Don’t let your leftover turkey go to waste! This Turkey Stock or Bone Broth recipe helps you make the most of your Thanksgiving leftovers. Plan ahead and you’ll be able to enjoy rich, savory recipes for the rest of the holiday season!
What’s Included In This Post
Note: I use “homemade turkey bone broth” and “homemade turkey stock” interchangeably in this post. Skip ahead to the FAQ section for more on the difference between stock and broth.
Turkey Stock or Bone Broth Ingredients
- Leftover turkey carcass, with any skin, meat, or drippings. Estimate about three pounds if using other cuts or parts of leftover turkey.
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Peppercorns
- MSG (monosodium glutamate)
- 12-16 cups of water, or enough water to cover all contents in a large stock pot
Street Smart Nutrition Tip: You can use any vegetable scraps left over from prepping for your holiday meal. Likewise, toss in any sliced or chopped vegetables from a veggie tray or other appetizers. It’s estimated that 40% of food in America ends up as food waste, this is your chance to put them to use!
The flavor of your turkey stock or bone broth will be impacted by how the turkey was originally cooked. I love the flavor of smoked turkey and it makes a rich, super savory stock. But you can use a regular roasted turkey and get similar results.
You can also change the flavor by adding extra herbs or aromatics like bay leaves. If you have leftover sage, thyme, rosemary, or other herbs from cooking your Thanksgiving dinner, this is a great way to use them up.
Personally, I love it as savory as possible. That’s why I add MSG to my version – learn more about cooking with MSG in this post!
How to Make Turkey Stock or Bone Broth
The key to making turkey stock at home is to have a lot of patience. You’ll get richer flavor the longer it simmers, so I recommend a minimum of six hours. If you can, 8-10 is even better!
Here’s how to turn your leftover turkey bones into a delicious, savory turkey bone broth:
- Start by removing any large chunks of leftover meat still left on the turkey carcass. Store these separately for other leftover turkey recipes.
- Place the turkey in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to completely cover the turkey, but not enough that it starts to float. Turn to high heat and bring to a low boil.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion and slice the carrots and celery into short pieces. Use the back of a spatula to smash the garlic cloves on a flat surface. Drop them into the stockpot along with the peppercorns and MSG (if using).
- Add a little more water to the stock pot until all contents are covered. Once simmering, turn down the heat, add the lid, and stir occasionally over the next 6+ hours.
- Once finished, turn off the heat (avoid handling while still boiling hot). Ladle or pour the turkey bone broth through a fine mesh strainer as you transfer it into clean glass jars or storage containers.
Notes for Food Safety
- Try to cool your turkey bone broth as quickly as possible to inhibit bacterial growth. Don’t let it sit out on the counter for too long!
- You can add some cold water or even a few ice cubes to speed up the cooling process. Don’t worry, it won’t dilute the flavor too much.
- Avoid putting hot jars or storage containers straight into the fridge. This can slow down the cooling process and heat up the other contents of your fridge.
How to Store Turkey Stock or Bone Broth
You can store homemade turkey stock in the refrigerator for up to one week. It’s that time of year when you might be craving a cozy dish or homemade soup, so it doesn’t all have to go in the freezer for later use!
But if you aren’t going to use it within that first week, transfer the homemade turkey stock in freezer-safe containers. Leave a little room at the top and don’t seal too tightly. Place in the freezer. Once fully frozen, you can seal the lid tightly and store in the freezer for up to six months.
You can also freeze turkey stock or bone broth as individual cubes. This is the perfect way to add savory flavor to recipes that don’t call for large amounts of liquid.
I like to use silicone ice cube trays like Souper Cubes or this one. Make sure there’s a flat spot to freeze them, otherwise you might splash bone broth all over the other stuff in your freezer. Not fun to clean up! But once frozen, seal in a freezer bag or container and you can pull out a few anytime you want to infuse a recipe with that delicious turkey bone broth flavor.
Note: Souper Cubes have a convenient lid, so you can skip that extra step!
Homemade Turkey Stock or Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 1 roasted or smoked turkey carcass, or 3-4 pounds of turkey wings or bones
- 1 large white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 3 ribs celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1/2 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp MSG (monosodium glutamate), optional
- 12 to 16 cups water, or enough to cover the contents
Instructions
- Use the largest, heaviest stockpot available. Remove the leftover turkey meat from the bones, then add the finished turkey along with all bones, skin, and drippings to the stockpot.
- Fill with enough water to cover the turkey, but not so much that it floats. Reserve enough room in the stockpot for the vegetables. Turn to high heat and start to bring to a low boil.
- While the stockpot is heating, prepare the vegetables. Roughly chop the onion, then slice the carrots and celery into short pieces. Use the back of a spatula to smash the garlic cloves on a flat surface. Drop them into the stockpot along with the peppercorns and MSG (if using).
- Pour in more water until the contents of the stockpot are just covered. Once simmering, cover and leave for at least six hours (eight or more recommended for richer flavor). Stir occasionally.
- Once finished, use a fine mesh strainer to pour the turkey broth into storage containers or jars. Discard the remaining pieces of turkey and seasonings. To cool the broth more quickly, add a few ice cubes or cool water to the broth, diluting it and increasing the volume to your desired amount.
- Seal tightly and place in the refrigerator (see notes for food safety tips). If freezing, leave room at the top to allow for expansion. Use chilled broth within one week or frozen broth within six months.
Notes
- Store in a shallow, wide container to cool. Later, transfer to jars or freezer-friendly containers for long-term storage.
- Use ice cubes to cool the broth quickly. The dilution effect will be minimal after such a long cooking time.
- Avoid placing steaming or piping hot turkey broth directly in the fridge. Cool using an ice bath or the other techniques mentioned, otherwise you risk raising the overall temperature of your fridge.
Nutrition
Recipes to Make with Homemade Turkey Bone Broth
Turkey soup, of course! This is the main reason I go through this time-consuming process in the first place. A homemade broth or stock of any kind will add so much to your cozy fall and winter recipes.
Try some of these favorites now that you have a great base for amazing flavor:
- Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
- Leftover Turkey and Dumplings
- Leftover Turkey Ramen
- Creamy Mushroom Kale Turkey Soup
- Instant Pot Turkey Rice Soup
- Chickpea Noodle Soup (note that this is a vegan recipe as written, but using turkey broth means it’s no longer vegan. Plan accordingly depending on who will be eating it!)
FAQs About Turkey Bone Broth
What’s the difference between broth and stock?
Traditionally, stock is made from bones with various vegetables, aromatics, and herbs. Meanwhile, broth is typically made using meat without bones. Another key difference is cooking time; usually, stocks are simmered for hours (even days!) while broths take much less time.
However, these terms are often used interchangeably at this point. Technically, this “turkey bone broth” recipe is basically just turkey stock since the whole leftover turkey carcass is used – bones and all!
Should I make turkey bone broth before Thanksgiving?
This turkey bone broth recipe uses leftover turkey, assuming your feast is finished. But if you’re planning ahead and want to feature a homemade broth in your Thanksgiving recipes, yes. This turkey bone broth can be made ahead of time for turkey gravy or stuffing.
You might not want to cook a whole turkey, though. Try using just turkey wings (if they’re available) or the leftover carcass from a rotisserie chicken. This is usually my go-to for homemade bone broth since I can use the rotisserie chicken for recipes like Weeknight Fried Rice or Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Chicken stock and turkey stock will have very similar flavors.
How much salt should I use?
Usually, stocks don’t use much salt. This helps you avoid accidentally over-salting your recipes.
However, you can add a small about (about 1 teaspoon) or season to taste. This helps enhance the flavor, especially if you choose to avoid using MSG which adds a small about of sodium and a lot of umami (savory) flavor.
Should I skim the fat off my turkey bone broth?
No, that’s the good stuff! It adds richness since fat carries flavor. I know a thick layer of fat on top doesn’t look the best, but a gelatinous bone broth retains the fat and collagen that came out of the turkey bones.
Can I freeze turkey stock or turkey bone broth?
Yes! Homemade turkey broth does great in the freezer. Make sure you use freezer-safe containers. Avoid filling above the max fill line since the liquid will expand as it freezes.
Clearly label and date your containers or jars. Then store frozen for up to six months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before using in your favorite recipes.
What do I do with the leftovers from making homemade turkey stock?
Toss any bones into the trash – unfortunately there’s not much else to do with them at this point.
But if you want to further reduce food waste, you can fish out the onions, carrots, celery, or garlic chunks. You can blend them with an immersion blender, or roughly smash them for a thick stew or sauce. They should already be very, very soft from the many hours of simmering.
Note that the nutrition won’t be the same since some of the vitamins are sensitive to heat or leached out into the turkey stock. However, they can still add volume to other recipes if you really want to avoid throwing them away.
As always, thanks for stopping by the Street Smart Nutrition blog. I hope you enjoy many flavorful recipes with your homemade turkey bone broth – cheers to more fearlessly nourishing meals!
