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Want to know the best way to make the most out of your turkey after your holiday celebration? Make Turkey Stock! It’s really quite simple to make and there are endless uses for it! We’re sharing how to make it using two different methods: on the stovetop and in the Instant Pot!
Turkey Stock Recipe
After working really hard on a holiday turkey meal, we all want to get every last bit out of it that we can. And some of my favorite meals after Thanksgiving come from creating new recipes out of the leftover turkey. One of the best ways to utilize a leftover turkey is to turn it into stock!
Turkey stock, which can be used interchangeably like chicken stock, is so delicious. Once you make your own broth at home, you’ll never want to make store-bought again. It is so much for flavorful, you get to control the ingredients you add to it, and it is super cost-efficient. Plus, it’s simple to make and a batch makes a ton of it. Once you’ve put in the effort to make it once, it will pay off because you can easily freeze the stock in small quantities (see below) to pull out whenever you need it!
Ingredients Needed:
- Leftover Turkey Carcass
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Peppercorns
- Water
- Sea Salt
What Part of the Turkey To Use
You can use both the raw neck and the leftover turkey carcass pieces to make this stock! It doesn’t matter if some of the meat is left on the bones (and can even enhance the flavor of the stock). Depending on how big your cooking vessel is, it might make sense to use a sharp knife (or your hands) to break apart the bones into smaller pieces. Just take whatever you have left, and turn it into stock!
Other Vegetables to Use
For this recipe, we’re suggesting using the classic onion/celery/carrot combination. You can customize your turkey stock a bit by using what vegetables or vegetable scraps you have on hand leftover from the holiday. However, there are some factors to keep in mind. Avoid using vegetables that might give an off-flavor to the broth such as broccoli or cabbage. Other vegetables to avoid are greens, zucchini and starchy vegetables such as potatoes and turnips. Tip: I always freeze leftover scraps of onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a bag to use at a moments notice for making broth!
Why We Love Making Stock
Broth made from bones is said to be a healing agent. We all know broth is used to make soup, which is nourishing not only for your mind, but also for your body, especially when it is made with nutrient-packed ingredients. But sipping broth alone can at least make you feel comforted. While we can’t claim any of this is a cure-all, we can say it tastes super delicious and you’ll be happy to have this on hand when you need it. It’s also of course a great flavor boost for so many recipes! You can use turkey stock in any recipe that calls for chicken stock.
Is this Turkey Bone Broth or Turkey Stock?
So the big difference between bone broth and stock is simply how long the bones are cooked for. Bone broth is made from slowly simmering bones for a long period of time, sometimes upwards of 24 hours. All of the collagen is released from the bones, making a gelatinous and nutrient-dense liquid. What we’re making here is stock (or broth), simply because it isn’t simmered for as long. However, this stock will still be quite viscous and contain a ton of collagen with plenty of nutrients derived from the bones.
Will My Stock Become Gelatinous?
It’s very likely it will! You won’t notice it though until the stock has cooled. It will liquefy again when you heat it up, so don’t worry! Gelling simply refers to the way the broth congeals when you cool it in the fridge. Really good bone broth is gelatinous (and jiggly). Your broth is still nutritious, even if it doesn’t gel.
Methods to Make Your Stock
This post covers two ways to make turkey broth: on the stovetop and in the Instant Pot! Choose which method works best for you, depending on what time you have on your hands! Making it on the stovetop takes a lot longer, but it tends to make a richer tasting stock. But making it in the Instant Pot is quite a time-saving trick! It’s become my go-to method the past few years.
Reusing Bones for Multiple Batches:
After my batch is done, I use that same turkey carcass, with some new veggies, and make ANOTHER batch. Double the fun. Bones can be reused in broths until they begin to disintegrate. Worth noting, reusing the bones for multiple batches of stock do make future batches less flavorful, but still fabulous stock
Storing Turkey Stock
How long will it last: Store broth in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days. We like to use mason jars! We recommend giving it a once over if it’s on the latter end of 7 days. Check that it smells fresh and there are no visible signs of spoilage. Boil the stock for a minimum of 5 minutes before consuming.
Once the broth is made, if you make a lot (like I do!) freeze it in silicone trays (I like the ones with lids), then store in freezer bags for up to three months. Or you can store it in freezer-safe mason jars, or in freezer-friendly storage bags.
How to Use It
Aside from just sipping on it (hello, immune boost!), you can use turkey stock in any recipe that calls for it or for chicken stock. After a holiday meal, I love making soup with homemade stock. Everything really tastes so much better, especially soups, when you make it with homemade stock!
Here are some of my favorite soup recipes to make with turkey stock:
- Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Turkey Kale Soup
- Immune-Boosting Feel Good Soup
- Healthy Italian Wedding Soup
- Make GRAVY
- Sip it on its own as a gut-healthy immune boost!
See more of our soup recipes here!
How to Make Turkey Stock
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots roughly chopped
- 2 celery ribs roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- 6-8 cups water or more (depending on your size of Instant Pot)
Instructions
To Make in the Instant Pot:
- Add all ingredients to your pressure cooker (see note).
- Cover and seal the pressure cooker. Using the manual timer, set the pressure cooker to high for 50 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, and then flip the quick release.
- Let the broth cool until it is easier to handle, and pour the stock through a fine-mesh strainer twice. Add salt to taste, if desired.
- Pour broth into storage containers and let cool completely before covering. Stock can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the stock is unused after 5 days bring it to a boil before using.
To Make on the Stove:
- Combine all ingredients in a very large stockpot and cover with just enough water to cover the vegetables and bones (this will vary depending on the size of your slow cooker).
- Bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat and then lower the heat to let the liquid simmer, continuing to cook, adding more water to keep the bones and veggies covered, for at least 2 hours. The longer you simmer the better.
- Let the broth cool until it is easier to handle, and pour stock through a fine-mesh strainer. You may want to strain twice!
- Pour stock into storage containers and let cool completely before covering. Stock can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the stock is unused after 5 days bring it to a boil before using. You can also add salt here to taste, before storing, or add as using.
Notes
Pin for later:
We make Instant Pot broth (chicken or turkey) following Lexi’s instructions and it always turns out amazing! If I’m making it to drink (nice to keep in the freezer in the winter for when someone gets sick) I’ll add some herbs like fresh thyme and a bay leaf or two and cook it as long as 2 hours to get a really strong flavor. For regular broth that I’m going to use in another recipe, 1 hour in the Instant Pot is perfect!
I made this turkey stock from my carcass turkey & bones from thanksgiving . I made it in instant pot . It’s so easy to make . It’s smell so good when it’s done . I can’t wait to use it . I also made a chicken broth last time & also so delicious than store bought . I will be making this stocks again instead of buying it . I love making it . Thanks Lexi for the recipe .
Made in the instant pot! So good and fast. Froze most of it,looking forward to using it. Thanks for the recipe!