meat to the soup. I did.
Even if you’re not into roast duck, the same technique can be used with almost any leftover bones. If, let’s say, you had roast turkey, a crown of ribs, a leg of ham or lamb, you can use that to make soup.
Leftover roast duck egg drop soup
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- bones from a whole roast duck
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup finely sliced scallions
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms (any variety)
- corn starch
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the duck bones in the slow cooker, add salt and pepper and pour in enough water to cover.
- Set the slow cooker to LOW and leave for 10 to 11 hours.
- Strain the broth, measure and pour into a pot.
- Bring the broth to a gentle boil then add the scallions and mushrooms.
- Disperse one teaspoon of cornstarch in one tablespoon of water for every two cups of broth.
- Pour into the soup and stir until the broth is no longer cloudy.
- Simmer the soup for about five minutes.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl.
- Turn off the stove. Drizzle the eggs in a circular motion directly into the soup. Leave to solidify for a few seconds then stir.
- Taste the soup. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.
- At this point, you already have a wonderful egg drop soup.
- If you want to add any meat that can be plucked from the duck bones, stir them in for a meaty egg drop soup.
