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Simple Turkey Stock

By Steve Dunn

Published on September 25, 2017

Time

2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes 8 cups

Simple Turkey Stock

Ingredients

1 carcass from 12- to 14-pound turkey 10 cups water

Before You Begin

Pick off most of the meat clinging to the carcass and reserve it. However, don’t pick the carcass clean: The stock will have a fuller flavor if there is some meat and skin still attached. If you have the bones from the drumsticks and thighs, add them to the pot.

Instructions

  1. Using chef’s knife, remove wings from carcass and separate each wing at joints into 3 pieces. Cut through ribs to separate breastbone from backbone, then cut backbone into 3 to 4 pieces. Using kitchen shears or heavy knife, remove ribs from both sides of breastbone. (You should have roughly 4 pounds of bones broken into 10 to 12 pieces.)
  2. Arrange bones in stockpot or large Dutch oven in compact layer. Add water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 2 hours, using shallow spoon to skim foam and impurities from surface as needed.
  3. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large container; discard solids. Let stock cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Skim any fat from surface (reserve fat for making soup). Let stock cool for 1 1/2 hours before refrigerating. (Stock can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 4 months.)
Simple Turkey Stock
Styling by Marie Piraino.

Simple Turkey Stock

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Time

2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients

1 carcass from 12- to 14-pound turkey
10 cups water

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 carcass from 12- to 14-pound turkey
10 cups water

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 carcass from 12- to 14-pound turkey
10 cups water

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We take a simple approach to stock making that delivers pure turkey flavor with very little effort. Using the roasted carcass as-is, without further browning the bones in the oven, saves time and allows the turkey flavor to come to the fore. Gently simmering the bones in water for just 2 hours extracts enough gelatin to give this stock rich homemade flavor and body. Omitting mirepoix (carrot, celery, and onion) from the recipe allows the essence of the poultry to shine through and eliminates the effort involved in peeling and dicing vegetables.

Before You Begin

Pick off most of the meat clinging to the carcass and reserve it. However, don’t pick the carcass clean: The stock will have a fuller flavor if there is some meat and skin still attached. If you have the bones from the drumsticks and thighs, add them to the pot.

Instructions

  1. Using chef’s knife, remove wings from carcass and separate each wing at joints into 3 pieces. Cut through ribs to separate breastbone from backbone, then cut backbone into 3 to 4 pieces. Using kitchen shears or heavy knife, remove ribs from both sides of breastbone. (You should have roughly 4 pounds of bones broken into 10 to 12 pieces.)
  2. Arrange bones in stockpot or large Dutch oven in compact layer. Add water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 2 hours, using shallow spoon to skim foam and impurities from surface as needed.
  3. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large container; discard solids. Let stock cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Skim any fat from surface (reserve fat for making soup). Let stock cool for 1 1/2 hours before refrigerating. (Stock can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 4 months.)

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