Turkey Stock

I promised in a prior post to show you how to make turkey stock. Home made turkey stock makes wonderful gravy, soups, and sauces. And, turkey is so darn cheap right now, you can't afford NOT to make it. Here goes.

Get yourself a large roaster. I absolutely love the All Clad.

You'll need 1 small turkey (about 12 pounds), 4 or 5 carrots, 1 bunch celery, 2 onions, 2 heads garlic, 1 bunch fresh thyme, 1 bunch fresh sage, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Thaw the turkey. If you buy a frozen turkey today and want to make stock today, defrost it in the microwave. Make sure to use the "defrost" setting, not use the "cook on full power" setting. Don't worry about tough turkey. We are not EATING this turkey. We're just using it for it's flavor. Is that morally wrong?

Quarter the onions. No need to peel them.

Wash and chop up the carrots and celery. Don't peel them.

Halve the garlic cloves. Put the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the roaster. Top with thyme and sage. Season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Cut the turkey into pieces, reserving the breast for another use.

Place the turkey pieces on top of the vegetables.

Drizzle olive oil over the top, about 3 Tbls.

Season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Pop it in a 425 degree oven for 2 hours.

The turkey should have dark brown skin.

Take it out of the oven.

Now, get out a big stock pot. Transfer all of the turkey and veg from the roaster to a stock pot. Fill it with water. Add 3 bay leaves. Put it on the stove.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Simmer away until the turkey meat falls off the bones. I went and watched a movie, then made some dinner, went to the cleaners...Overall, this stock simmered about 6 hours. It doesn't need to cook that long, but the longer it simmers, the more flavor the stock will have.

See the nekked bones? You know the stock is done.

Drain the liquid through a colander into another pot. Pick out the bones.

Now, mash down on the solids to get all the flavor out of them. (See what I meant about using them?)

Throw everything in the colander into the trash.

Put a lid on the stock and cool it off. Either put it in the fridge, or do what I do; put it outside when the temp is in the 30's. Just pray for no bear visits.

Once the stock is cool, and the fat has risen to the top and solidified, remove the fat with a spoon.

Store stock in quart size zip top bags. Freeze flat, if not using immediately.

Thaw and use to make fantastic turkey gravy.