Don't throw out those leftover turkey bones! My favorite thing to do the morning after Thanksgiving is to make homemade turkey stock from the turkey carcass.
It is so easy to do and so delicious! Homemade turkey stock can be used in any application that you would normally use store bought stock.
Of course, my favorite use of homemade stock is for making homemade soup.
The turkey stock can be used for a delicious soup or frozen for future use. I love a good homemade turkey soup and after the heavy Thanksgiving meal,
it is just what my family needs. Be sure and refrigerate your turkey carcass after Thanksgiving until you are ready to make your stock.
For more great Low Fat Recipes, Low Calorie Recipes, Low Carbohydrate Recipes, and Diabetic Recipes, check out
my
Diet Recipe Index. Also check out my
Nutritional Chart for fat grams, fiber grams, carbohydrate grams, and calories for all your favorite foods.
Low-Fat Turkey Stock Recipe - How To Make Turkey Stock
Recipe Type:
Soup,
Turkey,
Diet
Yields: serves many
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 hr
Ingredients:
1 leftover Turkey Carcass*
10 to 12 cups cold water**
1/2 cup carrot slices
1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large
onion, cut into chunks
2 to 3 cloves
garlic
1 small whole dried red chile pepper, optional
* Strip the turkey carcass of any large usable pieces of meat; set
turkey meat aside and refrigerate until ready to use in your soup.
Do not add the giblets.
** Enough cold water to cover all the ingredients in the pot by
at least 1-inch.
Preparation:
In a large soup pot
or Dutch oven, place turkey carcass (take the remains of the turkey after it's been carved and break it into pieces so it will fit in
your pot; cover with cold water by at least 1-inch). Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and red pepper (optional) to the soup pot. Add any other vegetables that you like,
if desired.
Cover pot and slowly bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and skim off any
scum on surface. Scum is the filmy layer of extraneous or impure matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a
liquid or body of water. Cover pot and let slowly simmer approximately 3 hours.
TIP: The key to a good stock is to bring the water to a boil
just once at the beginning and then cook at just barely
a simmer for the remainder of the cooking time, as long slow cooking is best to extract all the subtle flavors.
After cooking, remove from heat and discard all the turkey bones, meat, and vegetables (since your have cooked
the mixture for a long time, there is no nutritional value left). Strain the remaining liquid to remove smaller particles in the stock
(pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve placed over a large pot).
Place strained stock into shallow containers and refrigerate immediately.
Refrigerate soup stock overnight and skim any congealed fat from the surface in the morning. NOTE: The juice will gel up after
being refrigerated, but will dissolve when stock is reheated later. This is because of the natural gelatin in the turkey bones.
The stock will last for about a week in the fridge. You can freeze the cooled stock and it should
maintain taste and quality for about 4 to 6 months.
You now have the most wonderful low-fat turkey stock to use in making a delicious turkey soup or to freeze for later use.
