Makin' Some Turkey Stock Today!

Gobble! Gobble! While making turkey stock is not the most interesting thing in the world, it sure makes foodie stuff that requires stock taste yum, yum, good! Really, if you haven't tried making your own stock from chicken or turkeys or whatever, then you don't know what your missing.

Seriously, it's some good stuff. Use it whenever chicken (or turkey broth) is called for in a recipe. Or when they want you to use those super salty cube thingies. Blech!

Today, I'm going to use a carcass from a 10 lb turkey. I get small turkey's since there's only three of us. Plus, I have about 6-8 whole chickens in my freezer. There's just not enough space for anything larger.

Ok, I'll get back to the stock makin'.

First, break that turkey carcass up a bit so it will fit in a nice sized stock pot. Mine's 12 quarts and the perfect size for this carcass.

Now, you'll chop up 4 carrots, 4 stalks of celery, and 1 onion. Doesn't have to be fancy, just chop it up into pieces and toss it in the pot with the carcass.

Add 20 or so peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of parsley, and a splash of vinegar. Got some mushrooms and/or whole cloves? You can add those as well. I like to toss in two cloves (which I'm out of today) and a couple handfuls of cut up mushrooms (which I'm also out of, dangit!).

Anyway, get that all into the pot and cover it with water. You want to make sure that the carcass is completely covered. Maybe about an inch over the top. I won't be taking a ruler to make sure, though.

Bring it all to a simmer, but not a boil. Turn the burner on high. Once it starts bubbling just a smidgen, turn it down to about medium and let it cook. This delicious hodge podge will simmer for about 4 hours. If there's some water loss, top it off to keep everything overed.

After the 4 hours is up, I place a large colander over another pot. You're going to strain the stock of the solid ingredients. This is the easiest way for me. Once I strain with the colander, I use a sieve to strain the liquid itself. This removes the finer particles.

Now that it's strained, fill the sink with cold water and place the container of stock in it. This allows the stock to cool faster which is better for your refrigerator. Once it's cool enough, place it in the refrigerator. The next day, I'll scrape off any excess fat and pour the cooled stock into quart sized sipper bags to freeze.

To be a bit more orderly, I'll give the list of ingredients. Usually, I make stock by the seat of my pants and just put it all together. Not much measuring on my part!

1 turkey or chicken carcass
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium to large onion, chopped
15-20 peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of mushrooms
2 whole cloves
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley

There you have it! Enjoy the deliciousness that is known as homemade stock. You'll thank me someday.