Homemade Turkey Stock

I apologize if you tried to view my blog yesterday – my host was having issues and it was down for a good part of the day.  Boo!!  I am so glad everything is back up now!

I took advantage of the day yesterday, and took it easy!  I have been so tired – I don’t know if it is from my workouts or what, but by the end of the day I can hardly hold my arms up!  However, my husband and I decided to try a short bike trip!  It was a lot of fun – we just biked around the house.  It was pretty cold and windy out though, so it was intense!  I am excited about the summer coming and being able to go on longer bike trips!  Plus, I thought the biking would be good cross training for me.  My legs were sore — there was one major hill we biked up, and it was intense!!  However I am proud to say I made it up without stopping!  No pictures because I forgot my phone but picture this — I was wearing a winter hat, and my helmet on top of it!  I probably looked goofy, but it kept my ears warm!  I wish I could say the same thing for my fingers …  I still am getting feeling back into them!  The wind was pretty strong!

I have recently been trying to clear some space out of my freezer – it is packed!  I decided to make some stock out of the turkey carcass from last Thanksgiving… yes it has been in there that long.    I just kept putting it off!  I decided this was the weekend to make the stock!

This really is so easy.  I make a whole bunch of stock, and then pressure can it, so I can use it whenever I feel like it.  You can also freeze this, but quite honestly, I’d rather use my freezer space for other things … like ice cream!

Homemade Turkey Stock

Print this recipe!

1 turkey carcass

2 tbsp peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Various vegetables:  1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 carrot, 3-4 garlic cloves

Water

1 tbsp salt

Place the turkey carcass in a large pot.  Add the peppercorns, bay leaves, and vegetables.  The genius part of this is that you don’t need to peel the veggies!  I sliced the onion in quarters, skin and all.  The skin will give the broth a gorgeous color.  Chop the carrot and celery in pieces, and place the garlic in – skin and all.  I also had some various vegetables that I threw in (broccoli stalks, cauliflower stalks – I just freeze these instead of composting them, and added them in with the turkey).

Cover with water.

Cook for 6-8 hours.  Since my turkey was frozen, it probably needed to cook a little longer.  If you do this right after you eat the turkey, you might not need to cook for so long.  Just cook it until everything is falling apart, and your house smells like Thanksgiving. 

Let cool slightly, and strain out all the veggies and peppercorns.  My turkey still had some meat on it, so I also saved the pieces of turkey meat.  Bonus!

Let the broth cool overnight.  You want to be able to strain off the layer of fat that will form on the top.

I just used a spoon, and spooned it off.

Now, strain the broth through cheesecloth, or even a coffee filter.  You want to remove any little bits that might be in the broth, and make it as clear as possible.  I strained this twice.

I got two big bowls worth.

Put back in your big pot, and put back on the stove to heat it up.  At this point, you can add salt if desired.  I added 1 tbsp.

Now, the canning part!  Broth needs to be pressure canned.  If you are new to canning, a good resource is The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP).  Fill the jars with the warm broth, and place 2 part lids.

I reference the book that came with my canner, and the NCHFP website to know the correct processing times.  I err on the side of caution, because I do not want to be serving food that could make someone ill!

I pretty much use every burner on the stove for canning days.

I processed these at 15 pounds pressure for 25 minutes, and lookie here!

I got 7 quarts and 1 pint of turkey stock out of a bunch of turkey bones that would have normally been thrown away!  That makes me feel pretty good!