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    Home » recipes » soups » Roast Turkey Bone Broth, Everything You Need to Know and the Easiest Recipe

    cooking

    Roast Turkey Bone Broth, Everything You Need to Know and the Easiest Recipe

    If roasting turkey is labor then making Turkey Bone Broth is the glorious afterbirth. Shall we get into it?

    turkey bone broth in jars
    Jump to Recipe
    Jump to:
    • What is Turkey Bone Broth
    • Difference Between Bone Broth and Stock
    • Health and Dietary Considerations of Turkey Bone Broth
    • Ingredients You Need for Turkey Bone Broth
    • Instructions for How to Make Turkey Bone Broth
    • How to Store and Freeze Turkey Bone Broth
    • How to Use Turkey Bone Broth
    • FAQ
    • Turkey Bone Broth Recipe

    What is Turkey Bone Broth

    Turkey bone broth is a simple stock made by simmering roasted turkey bones with water over a long period of time—like 8 to 10 even 24 hours long! It also has aromatic vegetables like garlic and onions added at the end to enhance the flavor and nutrient content.

    The bone broth is great to use as a base for soups and stews, or in any recipe that calls for some version of "stock." You can sip on a steaming mug of bone broth straight up, as many do to support various aspects of health.

    Difference Between Bone Broth and Stock

    Wait, so what's the difference between bone broth and stock? So glad you asked because they're kind of the same thing, made in similar ways, but different depending on the application.

    In regular cooking terms, a broth generally refers to a liquid made from meat and maybe a few bones and simmered for a shorter period of time, i.e. 1-2 hours. The resulting broth is lighter in both color and flavor, and doesn't gel. Broth is great as base for soups.

    Stock, on the other hand, refers to a liquid made primarily from bones with some bits of meat and skin attached and simmered for a long time to extract flavor. The resulting stock is deeper in color, sometimes because the bones are roasted before simmering, and flavor. Stock usually sets into a gel texture when chilled and is great for braises in which you want a thick braising liquid, sauces, and gravies.

    Bone broth, confusingly enough, is actually more like a stock, and when it's called "bone broth," these days we consider it a liquid that has simmered for even longer than plain stock to truly extract as much collagen, glucosamine, and amino acids out of the bones.

    Health and Dietary Considerations of Turkey Bone Broth

    As printed, this Turkey Bone Broth recipe is:

    • dairy-free, if your turkey was roasted without butter and other dairy ingredients
    • gluten-free
    • sugar-free
    • keto- paleo- and Whole30 compliant

    This of course, depends on how you initially roasted the turkey. If the original roast turkey was brined with sugar, basted with butter, or marinated in any way with ingredients that contain gluten e.g. soy sauce, your bone broth will have some degree of these ingredients as well.

    roast turkey on cutting board

    Ingredients You Need for Turkey Bone Broth

    Turkey Bone Broth is essentially two ingredients: 1) turkey bones and 2) water.

    If you simmer just bones and water, you will get a nutrient- and collagen-rich broth with that characteristic gelatinous jiggle that's perfect to add body and umami to soups, braises, sauces, and gravy. However, you can greatly enhance basic bone broth's flavor by adding aromatic vegetables, herbs, and spices. This will make the bone broth into something drinkable right out of a mug, which is what you want to be doing all winter and maybe even year long.

    Here are the ingredients you need:

    • Turkey carcass from your Holiday dinner, including the skin and the drippings in the pan if you didn't already use them for gravy.
    • Onions or leeks
    • Garlic
    • Carrots
    • Celery
    • Mushrooms are optional
    • Apple Cider Vinegar
    • Thyme and other herbs
    vegetables mise on baking sheet for broth

    Ingredients Notes and Resources

    • Turkey Leftover Carcass. The ingredients and directions here are for making Roasted Turkey Stock, assuming you are using the leftover bones from a 12- to 18-pound whole roast turkey.
    • Wings, neck, and back. All the little bits of bones that you might normally throw away before roasting a turkey, don't. Save them, then throw them into the pot (it's ok if they're not roasted) with the roasted leftover bones. Wings and backbone actually contribute quite a bit of collagen.
    • Water. Normally not listed as an ingredient in recipes, water gets a special highlight here because the kind of water matters for the best bone broth. Obviously use filtered water, and make sure it is COLD water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar. I use this brand of apple cider vinegar.
    • All other vegetables, herbs and produce I get from the the regular grocery store.

    Instructions for How to Make Turkey Bone Broth

    I wasn't kidding when I said if you can boil water, you can make Turkey Bone Broth. Literally put everything in a large pot, bring to boil, then simmer for hours. Once the broth has simmered out, there are just a few additional steps to filter and cool.

    Here are the high-level steps to make a glorious golden Roast Turkey bone Broth:

    bone broth simmering in pot

    1. Place bones and apple cider vinegar in large pot, fill with water to cover bones by an inch, then simmer 8-12 hours. Add vegetables in last hour, herbs in last 20 minutes.

    bone broth cooling in bowl

    2. Strain broth into a large bowl fit inside a larger bowl filled with ice water to turbo-cool the broth before putting in refrigerator.

    gelled bone broth in bowl

    3. Chill the bone broth in the refrigerator overnight to let any fat rise to the top and solidify.

    removing fat layer from gelled bone broth in bowl

    4. Scrape off solidified fat from surface of broth, and transfer the gelled broth to storage containers to future enjoyment!

    Pro Tips and Techniques for Turkey Bone Broth

    • Prep in advance. You don't have to make a trip to the market for a whole new set of ingredients to make bone broth. As you prep for dinner, save an onion, a few carrots, and a couple of stalks of celery for your future turkey bone broth. If you plan to season the stock with herbs, save a few sprigs of thyme, too.
    • Simmer, not boil. Except for the initial boil to get the pot up to temperature, maintain the temperature at a very gentle simmer. You simply cannot turn up the heat and boil it to make it faster. The whole point of a bone broth is using time to extract all the good stuff, i.e. collagen, nutrients, and of course, umami. A rough and rowdy boil will stir up to much junk and make the broth cloudy and emulsified with oil.
    • Add vegetables later. Vegetables don't need to cook as long as bones do for flavor. In fact, simmering vegetables for too long changes their flavor, and not in a good way. Add the vegetables for the last hour of simmering.
    • Add herbs very last. If you love the flavor of fresh herbs, add them last. Herbs need even less time than all those sturdy vegetables to cook. Toss them into the pot the last 20-30 minutes of the cook time, if at all.
    • Skip the herbs. I leave herbs, spices, and seasonings out completely, so that the bone broth is a neutral flavor base to which I can add herbs and spices at the time I plan to consume it. Broths and stocks cross cuisines and the flavor of rosemary in the stock now, which is great for an all-American pot pie, might taste weird in an Indian curry later.
    • Use a coffee filter. For crystal clear bone broth, pour the cooled bone broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
    • DO NOT PUT HOT STOCK IN THE REFRIGERATOR to cool down. The stock will make it too warm in the refrigerator, compromising the safety of the foods in there.
    bone broth simmering in pot with vegetables

    Tools and Equipment

    • Stock Pot: I use a very large stock pot by this cookware company. It has a heavy bottom and easy-to-hold handles. Any large pot that fits the ingredients will do. A large Dutch oven is great for this.
    • Slow Cooker: I have this 6-quart programmable slow cooker. If you are going to use a slow-cooker, I highly recommend getting/using a slow-cooker that has a timer or auto-shut-off so you can truly "set it, and forget it," which is kind of the point of a slow-cooker, imho.
    • Stainless steel tongs
    • Strainer
    • Large bowls, one that fits within the other. I use both stainless steel and glass mixing bowls.
    • Thermometer
    • Quart sized mason jars
    • Plastic sealing lids for jars. Get rid of those annoying two-piece metal lids that come with mason jars (unless you're doing actual canning) and get wide-mouth lids for the larger jars, and wide-mouth smaller jars
    • Plastic storage containers: I keep a decent supply of these plastic quart (32 ounces) containers for any- and everything. The containers are technically "disposable," but they can be used a few times with hand-washing between uses. The best thing, though, is freezer-safe glass. Always make sure the stock is cool before pouring into any type of storage container.
    • Large format ice cube trays. If you plan to make and freeze bone borth for the rest of your life, these "souper cube" trays specifically dedicated to broths and soups are great to have.

    How to Store and Freeze Turkey Bone Broth

    Refrigerator. You can keep Turkey Bone Broth in the refrigerator for 5 days. I like to use large mason jars with sealing plastic lids.

    Freezer. You can freeze Turkey Bone Broth and keep for about 3 months. Here are a few ways to freeze Turkey Bone Broth:

    • The way that works best for how I maintain my freezer is ladling bone broth directly into freezer-safe quart-sized bags, squeezing out all the air, sealing, and laying flat in the freezer until the broth freezes. Then I stand them up and line them up like thin books on a bookshelf. If you're looking to reduce single-use plastic, these are re-usable ziptop bags.
    • Use large format ice cube trays to freeze Turkey Bone Broth into ½-cup or 1-cup servings, pop out the frozen cubes, and throw into a freezer-safe bag.
    • Yes, you can put glass mason jars in the freezer. Just make sure to leave at least 1½-inch of air space at the top of the jar and freeze with the lid lightly closed. Once, the bone broth is frozen completely, you can close the lid completely. Make sure the keep the jars on freezer shelves that will hold the jars in place.
    pho with bone broth in white bowl on wooden table

    How to Use Turkey Bone Broth

    Use Turkey Bone Broth the same way you would use any other bone broth. I always have grand plans to make something fancy with my Turkey Bone Broth, but end up with the same basic-is-best way, sipping it by the mugful with a few pinches of salt, ginger, and turmeric all winter long. Here are some more place Turkey Bone Broth shines:

    • Pho
    • Ramen
    • Turkey (Chicken) Meatballs and Bok Choy in Ginger Miso Broth
    • Enrich a Ginger Miso Soba Noodle Soup
    • Turkey Vegetable Soup
    • Deer Valley Turkey Chili
    • Pot Pie with a Puff Pastry Crust

    FAQ

    What if I don't want to simmer broth for 12 hours right after dinner? Can I make Turkey Bone Broth tomorrow?

    A: Yes! You can make turkey bone broth anytime later, up to about a month, if you properly store the leftover carcass. Throw the bones into an airtight/zipper bag. If you plan to make the stock in the next day or two, you can keep the bones in the refrigerator. If you want to wait for more than a few days, break down the carcass a little at natural joints so they'll fit into the pot later, and throw the bag of bones into the freezer. It will keep in the freezer for a month. You don't even have to thaw the bones out before simmering, though they maybe more difficult to fit into the pot.

    Why is my bone broth or stock cloudy?

    A: The cloudiness the the result of little droplets of fat and other blobules that get emulsified into the liquid when the stock is boiled a little too hard. Think of it as the same thing that happens when you vigorously whisk oil into vinegar for a well blended salad dressing.

    Is white, cloudy bone broth safe to eat?

    A. Cloudy bone broth is definitely safe to eat and generally tastes the same though the texture may be slightly oilier. If you've ever had certain soups and noodles soups, cloudy broth is actually what you want!

    How do you prevent or fix cloudy white bone broth/stock?

    A: To prevent cloudy stock, keep the heat low and only allow the broth to simmer. This also means you may have to add water to the pot at some point during the simmering process if too much water evaporates. You can fix some of the cloudiness by filtering the bone broth through a coffee filter or a very fine sieve, or by "clarifying" it by cracked egg whites only into the simmer broth. The fat and other blobs will stick to the eggs white as it cooks, and you can just lift the egg white out when it's done.

    Why did my bone broth not gel?

    A: There are a few reasons your bone broth didn't gel, but the base reason is that there's not enough collagen in the broth. Collagen is the substance that causes gelling and can be found in the gristly, cartilaginous bits and joints of bones. To maximize extraction, you need to add an acid to help break down the bones, simmer for longer, and make sure there are more of collagen-rich bits like necks, wing tips, skin with the fat rendered out and, you guessed it, feet.

    turkey bone broth in jars
    Print Recipe
    4.77 from 46 votes

    Turkey Bone Broth Recipe

    The best part of Thanksgiving turkey isn't the turkey, but the glorious, nutrient-rich bone broth you make with the leftover bones!
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Total Time8 hours hrs
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: anti-inflammatory, bone broth

    Ingredients

    • turkey carcass including skin
    • any juices collected from the serving platter
    • 2-3 quarts filtered water
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 2-3 carrots washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 2-3 celery stalks washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 1 large onion and or leek peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 1 head garlic cloves peeled and smashed
    • optional: 5-6 shiitake mushrooms

    Instructions

    Bone Broth, Regular Stove-top Method

    • Place turkey carcass along with fat and skin in a large stock pot; save the accumulated juices to add later. If the carcass doesn't fit, break the carcass down into smaller parts. Cover with water until the carcass is submerged and covered by 1" of water.
    • Bring pot to a boil over medium heat. Turn down heat to low and simmer for 7 hours. After 7 hours, add the chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Simmer for an additional 1 hour.
    • Skip ahead to Cool Stock, Chill, and Remove Fat (for Both Stove-top and Slow-Cooker methods) below.

    Bone Broth, Slow-Cooker Method

    • Place turkey carcass along with fat and skin in the slow cooker; save the accumulated juices to add later. If the carcass doesn't fit, break the carcass down into smaller parts. Cover with water until the carcass is submerged and covered by 1" of water.
    • Turn on slow cooker, and set for 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low. When there are two hours left on the slow cooker, add the chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

    Filter, Chill, and Remove Fat (for Both Stove-top and Slow-Cooker Methods)

    • With a pair of tongs, remove large parts of bones and vegetables from the pot. You can throw the bones away, but I always let it cool off on a plate then pick off every single shred of meat and edible cartilage from the bones. I am not kidding. I may never do anything with those microscopic fibers of flesh, I may never eat it, but dammit if I don't get my $3.99/pound's worth from that turkey. The vegetables will be to the point just before becoming baby food, so you can toss them, but why?! I let them cool off, sprinkle some salt, and eat them as my reward for being so economical. However, at this point, the vegetables have very little, if any, nutritional value left in them.
    • Carefully pour the stock through a strainer into another large pot or bowl. Place the bowl of hot stock in another bowl that is filled with ice water to quick-cool the stock. When the ice has melted, drain some of the water, and add more ice. Do this a few times until the stock is cool enough to touch.
    • Ladle the cooled stock to storage containers, and refrigerate overnight to allow fat to rise to the top and solidify. After fat has solidified, remove, discard.
    • If you actually own a liquid fat separating device of some sort, go ahead and use it to remove the liquid turkey fat from the stock before you refrigerate.
    • I own a fat separator. HOWEVER, I find great joy in waiting patiently for the fat in turkey (or any animal for that matter) stock to rise to the top, cool overnight in the refrigerator, and congeal into a thick layer that seals off the top of the container, then lifting the disc of solid fat off the surface of the stock in a single smooth motion with a large spoon.
    • Store stock in refrigerator, or freeze and keep for up to 3 months. It might safely last longer, but it won't actually. Turkey stock that has been simmered with additional garlic, ginger, a few herbs, and salt, is a little bit of a lot of awesome on a winter night.
    when you make this recipe, let us know!Mention @TheDelicious or tag #thedeliciousmademedoit!
    Turkey Stock, Salted for Sipping When Sick
    Turkey Bone Broth in mug for sipping

    Afterthoughts on Leftover Turkey and Making Stock

    As much as I love all the planning weeks in advance, prepping the night before, cooking on the day, strategically positioning ourselves around our parents' enormous, ancient dining room table that they’ve had so long that it’s petrified wood now, and finally enjoying the fruits and vegetables of our labor, I find myself in a strange mental space as we eat our Thanksgiving dinner. I’m nodding and smiling and laughing through the dinner conversation, truly thankful for being there with my family, but deep down inside, all I can do is think about the clean-up.

    I know. The clean-up.

    Most people dread the cleanup of a huge holiday dinner that required 4 days in the kitchen, 56 pots, pans, and casseroles to cook, another 78 platters, plates, bowls, forks, and glasses to serve, and 9 little sippy cups thrown in for the three nieces an nephews who can't seem to keep their cups straight so they have to be washed every time to prevent cross-cousin contamination.

    I, however, totally look forward to the aftermath.

    Weird.

    I Don't Do Dishes

    It’s not the physical activity of cleaning to which I look forward. I don’t like rifling through my parents’ cupboards trying to match plastic containers to lids. I don’t like scooping what was an hour ago a gorgeous hot cloud of mashed potatoes but is now a room temperature, mealy, messy, solid mass, or portioning out whatever is leftover of the green bean casserole, which is usually not very much because my family loves green bean casserole.

    Most of all, I hate doing post Holiday party dishes. When I am at home in my own house, I find doing dishes extremely, yes strangely, relaxing, but in the Thanksgiving situation, I don’t like it because I’d rather do something else other than scraping the NASA-strength re-entry residue from the side of the glass casserole dish where canned cream of mushroom soup has molecularly welded itself to Pyrex.

    Taking the Carcass for the Team

    Every year, I always manage to negotiate my way out of doing the dishes because I claim that I will be the one to take on the one truly dreaded final task - dealing with the turkey carcass. As long as we call it a "carcass," no one else wants to do it. “Oh no no no, I couldn’t let you deal with it,” I say to my sisters with their beautifully manicured nails. I, the dutiful oldest daughter, will “deal with the turkey,” I sigh, as if it were a big deal and that I will take on the big fat burden, taking one for the Delicious Family Team, making a tremendous sacrifice.

    Little do they know that the domestic sigh on the outside is really an evil laugh on the inside.

    Before sitting down at the head of the now-abandoned table cleared of all silverware, dishes, and plates, save for one enormous serving platter that is my target, I stretch my arms and upperback, roll my head forward and backward like a caged animal ready to break free. With hands washed, sanitized, sleeves rolled up if I haven’t changed into a workout tank top, hair pulled back into a nappy knot, I ease into the chair then lean back and crack my knuckles in slow, calculated preparation.

    Then with the fury of a tigress, I attack the carcass with my bare hands, cracking open the rib cage, snapping joints out of their sockets, tearing through every knot of cartilage, pulling every last shred, every tiny tendril of muscle from the bones. My body is hunched over the edge of the table, my head down, my fast and nimble fingers clawing through the carcass, and I can't be sure, but every once in a while, I think I hear myself cackle like some wild, unhinged hyena.

    Carefully, accurately, evenly I ration the leftover meat into zip-top bags for each of the three Delicious daughters’ households into exactly equal portions, which makes perfect sense because even though two of them should be heavier because those households includes husbands and babies, Sarah’s bag is intended for a household of one.

    Which means it needs just as much as the others.

    Because she eats at home alone a lot.

    Because she's a blogger.

    I hate my life sometimes.

    They actually never say that. I am just greedy and since I do the rationing, I make the bags equal.

    By the time I push back from the table, done, all that remains on the polished-just-for-Holidays silver platter is a horrifying pile of bones, a gruesome mess of shredded skin, and random bits and gristly body parts that are not suitable for describing out blog. From my elbows to my wrists, my forearms are glistening in what appears to be a pair of fine, transparent turkey grease opera gloves. There are tiny fibers of meat caught under my nails and basting residue shoved into my cuticles like a manicurist’s softening cream. My lips are glossy from stolen bites of choice morsels, and there are small spots of shine on my forehead where, ostensibly, I have used the back of my hand to push back bangs that fell into my eyes.

    I have never looked at myself in a mirror during or after "the operation,' but I don’t think I want to.

    It's a dirty, disgusting, messy, filthy, absolutely deliciously satisfying job.

    But somebody has to do it.

    Investing in Stock

    The most glorious moment, though, comes when I double fist the platter now heavy with untouchable bits into the kitchen, tilt it up and gently slide all the contents into the largest pot I can get from my mother when I scream “A pot! A pot! I need a #$%^&*@! pot for the turkey carcass! Someone get a damn pot -- this thing weighs 30 pounds!” which makes no sense since the turkey was 20 pounds when it went into the oven.

    I never have to do dishes because I make roast turkey stock with the aftermath.

    We do this every year.

    But this year, it was different. Something changed. There was a blip in the matrix.

    I can't remember the exact phrasing, but it didn't matter because the actual words that came shooting out of my mother's mouth were colored by the tone. She had impaled the carrion through the body cavity with a pair of closed tongs and was holding it, dripping dropping leaking unidentifiable bits of flesh and fat into the kitchen trash can with a look of utter disgust, disdain, and something like the same kind of fear that might befall a toxic waste clean up crewman that lost the draw for the last hazmat suit.

    "Are you sure you want this? Why? What on earth could you possibly make that is edible out of this revolting specimen of foul fowl carrion?!"

    I was dumbfounded. I would have let my jaw drop to the floor except that I just spent a fortune on dental work.

    All these years we've done the same little after dinner dance and they didn't even know why? My, my heart started to beat faster and I could feel my inner crouching tiger's tail lashing back and forth with ... a little bit of anger? Bitterness? I was on the defensive.

    Fear.

    At any moment, a tendon, a glistening ligament could snap and the fragile frame of bones would slip off my mother's tongs and go crashing down into the deep, dark unknown of a Glad trash bag. The single moment for which I waited all year, planned for three weeks, prepped for three days, roasted for three hours would be...I didn't take my eyes off my Mom, but somehow a robot took over the scene. An extra large plastic zipper-top bag made its way from the slippery pile on the counter, around the precious remains of the bird, and I absconded with what would be my project for the next few days back at my house.

    Would Stock, Love Fest

    Everything about Roast Turkey Stock – from the multi-day process of making it to the actual stock itself – brings me an indescribable joy that I'm going to describe anyway. I love the improvisational nature of making stock because every carcass is a different size, has differing amounts of "stuff" left on the bones. But it always feels good to know that no matter what I put into the pot, even when I feel like "getting creative" (like I did with ginger one year), the stock will come out, for the most part, pretty good (see previous: "ginger").

    I love the smell of the house as the stock simmers, leaching flavor out of the bones and blobules of fat, color from the skin, and how warm it gets, physically, from the heat of the stovetop flame. The almost literally therapeutic feeling of the steam on my face as I peer through it to fish out parts of the turkey skeleton that haven't surrendered to the gentle seduction of heat and water.

    I love the careful, clocked returns to the kitchen over the course of hours to check water levels, skim for "untouchables," and occasionally rescuing a vegetable, maybe a bright carrot, maybe a sweet onion, just before it disintegrates and dissolves into the the browning deep of stock in progress. These I let cool for just a moment while still in the ladle, sprinkle with salt, then suck them straight out of the spoon, risking some degree of burn down my esophagus.

    I love pouring the hot stock into storage containers, then, after the stock has cooled, gelled, and presented a gorgeous, thick layer of hardened fat on its surface, cracking through said layer with a large serving fork and in the true meaning of "forklift," taking the single solid disc out.

    I love the end product; turkey stock is warm, comforting, and simmered with the browned, sometimes slightly charred bits of skin, promises a dark, deeply fragrant base for future soups, stews, and chilis. During the cold season, as soon as I feel a tingle in my sinuses or a tickle in my throat, I heat up a cup of stock, salt it, and sip it like tea.

    However, let's not kid ourselves about the real reason why I like "making stock." It's not so much "making stock" as it is "not throwing away and wasting a perfectly good turkey carcass." It's about money. Value. I love truly getting my money's worth. Making stock from the bones means I am not only sucking every last drop of flavor, every last nutritive molecule of marrowy mineral, every last cent out of the I-don't-want-to-admit-how-much-we-spent, from the turkey, but I won't have to spend any additional money on store bought chicken broth.

    Now that brings me joy.

    Well, that and the whole congealed fat thing. Don't ask me what I do with that turkey fat. You don't want to know.
    Turkey Stock Chill Overnight

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    Comments

    1. Craig says

      December 06, 2009 at 11:51 pm

      5 stars
      I love it, and you would loved my family's thanksgiving dinner, my sister made a second turkey that we didn't use at all so I had to carve it up afterward for distribution.

      Reply
    2. Andrew says

      December 07, 2009 at 12:13 am

      5 stars
      How do you get that much fat out of your turkey, so that you can form a legitimate disk? I want to say some kind of voodoo magic, but maybe my turkeys have poor body image and starve themselves. Also, do you ever bother clarifying your stock, but I guess if you did that you would title it "Making Consomme is the After Birth"
      I am trying to figure out whether it is worth it, we never do it in the restaurant. I mean if I get it right, it is fantastic and I will drink a quart over a day.

      Reply
    3. Sarah J. Gim says

      December 07, 2009 at 2:00 am

      5 stars
      Craig: I kind of wish there were turkeys that have no useless breast nor wings just big fat juicy dark meaty legs. I would get that every week and eat, then make stock.

      Andrew: Clearly we have different taste in birds. You like the long, lean Hollywood actress-type. I like birds that "got back."

      Also, I think using containers that are taller rather than wider concentrates the fat into a smaller, though thicker disc.

      Reply
    4. SJ says

      December 07, 2009 at 7:00 am

      5 stars
      I hear you on those post-holiday dishes. I negotiated hours of working as a sous chef on Thanksgiving just so I could dodge half an hour of cleanup (having lots of grown cousins over who aren't trusted enough to enter the kitchen helps).

      Reply
    5. Jill says

      December 07, 2009 at 10:55 am

      5 stars
      You are so me! Making stock is equal to 100 hours of therapy. There is something so cozy and yet sexy about simmering a carcass for hours on end! I have to tell you, the stock is even better if you don't peel the onions or garlic. Just cut a whole bulb of garlic in half and quarter the onions, peel and all.

      Reply
    6. CoconutRecipes says

      December 07, 2009 at 11:05 am

      5 stars
      This is a wonderful blog post and instructional on making turkey stock! Well-written and very funny. Of course if you want to make the BEST stock from turkeys, there is no comparison to stock made from turkeys who are NOT fed huge concentrations of soybeans and have more of the traditional saturated fat in them that nature intended...

      Reply
    7. Sarah J. Gim says

      December 07, 2009 at 12:07 pm

      5 stars
      SJ: What is it about the cleanup, too, that just when you think you've gotten the last platter washed, rinsed, and dried, someone comes gliding into th kitchen with yet another plate/bowl/glass/fork/something?!

      Jill: Hm...I wonder what it is about the skin? I read that all over, but somehow, I am slightly disturbed by onions skins, as they seem like they could harbor lots of dirt. I know dirt can't hurt, but..

      Coconut Recipes: True! But then I don't get the joy of hacking through the fat on the stock! It gives me such joy!

      Or maybe I should just make beef stock...

      Reply
    8. Theresa says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:05 pm

      5 stars
      Love this! I do this every time we have a turkey (and roast chicken also), nothing goes to waste!
      Great pictures also, thanks!

      Reply
    9. doranb says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:08 pm

      5 stars
      ... thank you for reminding us ...

      Reply
    10. Cooper says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      ...I, however, am inspired to cook tonight.

      Reply
    11. MyLastBite says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:15 pm

      5 stars
      Sarah, keep up the great posts. Thanks for keeping us entertained and HUNGRY. : )

      Reply
    12. TAO says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:20 pm

      5 stars
      roll with the punches Sarah.

      Reply
    13. yuttiness says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      I love the narrative here. It's like reading an athlete's account of running the 100 meter dash. Sounds like fun. Too bad I hate touching "the carcass".

      Reply
    14. CoconutRecipes says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:25 pm

      5 stars
      You would still have the fat to hack through, just different kind of fat. One more saturated with less Omega 6s. But other than Tropical Traditions, there aren't too many places to buy turkeys not raised on soy unless you can find a local farmer who is really concerned about health and feed. Our stock from our turkeys fed Cocofeed is incredible....

      Reply
    15. MyLastBite says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      Maybe he should set up his own REAL BLOG, revolutionize the internet with an awesome user-generated FOOD PHOTO site, manage several complex Ad Revenue streams, plus cook a great meal... while looking hot.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnbqP5Zhys4

      Reply
    16. Craig says

      December 07, 2009 at 1:48 pm

      5 stars
      Though it is just words, words can cut through a person like a Shun knife through Toro so I think one should think twice before clicking "submit."

      Reply
    17. Andrew says

      December 07, 2009 at 2:25 pm

      5 stars
      I got my turkey for $0.37 a lb too, maybe the factory birds on your coast are fatter than the ones on the east coast.

      Reply
    18. rita says

      December 08, 2010 at 5:41 pm

      5 stars
      sara,
      You have missed the real way to make turkey stock and made
      much too much work for your self.
      Put the turkey carcas,including legs and extra skin etc., back
      in the oven on the rack. Put your oven on low heat. If you can as low
      as 200 degrees. Leave it to cook all night. I put a little water in
      the pan beneath to steam it a little.
      In the morning you will see a very dark brown carcas but
      no burn. Cool it for a bit. the bones etc will sanp
      and putting them in a large soup pot is really easy.
      I add the celery and the carrots that are left overs
      and one whole onion I will discard later,
      after simmering on very low for an hour or even longer.
      I strain the broth and throw out all the skin,legs,
      wings and carcas pieces. I blend the vegtables
      and see how thick the broth (now lots of gelatin)
      and add a little more water and salt.
      I pour into zip lock bags and use later for soup
      or my favorite, gravey. During the months to
      come I buy a whole turkey breast and roast it
      in the oven and serve with one veg. mashed
      potatoes and the best tasting turkey gravy
      ever!
      Try it and you will like it.
      rita

      Reply
    19. YutterButter says

      November 30, 2012 at 10:22 am

      5 stars
      I want to do the forklift

      Reply
    20. Jello says

      November 26, 2023 at 12:53 pm

      5 stars
      I usually skip reading blogs and head straight to the recipe to see if it's something I would like to try. However, for some reason, I found myself reading the whole blog post before getting to the recipe, and I ended up laughing out loud.

      I appreciate not only the amusing read but also the uncomplicated recipe that I'm going to use now! Thank you!

      Reply
    21. Nicole says

      November 26, 2023 at 8:12 pm

      Thoughts on pressure cooking the carcass. Any additional benefits besides just the shortened time? I’m thinking about pressure cooking for a long time, but not sure if it helps or hurts.

      Reply

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