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Turkey stock in a plastic deli container.

Turkey Stock

  • Author: Jessie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3-4 quarts 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Turn those Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious homemade turkey stock with this easy recipe!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds turkey bones and drippings
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • small pinch kosher salt
  • 4 quarts (16 cups) water

Instructions

Sauté the Veggies (5-10 minutes)

Build the Flavor & Simmer the Broth (3-4 hours)

Strain, Cool, and Store (no more than 2 hours)


Notes

Additions and Substitutions. This stock recipe is SO flexible! The turkey bones and water are the star players here, but the rest of the ingredients - what we like to call our "flavor enhancers" - are easy to adjust. We recommend using 4-6 flavor enhancers any time you make turkey stock for a balanced, robust flavor. Shallots, white wine, rosemary, sage, mushrooms, and leeks are all wonderful additions here. This is also a great place to use any leftover veggie scraps, like carrot peels, dark green leek pieces, garlic trimmings, or end pieces of an onion. Be sure to read the full post above for more guidance on swaps and substitutions!

Do I have to sauté the veggies? No - if you're short on time, you can skip this step. You'll lose a little bit of depth and complexity, but the stock will still taste great!

How long should I cook my stock? This stock is typically "done enough" after about 3 hours on the stove: It'll have a rich color, lots of flavor, and be perfectly usable in all your favorite recipes. That said, you CAN cook it longer if you like: We frequently leave the stock simmering a little longer if it suits our schedule (or if we're just enjoying the general vibes and aroma). A longer cook time yields even richer, more concentrated flavor, and can also extract more collagen from the turkey bones (similar to a thick, gelatinous bone broth, which often takes 8-12 hours or more to cook). 

Food safety. Transfer cooled turkey stock to the fridge within 2 hours of taking it off the heat; if your turkey stock is still hot as it approaches the 2-hour mark, set the containers in a shallow ice bath to bring it down to room temperature before placing it in the fridge. For more food safety tips, be sure to read the full post above.

Storage and freezing. Ladle turkey broth into individual containers, and let it cool uncovered on the counter before putting on the lids and transferring it to the fridge. Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost frozen stock in the fridge overnight when you're ready to use it. If you plan to freeze your turkey stock, we recommend using plastic airtight containers instead of glass (the broth will expand as it freezes, which can cause glass jars to crack).

As the stock sets, any lingering fat will solidify! When the stock cools, any butter or turkey fat still in the broth will rise to the surface. After a few hours in the fridge, the fat will solidify and can be easily lifted out of the stock with a spoon if you'd like to discard it. 

Use turkey stock anywhere you would use chicken or veggie stock! We love this broth in brothy butter beanstortellini soup, in a cozy butternut squash risotto, or in place of veggie broth in our Magic Cauliflower Cream sauce!

 

Keywords: broth, thanksgiving, turkey