How to take advantage of your whole Thanksgiving turkey. Use the carcass to make turkey stock. This may not be the most fancy post but it is one of the more important. Homemade stock, turkey stock, is so much better than the store-bought. It is not hard to make. You just have to have a few hours of time and bones. In this case, turkey bones. The reason this post is so important is the stock will serve as the base for so many recipes. I will be posting soup recipes later that used this stock.
Ingredients (adapted from Emeril Lagasse):
1 left-over turkey carcass
2 medium onions, quartered
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 heaping tsp of minced garlic
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp each salt & black pepper
Enough water to cover
Directions
Place the carcass into a large pot.
Add the vegetables, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover with water.
Bring the water to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to simmer and cook for at least 2 hours. Strain the mixture into a pot. Put the strained stock into the refrigerator overnight. In the morning skim off the excess fat on the top. Use as a soup base or store for later use.
Enjoy!
Perfect timing Pete, I was just looking for a good turkey stock recipe for tomorrow. I think I might be giving this one a try!
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
You are so kind. Let me know if you try it. Get crazy and throw in a few other spices that you like.