How to Make Turkey Stock
Here are all my tips about How to Make Turkey Stock, and this post also has ideas for turning that stock into tasty turkey soup. And I think turning the turkey carcass into turkey stock and making soup with it is one of the best things about Thanksgiving!
PIN How to Make Turkey Stock so you’ll have it later.
Thanksgiving is almost here and soon a lot of you will have leftover turkey, so I’m sharing this updated post so you’ll have it when a big turkey carcass is staring you in the face!
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is making the house smell good with a big roasting pan of turkey bones and veggies simmering on the stove. And turkey soup is a Thanksgiving tradition in many families, and personally I believe you can’t really make good turkey soup without turkey stock.
I’ve been making turkey stock for years, but I’m not a stock purist; I think a little Penzeys Turkey Soup Base is a good thing, both for turkey gravy and turkey stock. But even if you didn’t remember to order that in time or you don’t want to use it, read on; there are more tricks to making turkey stock taste good.
What ingredients do you need for turkey stock?
- turkey scraps, skin, and bones from the turkey carcass
- onion
- celery
- carrots
- water
- turkey soup base, probably optional but I always use a bit of Penzey’s Turkey Soup Base (affiliate link) or Better than Bouillon Turkey Base (affiliate link)
- dried thyme, preferably Ground Thyme (affiliate link)
- Dried Sage (affiliate link)
Is Turkey Stock Gluten-Free:
Even though I always use either Penzey’s Turkey Soup Base (affiliate link) or Better than Bouillon Turkey Base (affiliate link) I do want to caution that after researching it a bit I can’t confirm that either of those are completely gluten-free. (I’d love to hear about it in the comments if anyone has more information.) So be sure to use a turkey base that’s gluten-free if that’s needed in your household.
Tips for How to Make Turkey Stock:
(Scroll down for more complete printable recipe.)
- Start with turkey scraps, including things like skin and bones.
- Don’t add turkey “giblets” which often come packed inside the turkey.
- Add a generous amount of onion, celery, and carrots.
- I leave the vegetables in fairly big pieces so they’re easier to scoop out.
- Put the turkey scraps and bones, carrots, celery, and onion into a soup pot, add some thyme and sage and a bit of Penzey’s Turkey Soup Base (affiliate link) and cover with water.
- If you don’t have Penzeys Turkey Soup Base, another brand I’ve used is Better than Bouillon Turkey Base (affiliate link), which is sold in many grocery stores. (Edit: Shirley from Gluten Free Easily tells me that Better than Bouillon no longer guarantees their products are gluten-free.)
- If you have a big roasting pan you cooked your turkey in, simmer the stock right in the pan.
- Let the stock simmer and reduce all day, until the flavor is as concentrated as you’d like it.
- Then strain and put it into containers for the freezer and you can enjoy turkey soup all winter long!
How to Make Turkey Stock
Here are my tips for making Turkey stock, one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions!
Ingredients
- turkey scraps, bones, and skin from the turkey carcass (not giblets)
- onion
- celery
- carrots
- water to cover turkey and vegetables
- turkey soup base, preferably Penzeys Turkey Soup Base
- dried thyme (preferably ground thyme)
- dried sage (rubbed sage)
Instructions
- Start with as many turkey scraps as you can possibly save from the turkey, including things like skin and bones that you might otherwise throw away.
- Don’t add turkey “giblets” which often come packed inside the turkey.
- Along with the turkey scraps and bones, be sure to include a generous amount of onion, celery, and carrots. This is a good place to use things like the celery ends or leaves that get cut off.
- I leave the vegetables in fairly big pieces so they’re easier to scoop out at the end.
- Put the turkey scraps and bones, carrots, celery, and onion into a large soup pot, add some thyme and sage and a bit of Penzey’s Turkey Soup Base (affiliate link) and cover with water.
- If you don’t have Penzeys Turkey Soup Base, another brand I’ve used is Better than Bouillon Turkey Base, which is sold in many grocery stores.
- If you have a big roasting pan that you cooked your turkey in, simmer the stock right in the pan, which will let all those browned bits of turkey and skin get cooked off and they’ll add flavor to your stock.
- Let the stock simmer and reduce all day, until the flavor is as concentrated as you’d like it.
- Then strain and put it into containers for the freezer and you can enjoy turkey soup all winter long!
Weekend Food Prep:
Making things like turkey stock from food that would have been thrown away has to be the ultimate Weekend Food Prep idea! This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Favorite Turkey Soup Recipes from Kalyn’s Kitchen:
- Low-Carb Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles
- Turkey, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Soup
- Turkey, Mushroom, and Zucchini Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Turkey Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes
- Coconut-Lime Turkey and Rice Soup)
- Slow Cooker Turkey (or Chicken) Soup with Spinach and Lemon
- Chicken (or Turkey) Barley Soup
- Turkey Soup with Kale, Mushrooms, and Butternut Squash
Turkey Soup in the Slow Cooker or Instant Pot:
The BEST Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Turkey Soup Recipes ~ Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
42 Comments on “How to Make Turkey Stock”
I would just make turkey bone broth from organic/pastured turkey bones, with all the organic veggies but without the Penzeys.
Obviously you are free to make it any way you prefer.
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Thanks for many a great dinner! I freeze my stock in muffin tins then store in ziplock bags. My size muffin tin gives me perfect 1/4 cup portions of stock
Susan, my pleasure. I love that idea of freezing stock so you know how much each portion is.
Emily, great idea to use the carrots. Glad you liked the post.
This is a fabulous post, thank you! I just made stock with Thanksgiving leftovers, including about a pound of cooked carrots. I'm not sure how much they added to the flavor, but I thought I'd try to get everything out of them before I threw them out!
The vegetables and the meat are both pretty flavorless after they've been cooked for hours in the stock, but you could use the vegetables in your compost pile if you have one.
Just curious to know, do you keep the vegetables after draining the stock and put them back in, or do you get rid of them? Seems like a waste to get rid of them.
I want those friends who give you turkey carcasses!
I made turkey stock for the first time this year. I used 3 turkey carcasses (2 friends were nice enough to bring me theirs), stuffed them all in my biggest stock pot, and simmered them with veggies, garlic cloves, and fresh/frozen herbs for an entire day. After that I just plop the whole pot (covered) into an insulated cooler full of ice on the kitchen floor (putting it in the fridge would just heat the fridge). The next day I skimmed the fat off the top and bagged it up to freeze. I got 8 quart freezer bags out of it. I plan to use it for noodle soup and matzo ball soup since my last batch of chicken stock only lasted half the winter.
Thanks a bunch, I almost threw that turkey carcass away. Now its in my pot and I am on a mission to get some homemade stock. On the menu tonight is Turkey Pot Pie courtesy of allrecipes.com, featuring my left over Christmas bird and my homemade stock. Thanks again.
Thank you. I was referring to after you cool the stock and then skim the fat off it. I like to add vegetables and noodles to make a good soup but wasn't sure whether the vegetables could be reused.
Not completely sure I understand the question, but I'm talking about adding vegetables to the stock here. The veggies get thrown away, but they add a lot of flavor to the stock liquid. This is a good way to use vegetable scraps (I save them in the freezer.)
You say to use large chunks of vegetables – my question is, do you use them when you make the soup, or start with fresh vegetables?
~M, I do think you're right that it's main the liver that's strongly flavored, but in writing a post about this I'm not sure how to explain to people who've never made stock (or possibly never seen giblets) what parts are good and which aren't, so it seemed best to say to leave them out.
That's so interesting that you toss the giblets…the only one I've ever heard to keep out is the liver. Our turkey stock (made with the remaining giblets and carcass) is so tasty this year! Happy holidays!
i love making homemade stock! I typically throw in the leftover carcasses, whatever scraps I have; 2-3 onions cut in half, a few bay leaves, celery, carrots, whole peppercorns,garlic clove(s),sliced lengthwise, and parsley. I like to bring it to a boil for about ten minutes and then I simmer for as long as I can. I then strain the stock and return it to the stove and power boil it for 10-20 minutes. I put the pot in the sink and surround it with ice and cold water for a quick cool down. I ladle it into freezer containers and enjoy! Homemade stock makes such a difference when making any dish. Good luck!
Mary, certain parts of the giblets are really strong flavored, so depending on exactly what is in the giblet pack, it may make the flavor a bit off.
D'oh! I already put my giblets, plus the water I was simmering them in into the stock pot. Why should I not use the giblets/neck?? Did I just ruin the whole thing? I haven't put the whole kit n kabooble on the stove yet. I was going to do that tomorrow. Should I try to find the giblets and neck and remove? Please explain! Thank you very much! 🙂