Essentials: Turkey Stock

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a great day, meal spent with the ones you tolerate and/or love ;).

Did you host? Did you toss out the turkey carcass? For your sake I hope not because you could be making turkey stock right now. Unctuous, yummy, make everything for the next week better turkey stock. I follow the general guidelines laid out by Michael Ruhlman in his Chicken Stock method.

Ingredients

  • Roast turkey carcass, pick as much meat from it as possible.
    • The proportions below are for a 15-20 pounds carcass but you can't mess it up really.
  • 2 onions per cut up roughly
  • 3 carrots cut up roughly
  • 1 Peppercorns bashed lightly
    • I use a mortar and pestle because I'm cool like that but you could bash them with the bottom of a big pot or rolling pin to break 'em up.
  • Optional add ins
    • Bay leaves
    • Garlic gloves bashed slightly
    • Thyme sprig
    • Parsley sprig

Directions

  1. Break up carcass as much as possible to lay low in your biggest stock pot
  2. Add just enough water to cover the bones
  3. Put over low heat for 2-6 hours, I often let it go over night.
    • Low heat means LOW HEAT, as in no boiling, not even simmering. Too much heat is what can make the stock cloudy because it breaks up the turkey and veg.
  4. Add the onion, carrots, peppercorns and optionals and let heat for an additional hour
  5. Strain out the solids
  6. If you want to get real fancy strain again but this time through paper towels to get a really clear stock.
  7. Let cool in fridge to separate the fat which can then be pulled or scraped off the top.
    • If you wanna get really crazy/practical this can be used to fry potatoes or roast other veggies. It stores in the freezer for up to a month nicely.
  8. Store in the fridge for a week or freezer for 3-4 months.
Make stock, and make yummy things with it. Eventually you'll get to be known as the one in the family who should get the carcass even when you don't host or make the bird.

The 22 pound turkey we had yesterday provided almost a gallon of stock after straining this morning.

Leave a comment with what you are making with your turkey stock this year.


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