Chicken or Turkey Stock

I know it is Thanksgiving week and I should be posting a recipe for a beautiful roast turkey. But… this is a weird year. We are having a smaller crew (6 people) but we are skill cooking a 13 1/2 pound turkey. That means lots of leftovers which I plan to turn into turkey chili or turkey lasagna or both. Both of these require chicken broth, but why would I use canned chicken broth when I could use homemade turkey stock?

I know what you are thinking: ‘I just spent all day cooking Thanksgiving dinner, why would I make turkey stock?’ But I promise it is SO easy and SO much tastier than the store bought stuff. Plus, it uses ingredients you probably already have on hand for the turkey – what are you going to do with the rest of that celery anyway?

It only takes 10 min to chop the veggies and put everything in the pot. After that, it just simmers on low for 4 hours while you take a nap or watch a football game or do Christmas shopping online. I promise, it is worth the 10 min of effort!

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November 26, 2020

Servings: 6 cups

Difficulty: Easy

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By: wandercookeat

Ingredients

1 chicken or turkey carcass
1 large onion
1 large or 2 small carrots
1 large or 2 small celery stalks
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. whole peppercorns
4 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of parsley
10 c. water

Directions

Step 1 Clean and coarsely chop the onions, carrots, and celery.
Step 2 Put chicken/turkey carcass in a stock pot with remaining ingredients (onions thru water). Heat on low and simmer for about 4 hours. Do not bring to a full boil – keeping it at a low simmer makes for clearer stock. If you want really clear stock: do not stir it and skim the foam and fat from the top periodically. If you don’t care about clear vs cloudy stock, don’t worry about skimming. Just let it simmer.
Step 3 After about 4 hours, remove stock from heat and let cool slightly. While the stock cools, set a fine mesh strainer on top of a large bowl or measuring cup. Strain stock into the bowl. If you don’t have a fine mesh strainer, you can put a cheesecloth or coffee filter in a regular strainer.
Step 4 Cool and store in the refrigerator overnight. Skim off any fat that has solidified on the top. Then, store for a few days in the fridge or freeze for future use.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1. Clean and coarsely chop the onions, carrots, and celery.

Step 2. Put chicken/turkey carcass in a stock pot with chopped onions, carrots, celery, herbs, spices, and water. Heat on low and simmer for about 4 hours. Do not bring to a full boil – keeping it at a low simmer makes for clearer stock. Skim the foam and fat from the top periodically.

Stock simmered 1 hour

Stock simmered 2 hours

Stock simmered 3 hours

Step 3. After about 4 hours, remove from heat and let cool slightly. While the stock cools, set a fine mesh strainer on top of a large bowl or measuring cup. Strain stock into the bowl. Note: I cool the stock before I strain it to make it less likely I’ll burn myself while I’m straining the stock.

Step 4. Cool and store in the refrigerator overnight. Skim off any fat that has solidified on the top. Then, store for a few days in the fridge or freeze for future use.