Making your own bone broth is super easy. It’s a great use of leftover turkey and the stock is perfect for soups, casseroles and other recipes.
How I turned my turkey leftovers into this turkey stock recipe
Have you ever made your own turkey stock? Every time I’ve made a turkey (and I’ve made a TON of turkeys) I’ve always thrown away the carcass with a bit of a guilty feeling, but making my own sounded like SO much work.
And what the heck would I make with Turkey Stock? Now of course I love cooking with broths and stocks so I know EXACTLY what I’ll make with the stock!
AND it’s SO easy, and fits naturally into the FEAST clean up. In fact you can use any bones to make this bone broth recipe
You can save the neck and giblets, or toss them. The first time I decided to make the stock I had already thrown both away, but the last few times I’ve kept them and been glad I did!
Just throw them into a gallon sized bag and toss them into the fridge while your turkey cooks.
The best part of making your own stock is that you can toss in just about anything!
It’s kind of fun trying something a bit new each time! But you want to stick with some of the classics, onions, carrots, celery…
EASY PEASY! After we eat our AMAZING Turkey dinner (which I make at least three times a year, this last year 5…) I strip the carcass down as much as I can and get the stock started.
Then we put away leftovers, do dishes, and enjoy the rest of the day!
I leave it simmering until we go to bed, so how long it simmers totally depends on what time we ate! At LEAST 4 hours, sometimes more.
AND bonus? it smells amazing all evening long!
Just take me to the Turkey Stock Recipe already!
If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for making your own bone broth, along with links to other leftover turkey recipes and get straight to this delicious turkey stock – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
Is Turkey Stock the same as broth?
Technically stock is made from bones while broth is made from meat and veggies. Because of the long cook time extracting out all the good stuff from the bones Stock has a richer flavor. BUT people tend to use “broth” and “stock” interchangeably.
Can I use stock in place of broth in recipes?
YES! And you can easily swap out this turkey stock or chicken broth or any other broth. It will just change the flavor a little but will totally work.
How long is stock good for?
Left in the fridge the stock will be good for 4-5 days after you strain the fat off. If you leave the fat layer on top and leave it in the back of the fridge it will last 5-7 days. I usually leave enough in the fridge for my turkey and wild rice soup and a turkey pot pie and freeze the rest. It will last 6-9 month in the freezer (depending on how well it’s packaged
How to make your own turkey stock
If you love these leftover turkey recipes as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!
Here are some recipes that use bone broth!
Creamy Mushroom Soup | Turkey Pot Pie | Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Creamy White Chicken Chili | Tamales | Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Connect with Ashlee Marie Online!
Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday – It’s all about spending a few days in the kitchen making amazing food. And I’m sharing all my favorite recipes in this downloadable cookbook.
How to make your own Turkey Stock
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey Carcass, neck and giblets
- 1 onion quartered
- 2 celery stalks or a celery base
- 2 carrot or a handful of baby carrots
- 2 shallots quartered
- 4-6 cloves garlic smashed
- 4 bay leaves
- 8 springs any herbs you love I like sage, parsley, thyme and rosemary if I have them
- salt and pepper
- 24 C water
Instructions
- Place the carcass in a large stockpot, break it in half if you need to
- Add everything else and cover it all with water.
- Cook over medium heat and bring it to a boil
- Turn it down to low and simmer for 4-5 hours (or longer), skimming off any foam that settles on top
- Strain the stock and let it sit overnight
- Skim the fat off the top and pour into containers. It will be good in the fridge for a week, or you can freeze for 6 months
Nutrition
Becky
This is great, I make my own stock whenever I roast a bird, turkey or chicken. Sometimes it turns out great and other times it doesn’t. I didn’t know about skimming the foam off the top or removing the fat at the end. Why is this an important step? I love the idea of the end of the celery or the leaves. Sometimes I freeze the carcass and make stock later – once I emptied my freezer and mixed chicken and hambone into a really tasty stock. Thanks for the tutorial! Gave me some new ideas! (like breaking the carcass in half – duh!)
Ashlee
The first time I did it I didn’t need to break the carcass cause it was a small bird, the second time it was larger so I just went for it! I will say the larger carcass made a much stronger stock, so strong that it became a little gelatin-ish so next time I have a large bird I’ll also add a bit of water at the end. So the bird size makes a HUGE difference in the taste for me. As for the skimming it was more for the foam than the fat. I wanted a pretty “clean” stock so it just made sense to me. I’m not an expert though!
Kay Battin
Ashlee: I was wondering if you could pressure can the turkey stock to keep longer than 6 months. Please let me know. Thanks, Kay Battin
Ashlee
I am NO canning expert, so I have NO clue, I am SURE it would last longer? but I don’t want to promise anything. Maybe check out the Ball canning book? they probably have something on this.
Lynn Vondran
Do you leave this sit OUT over night to cool before canning, or refrigerate over night ? I can’t imagine it safe to let sit out, or am I wrong ?
Ashlee
I usually leave it simmering over night. then I let it cool just enough to handle before pouring it into cans and refrigerate it then.
Diana
I have a large carcass from a 20 lbs turkey, does anyone know if I could split it between two stock pots?
Ashlee
I always do a 2 lbs bird and it all fits in my one pot – I TOTALLY break it up first so if you only have small pots you can totally do that
Christine S
Hi Ashlee,
Would it be okay to freeze the broth in mason jars? Thanks!
Ashlee
I totally freeze mine in mason jars, then let it thaw and use it year round