This is a perfect time to talk about making stock. Just a few weeks ago I talked about rotisserie chickens, and now it’s turkey time and many of us will have a turkey carcass we need to deal with soon. This hint will give you ideas for both – and then some.
Quite a few years back I decided to try my hand at making turkey stock because I was tired of just throwing the turkey carcass away after Thanksgiving. I think I may have even decided to try this because I was looking for recipes that use leftover turkey, and I found a great soup recipe (which is coming up in a future menu!), and it talked about using homemade turkey stock. So I thought, why not give it a try! Here is the link from kitchn.com to the turkey stock recipe that I found.
Be advised that this does take some time to do. You have to let it cook for a few hours and then let it cool down and then strain it. But it is so worth it! I usually get about 20 or so cups of stock when I make it, and I freeze that in 2-cup and 3-cup portions. The plastic containers that restaurants and delis use for soup and other take-out items have been the best thing I have found for freezing the stock.
Just know I don’t follow this recipe exactly, but it gives you the general idea if you want to try it. I like to add some garlic cloves if I have them, and I usually put a lid on my pot, which the recipe doesn’t say to do. I guess that means my stock doesn’t reduce down as much, which I am okay with. If you want the stock to be thicker, it’s probably best not to use the lid. You may also want to add some salt if you want it to be a little salty before you use it in recipes. Many times I do not because we usually inject our turkey with Cajun butter, so it is already seasoned.
When you cook your stock, there will be some meat that is still left on the bones. You can throw this away once you strain it, but I have found that at least some of it is still usable for a soup. You will have to decide that for yourself.
Here’s the great thing. You can also do this with chicken bones! Remember how I gave you suggestions a few weeks ago for how to get the most use out of rotisserie chickens. Here is yet another way to use up everything you have. My mom once told me that when she was little they used everything from a pig except the squeal. I guess this is using everything from the chicken but the cluck!! You can use this same basic stock recipe with chicken bones instead of a turkey. Then you will have some homemade chicken stock as well that you can use immediately or freeze for later. I usually try to have enough bones so that it is worth my time to go through this process, and you definitely want to have bones from both white and dark meat. The bones from the dark meat are really what gives it the deeper flavor that you want.
Here’s a little tidbit that I learned that may help you out so you do have enough bones to make it worth your effort. You can freeze the bones/carcass and use later to make the stock, especially with the chicken bones, so that you have enough for a large pot of stock. They don’t retain their best flavor for too long, so you can’t freeze them for several months, but they will keep for a month or two if you seal them up well in a freezer bag.
And here’s one more tip about making stock or broth. You can actually make vegetable broth from vegetable scraps! I haven’t done this in awhile, but you can keep a freezer bag in your freezer, and when you peel carrots, remove the skins from onions, cut off the end of the stalks of celery, etc, you can place these scraps in the freezer in the bag. Just make sure they are clean. Once you have a bag full of scraps, you can place them in a large pot, add in some fresh herbs, garlic, and seasonings such as peppercorns and salt, cover them with water and simmer for a couple of hours, and you will have some delicious vegetable broth for recipes in just a few hours. Isn’t that cool?
Just a few more quick tips. Don’t overfill your containers. If you do, when you freeze it, the stock will expand and possibly push the lid off. Once you portion your stock into the containers, let it cool down completely. If you don’t, when you put it in the freezer, a layer of ice will form on the top. Some recipes tell you to skim off the fat once it cools. I don’t typically do that. It adds a layer of richness when you use it for cooking. And finally, try to plan ahead when you want to use your frozen broth. Put it in the refrigerator a couple of days before you want to use it to let it thaw.
Whew – that was a lot this time! I hope you will try this out so that you are using all the resources you have for managing your meals – and your mundane!
Managing the Mundane 
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