Basic Turkey Stock Recipe
By
Kate Ramos
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No matter how much you eat at the Thanksgiving table, when all is said and done there’s a mangled carcass left behind. Instead of throwing it out, make turkey stock. It can be used anywhere chicken stock is, from soup to main courses.
This recipe was featured as part of our Thanksgiving Leftovers photo gallery.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 turkey carcass
- 2 medium stalks celery, coarsely chopped
- 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
- Break up carcass with a meat mallet or cleaver so it fits in a stockpot (at least 15 quarts), then add remaining ingredients. Add enough cold water to cover the bones by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, skimming occasionally, until turkey flavor comes through in the stock, about 2 to 3 hours.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into large heatproof containers. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate or freeze.
i've been doing variation of this in a vey low (250-degree) oven rather than stove top.
instead of a stockpot, i use a turkey roaster or other large roasting pan. and i bring the carcass (during the year, i save and freeze the carcasses of rotisserie chickens until a have a couple of pounds) and water to a boil on top of the stove, then transfer to the oven and simmer for at least 4 hours before adding the veggies and aromatics (i substitute fennel, including the fronds, along with a couple of cloves of garlic and some peppercorns), and continue at 250-degrees for at least another hour (usually 2).
It can last pretty much forever in the freezer.
So how long does frozen turkey stock last?
Instead of putting ice in the stock and watering it down, simply throw your ice cubes in a ziplock back and toss it in the pot. then put the whole thing in the fridge.
Cools very quickly.
PS- Dont peel your onions as the skins add gold colour to the stock
When I want to cool a soup or broth quickly, I use less water when prepping THEN add ice when finished to cool quickly.
By using less water at beginning, the soup or broth is NOT deluted when ice is added for cooling
This is similar to the basic stock recipe in Julia Childs "The Way to Cook" - very easy, very tasty.
Before freezing, we usually skim off the layer of hardened fat after refrigerating the stock overnight. Then we divide into quart size portions (recycled yogurt containers) and freeze.
Cooling the stock at room temperature is asking for contamination. The stock should be cooled quickly by filling a sink with ice water and salt and immersing the pot in the brine. It will cool quickly and safely.