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”
Hope you enjoy the stock. I'm making some turkey at my stock right now too!
This article was very helpful, in spite of being a few years old. I will bookmark it and use again. My turkey stock is simmering away on the stove right now. I'm not sure about how important it is to skim the foam, but I guess I'll see how much I get!
I added rosemary because I have some left in the garden that hasn't been kissed by frostbite yet. I also added some of the roasted onions that were in the turkey when it was roasting. It smells great already! Thanks again.
Ben, that's not a problem. When you reheat the stock it will liquefy again. Isn't it fun to make stock?
Hi Kalyn,
I'm a first time turkey stock maker! I used your recipe to make stock out of a holiday turkey we received for the Christmas…with a slight modification. I put it in the crock pot for about 24 hours or so. Everything seems fine, however I put the stock in the fridge to get the fat to congeal, and the whole thing turned to a jelly-is this okay?
Thanks for the recipe!
-Ben
Jessica, you can definitely use raw turkey parts to make stock. I do think the roasting adds some flavor, but probably not significantly better. I make chicken stock with raw chicken all the time.
I just got a 17# turkey from my farmers market and I'm not even hosting Tgiving. So I cut it up and am freezing the pieces-parts. My question is about using a FRESH turkey back for stock. What happens when you use fresh turkey? Is the resulting stock appreciably different? Or should I roast it ahead of time. I was thinking to skip this, since the whole point is that I'm not cooking any turkey right now.
~M, I would probably make the turkey stock, and then add the mushrooms to the soup, but I think you could do it either way. I've never made stock with mushrooms and I'm not sure how they would react with the long cooking.
I love stock – beef, chicken, turkey, it's all good. The richer/more gelatinous the better.
Someone suggested to me to add mushrooms (but no grains or dairy so unlike your turkey-rice-mushroom version) to turkey stock/soup to add a savory meatiness since turkey is so lean…basically, not to make turkey soup/stock like chicken soup/stock. Since you're the stock queen (hehe), I thought I'd ask for your opinions. Would you add it to the stock-making part or the post strained part (when you add fresh carrots, onions, celery, etc. too)? Thanks for your input!
Thanks Jeanne. I think I’m addicted to making stock. Makes the house smell great.
CCK, love that idea of roasting turkey wings and using them to make stock. Thanks for sharing.
That is such a great explanation of how to produce wonderful turkey stock, Kaylyn!
When I am not roasting a whole turkey, I am able to buy a package of fresh turkey wings at my local market. I roast them with veggie and then make broth using your method. As you say, it is wonderful to have in the freezer.
Great tips, Kalyn. People think making stock is this difficult and mystical activity but it couldn’t be easier, and nothing tastes better in soups than home-made stock…
Peter, I agree, turkey soup is great!
Tammy, good tip about the onion skins. I’ll try that for sure. Thanks!
I’m a turkey stock fan! Great directions, I bet your post-Thanksgiving day soup is awesome. For color I simmer onion skins with the rest of the veggies. Turns everything a lovely dark brown.
I just enjoyed a soup from saved turkey (yum). A valuable lesson here, thanks for sharing.
Susy, you’re brilliant! I love the idea of roasting the bones. I’ve done that with beef stock, but not turkey, but I bet it makes a difference.
I always make stock!!! Sometimes I roast the leftover bones in the oven until they’re brown to make a richer stock.
Too late now to roast all the bones because just turned off my 20 quart pot of stock that’s been cooking all night!  Do you just put the pile of wings, legs and carcass on a pan and cook a couple more hours in low oven or what??  Let me know. ThxÂ
Hi Merilee,
I have roasted the bones quite often for beef stock (to remove some of the fat, that runs out on the baking sheet.) I haven’t tried roasting the turkey carcass, but I agree it would probably make a richer stock if you had time for that step. If you use a roasting pan, I’d just take out all the meet and roast the bones in that pan at 300F or so for a few hours. Happy Thanksgiving!
Jesse, if you’re roasting turkey you MUST make turkey stock. It’s delish.
Bee, you’re always so thoughtful. Spreading nice greetings around the web! Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to you too. We have a lot to be thankful for, don’t we!
Lydia, in my family I’m famous for it. Even before I say anything someone will say “Don’t throw away the turkey carcass, Kalyn will want it.”
I agree — turkey stock is a very happy by-product of the whole turkey roasting tradition. I always make stock on the day after Thanksgiving.
happy thanksgiving, dear kalyn.
YUM! Would you believe I’ve never HAD turkey stock before?? I’ve always stuck with chicken or pork… wow, a whole new animal for me to tinker around with! Thank you!