Prime Cuts

As you settle in to start making your Thanksgiving dinners, Joe wanted to provide you with a turkey stock recipe that he uses after every Thanksgiving as a base to make various soups.

Don’t throw away the turkey carcass, the wing or drumstick bones after you eat on Thanksgiving because the leftover bones can make some amazing stocks and soups and you can do it all without the giblets.  The following is my personal stock recipe that I use to make delicious turkey rice and noodle soups.

Ingredients

I Turkey carcass (chopped into 3” pieces) and any reserved wing and leg bones

2 whole onions with skin, roughly chopped

4 peeled carrots, roughly chopped

4 ribs celery, roughly chopped

4 large celery leaves, chopped

½ bulb garlic, smashed and roughly chopped

3 bay leaves

2 tbsp peeled and chopped fresh ginger

1-2 tbsp sea salt

20 Black peppercorns

1/2 lemon worth of lemon juice and zest

1 cup dry white wine

1 tbsp tomato paste

2-3 gallons water

1 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation

1. On a medium/hot burner, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large stockpot that can hold at least 4 gallons of liquid.  Add the chopped turkey carcass and any reserved bones, brown well to caramelize to a dark brown color, approximately 10-15 minutes.

2. When all turkey pieces are evenly browned add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Stir occasionally for 10 minutes to lightly caramelize the vegetables.

3. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up all of the browned pieces with a wooden spoon.  Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, lemon, salt, ginger, and peppercorns, stirring occasionally to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.  Reduce the mixture by half, approx. 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the water to the stock pot and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a medium simmer, and reduce by half, approx. 1 ½ hours.  Filter the stock through a fine strainer lined with cheesecloth, taste and check for flavor.  Most times a little bit more fresh lemon juice and some kosher salt can bring a stock to life.

5. Chill overnight in the refrigerator allowing all the fat to rise to the top and solidify, then skim it off and discard.  The reserved stock will keep for up to a week in a tightly sealed container in the fridge

6. Use to make you favorite chicken/turkey soups, enjoy!

You can download a PDF version of this Turkey Stock Recipe.

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Photo by: LexnGer