Let’s talk turkey… stock. At its most basic, a stock is made using leftover bones, herbs, and vegetables. It’s a versatile pantry staple I’ve used in so many ways over the years. It can be a base for soups and stews, substituted for water to add extra flavor to most any dish, or even sipped on its own as a light meal or snack.
But to be honest, I usually buy my stock. It’s a matter of convenience and forgetfulness. After all, making stock takes some planning. You need to save the bones, buy the other ingredients, and plan to let it simmer for a few hours. I’m normally not that organized. However, blogging about the recipes I make has made planning my menus important, so this year I have all the ingredients to make turkey stock for the first time. Now to find that stock pot I never get to use…
Have you ever made your own turkey stock? Every time I’ve made a turkey (and I’ve made a TON of turkey’s) I’ve always thrown away the carcass with a bit of a guilty feeling, but making my own sounded like SO much work, and what the heck would I make with Turkey Stock? Now of course I love cooking with Broth’s and Stock’s so I know EXACTLY what I’ll make with the stock! AND it’s SO easy, and fits naturally into the FEAST clean up. In fact you can use any bones to make this bone broth recipe.
The Ingredients
I made an herb roasted turkey for this Thanksgiving, so I have the turkey bones I need to make a big batch of stock. I also had all the herbs needed leftover from that recipe, so all I had to add to my grocery list was the carrots and celery. I’m really happy about that since my intent is to use up my leftovers and not create more.
The Process
I carved all the meat off the turkey the day I made it. This was to make storing the leftover meat easier and give me a head start on my turkey stock. In the process, I broke the carcass into smaller pieces so everything would fit into my stockpot.
The next morning I added the bones to the pot with the herbs and vegetables. Then I covered it all in water, brought it to a boil, and let it simmer for four and a half hours. Toward the end, I tasted the turkey stock and added some salt and pepper to taste.
Yes, it was that easy. The herbs went in whole, with stems and all, and I didn’t even bother peeling the shallots or garlic. I chopped the celery and carrots into thirds so they would fit into the pot and stay submerged. Although looking back, I probably didn’t even need to do that.
Once the stock was done, I strained it into a large mixing bowl and put the bowl into the refrigerator. This allows the fat to come to the surface and solidify so it can be skimmed away the next day.
After skimming, I ladled my turkey stock into my measuring cup. I divided the 12 cup yield into 6 2-cup servings and stored them in small freezer bags to use later. Just remember to label and date your bags before adding the stock. They’re a lot harder to write in when they’re full, trust me.
Here is the breakdown of all the steps and times to make this turkey stock recipe:
- 6 minutes to prep
- 4 1/2 hours to cook
- 4 minutes to strain
- Rest overnight in the refrigerator
- 2 minutes to skim the fat
- 4 minutes to divide for storage
- 4 hours 46 minutes total (not including the overnight rest in the refrigerator)
