Make your turkey stock now so you have plenty for Thanksgiving gravy, which really holds the whole meal together and makes leftovers the greatest! This is the way I make all my stocks, bones and water in the oven overnight, finish the next day by simmering the vegetables for 45 minutes.
Easy Turkey Stock
A simple way to make turkey or chicken stock
Ingredients
- 2 large turkey drumsticks
- 2 large turkey wings
- 2 Spanish onion, sliced
- 4 carrots, cut in pieces
- 4 celery ribs, cut in pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp peppercorns, cracked beneath a pan or with a mortar and pestle
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 5-10 thyme sprigs
- 5-10 stems parsley optional
Instructions
- Roast the turkey pieces (you should have 5–6 pounds/2–3 kilos) in a hot oven, 425°F/218°C at least, till it looks delicious, 30 to 45 minutes. (You can cut the meat off the bones for dinner if you wish; but the meat will add lots of flavor to the stock.)
- Put the turkey bones in a big pot and cover them completely with water, 3–4 quarts/liters, and put the pot over high heat. Turn your oven to 180°–200°F/80°–90°C. When the water comes to a simmer, put the pot in the oven, uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight.
- Add the remaining ingredients (if you don’t have enough room, remove the turkey bones—they will have cooked out by now). Bring to a simmer, then reduce the temperature to low and cook for another hour or so. Strain into a clean pot. Cool, then refrigerate.
- Reserve any fat that’s congealed on top for the roux on Thanksgiving day. Reduce the stock to 1 ½ to 2 quarts/liters if it's not already at that level.
when do you scatter the veg during step 1? at a certain point of the turkey parts roasting or from go?
After the meat is browned. Actually, this is an optional step, cooking the veg. You can use raw, sweated, or for the most flavor, browned.
In fact, because this is supposed to be easy, I removed that step altogether.
Thank you for clarifying that. i was going to roast the veg but couldnt be bothered and am glad you removed that step
the turkey is roasting as we speak and am planning on putting in oven overnight right before bed. any issue with it being in oven for more than 8 hours?
Thank you again for posting insightful information.
sorry just seeing this now. now worries on more than 8 hours.
With this method do we not need to skim the stock during the first few minutes or so?
nope!