Cooking 101: How To Make Home Made Turkey Stock From Scratch

Did you host Thanksgiving this year? Did you serve up a traditional Thanksgiving meal with a roasted turkey and all the trimmings? After everyone is gone and you’re storing away all the leftovers, be sure to hang onto that turkey carcass! Yes all the bones and skin that nobody wanted…don’t toss it out! We’re going to use those scraps to make some liquid gold…a delectably, delicious turkey stock.

That turkey carcass will make the best home made turkey stock that tastes a thousand times better than anything you can buy in a can. Not only does it taste fantastic, but it’s easy to make, and will cost you just a few pennies to cook up.

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TIMESAVING TIP: Break up the turkey carcass into chunks small enough to stuff into a couple large ziplock baggies so you can use them later on when you have time to make the stock. Store carcass in the freezer for longer storage time.

Stick the turkey carcass in the fridge; no need to deal with it on Thanksgiving day. It’s been a long day and it will keep for a few days in the fridge until you have the energy to make some home made stock with it. You’re going to be amazed at how easy it is to make your own turkey stock from scratch.

Start by removing any excess turkey meat from the carcass.

Save all that turkey meat for another use.

Place the turkey carcass in the bottom of a large stockpot. Add the chicken bouillon and any vegetable scraps you have on hand. Add enough water to the pot to cover all the ingredients. Finally, add the bay leaves to the pot.

TIP: Don’t toss out the peels from carrots, celery scraps, onion ends and garlic skins. Keep a ziplock baggie in your freezer; anytime you have onion skins, garlic peels or veggie ends add them to that baggie in your freezer. Adding them to stock will add extra flavor and nutrients. Once the baggie is full, use them alone to make a vegetable broth, no need to thaw them either. Use whatever you happen to have on hand in this turkey stock.

Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat but keep broth at a low simmer. Simmer, covered, for 90 minutes.

Remove pot from heat and allow broth to cool down to room temperature. Strain off broth and discard the carcass and vegetable peels. They have imparted their flavor and goodness to the broth and are no longer needed. 

That’s all there is to it! Easy-peasy!!! Use turkey stock in your favorite soups or stews or in any recipe that calls for chicken broth.

Left-over Make-over: Use stock to make Turkey Gravy. Make a roux with some butter and flour. Add turkey stock and whisk out lumps. Simmer till thickened and smooth. Taste and season with a little salt and pepper. Delicious ladled over a Hot Turkey Sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes or stuffing.

My favorite way to use this turkey stock is to make our favorite post Thanksgiving meal, The Best Ever, Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup. I was never much of a Split Pea Soup fan until I made this recipe. Over the years, it’s become a family tradition to have this soup the weekend after Thanksgiving. I get this soup going in the slow cooker and putter around the house putting up Christmas decor while the soup simmers away and fills the house with its irresistible aroma. Give it a try! Not only is it extremely easy to make in a slow cooker, but it uses mostly leftovers from your Thanksgiving meal so it costs just pennies to make. Just be sure to toss a bag of dried split peas in the cart when you’re doing your Thanksgiving grocery shopping so you’ll have everything you need to make it.

You absolutely can’t have a big bowl of this delicious soup without some sort of bread for dunking! And this Split Pea Soup is the ultimate dunkable soup! Bake up a loaf of this Homemade French Bread to round out the meal. It’s easy to bake a loaf of Homemade French Bread using this easy, no-knead, technique. Once you give it a try, you’ll never settle for store bought French Bread ever again! Making it yourself is the absolute best and this technique is perfect if you’re just starting out on your bread baking journey. Perfect for beginners as well as more experienced bread bakers! It’s a fool proof technique that will consistently produce delectable loaves of bread for you.

Maybe you’ve got leftover buttermilk that needs using up? Try making these Buttermilk Biscuits. I guarantee everyone will come running to the table when you pull out a skillet of these freshly baked Buttermilk Biscuits from the oven. Got butter?

If you end up with any leftover Turkey stock store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Freeze some of the stock in ice cube trays and once frozen transfer to an airtight container for quick thawing later. Use in any recipes that call for chicken stock or vegetable stock.

Drizzle some on our pampered pooch’s dry kibbles for a treat they’ll love!

NOTE: Omit using onion and garlic peels if you plan on using the stock for your pup.

This post was originally published December 2023 and republished with updated photos, recipe notes, and new content December 2024.

What are you going to cook up with your home made turkey stock?

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