Turkey Leftovers: Turkey Stock

I hope that every one’s Thanksgiving preparations are going well and the turkey is defrosting or already in a brine for the big day! After the Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, one usually ends up with a lot of leftovers, especially loads of turkey meat. As much as I love turkey, cranberry, and stuffing sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving, one can only subsist on those for so long before getting utterly fed up and bored!

Keeping this in mind, we have come up with a few turkey recipes that use up all of those leftovers. And believe me, we cooked a 13 pound turkey for two people so we had TONS of leftover meat.

First up is a recipe for Turkey Stock, which is a great way to use the carcass of the bird instead of just throwing it into the rubbish bin. Plus homemade turkey stock is so much better than any canned or cube stock that you buy at the grocery store. We made a huge vat of stock and then divided it among smaller containers which we froze so we can use them later as a chicken stock substitute. This recipe makes enough for 10 cups of stock at 24 cents per cup.

Turkey Stock, adapted from Gourmet, November 2004
1 turkey carcass
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 medium yellow onions, left unpeeled, then trimmed and halved
3 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch lengths
3 carrots, quartered
6 fresh parsley stems, without leaves
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
5 quarts cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

bones

Take the turkey carcass and break it down into thighs, drumsticks, wings, and the back bone. Halve the turkey wings at the joints, and then crack the wing bones in several places with the knife. Don’t worry about picking the carcass clean of every last piece of meat since this is what helps make a flavourful stock.

Heat up 1/4 cup of oil in a heavy stock pot over a medium heat and then throw in the turkey bones and let them brown. Once they are browned, remove the bones from the pot and set them aside for a few minutes.

cooking

Add the onions to the stock pot, cut side down, and cook them until they are golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pot and let them rest with the bones. Then cook the celery and carrots until golden, about 3 minutes.

Add the turkey bones, onions, and remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat and let the stock gently simmer, partially covered, for 3 hours. Be sure to skim the top of the stock to remove any foam that may build up during this cooking process.

stock

Once the stock is cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let the stock cool uncovered until it is room temperature. Pour the cool stock through a large fine-mesh sieve and throw away the solids.

Now measure the stock. If there is more than 10 cups, boil the stock until it is reduced, or if there is less than 10 cups, add a bit more water to make up the difference.

Let the stock stand for a few minutes until the fat rises to the top and then skim that off and throw it away. You can either use the stock right away, or freeze it for up to 3 months in an airtight container.