Homemade turkey stock has incredible depth and is a total gamechanger for Thanksgiving. This turkey stock recipe uses a turkey carcass, but it can be made with wings, necks, or drumsticks as well. Turkey stock can be used to make gravy on Thanksgiving, turkey soups, or just used in place of chicken stock in recipes for stuffing, dressing, and any other Thanksgiving side dish that calls for stock.
When I say this is the best homemade turkey stock, I’m not exaggerating. I started making this a few years ago, and it really does make dishes for Thanksgiving stand out. Using a homemade turkey stock for gravy instead of chicken stock makes the best Thanksgiving turkey gravy and will have everyone asking what your secret is. Using it in stuffing and dressing recipes is great as well.
As a recipe developer, I always have a turkey a few weeks before Thanksgiving, so that makes it easy for me to make a turkey stock with a carcass and still have some left to make turkey gravy on Thanksgiving. Having said that, I suggest most people get two turkeys for Thanksgiving time because of how incredibly cheap they tend to get as the holiday approaches. Besides, that gives you more leftovers to enjoy!
If you don’t want to get an extra turkey, this homemade turkey stock recipe can also be made with turkey wings or other parts ahead of time. This recipe for turkey stock is meant as a good way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, and if you don’t plan to use it for gravy on the day of the holiday, that’s fine. I’ll mention other ways to make this, however, if you want to have a bunch on hand for the big day.
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🦃 Turkey Stock Vs Turkey Broth
Technically speaking, you can use the terms interchangeably. Most of the stocks and broths at grocery stores don’t really show a difference between the ingredients other than the name on the box.
That said, however, there are differences between stock and broth.
Stock – A stock is typically made by cooking animal bones low and slow with some added aromatics and vegetables. The long cooking of the bones and collagen releases gelatin. This is what gives a stock it’s richer mouthfeel over a broth. A stock shouldn’t have salt added to it either. Stocks are typically reduced or have more seasoning added to them when cooked in a recipe, so adding salt to the stock can make a finished dish way too salty. In homemade stocks this is kind of up to the cook, but if you use salt, I’d suggest adding it near the end.
Broth – Broths are usually made more quickly and use meat and vegetables instead of bones. This gives the broth a lighter and thinner taste. The broth is also usually seasoned more to add flavor, including the addition of salt. If buying broth in the store instead of making your own, I always recommend the low-sodium or salt free option so that you can tailor it to your needs yourself.
🥘 Ingredients for Homemade Turkey Stock
Other than turkey parts, you only need some vegetables and herbs and a few other items for making turkey stock. Most of the same ingredients you’ll probably be picking up for Thanksgiving as well, especially if you make homemade stuffing or get fresh herbs for an herb-roasted turkey.
Turkey – Whatever parts of a turkey you use (not pictured), you’ll want about 3-4 pounds. In this recipe I used the leftover turkey carcass, as well as the turkey bones from drumsticks, thighs, wing tips, and the turkey neck. The bones don’t need to be 100% scraped clean, as a bit of meat and skin add to the flavor.
Vegetables – Use the usual mirepoix veggies here, like onion, carrots, and celery. You can also include or substitute things like leeks, parsnips, celery root, etc. If you used a lot of these vegetables while making Thanksgiving dishes, you can also save and freeze the scraps and use them here to save on waste.
Herbs – Fresh herbs go well here, and I recommend that over dried herbs. I use parsley, thyme, and sage, as I find sage pairs well with turkey flavors. If you used fresh herbs for the holiday, this is a great way to use up any you have left over too. I love rosemary too, but I don’t recommend it here.
Extras – I also add a few smashed cloves of garlic, some whole black peppercorns, and a few bay leaves. The bay leaves can be fresh or dried.
Water – This recipe makes about 10 cups of homemade turkey stock, which is reduced from about 16 cups of water you’ll need to cover all the ingredients in a large stock pot.
🔪 How to Make Homemade Turkey Stock
Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C.
On a sheet pan, add the turkey parts and drizzle with some oil. If using a carcass, chop into manageable pieces. If you still have the turkey neck, add that as well. Roast for about an hour, turning about every 20 minutes.
While roasting the turkey, prep the vegetables. Simply quarter the onion and chop the celery and carrots into chunks. You don’t even need to remove the onion skins or peel the carrots and use the leafy parts of the celery as well.
Once roasted, add the turkey pieces into a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped vegetables, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, sage sprig, smashed cloves of garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves. Cover with water by an inch or two (will probably take 14-16 cups of water) and bring to almost boiling.
Once almost boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any obvious solids or debris from the top. If too much water evaporates, add a little more and slightly lower the heat if need be. Cover, and continue cooking over low heat for another 2 to 2 ½ hours until reduced a bit more.
Once reduced, remove some of the larger pieces and then pour through a fine mesh strainer into another pot. Repeat once or twice if you still have solids you’d like to remove, or strain through cheesecloth if you want it even cleaner.
Once cooled, portion the stock into canning jars or other airtight containers and store, refrigerated, for up to 4-5 days.
📖 Turkey Stock Variations
As mentioned in the ingredients above, a lot of variations can be found in your choice of vegetables and herbs used to make turkey broth. Feel free to experiment with different options.
Super Simple Turkey Stock – If you want to keep things simple and cheap, you can make a turkey stock with just water and the carcass and other bones. Chop the larger bones into manageable pieces and fit everything into a stock pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 2-2 ½ hours, skimming off impurities that float to the top occasionally. Strain and store the same way as in the directions above.
While this makes a lighter stock that lacks the depth of flavor from the main recipe, it’s a simple way to make turkey stock. This skips the roasting process and all the additional aromatics added to the stock pot.
Homemade Turkey Stock Without Carcass – If you don’t have access to a turkey carcass or want to make stock at other times of the year when you’re not cooking a whole turkey, you can. Depending on your grocery store, they probably sell other turkey parts such as wings, drumsticks, and maybe even necks. You’ll want about 3-4 pounds total, and it can be a mix of any of these parts.
Roast the parts in the oven and follow the recipe as written above. I’d recommend a mix of wings and necks if you can get them. Drumsticks I’d save for the last option, as they tend to be the most expensive and using them like this is kind of a waste of meat. If you do use drumsticks, I’d recommend eating them and saving the bones to mix with wings.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
While the terms are generally used interchangeably a lot of times, stocks and broths are technically different. The main difference is that stocks use bones and maybe some meat, while broths do not include the bones and only simmer with the meat. Stocks are usually cooked for a longer time and have a richer mouthfeel, while broths tend to be thinner but possibly more seasoned.
Like most bone broths or stocks made with bones, turkey stock does have health benefits. Collagen and other nutrients and vitamins are healthy and can also improve bones and joints as well as reduce inflammation.
The skin is full of extra nutrients and more collagen, so if you have some on the carcass, keep it there and add it to the stock. If you remove all the skin, it can slightly reduce the fat in the final stock, so take that into consideration if it's an important factor to your diet.
🥗 What to Make with Homemade Turkey Stock
Homemade stock is great in homemade soup recipes, but this turkey stock also works really well in other recipes that call for chicken stock, especially for Thanksgiving recipes such as:
- Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Sausage and Sage Stuffing
- Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Dressing
- Herb Roasted Turkey and Gravy
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
And for homemade turkey soup recipes, ramp up the turkey flavor with turkey stock in:
- Turkey Chili
- Turkey and Dumplings
- Turkey Noodle Soup
- Turkey and Rice Soup
- Turkey Barley Soup
❄️ Storing & Freezing Stock
Homemade turkey stock should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator once it has cooled completely. It should be good for 4-5 days this way. After being refrigerated, you may notice a gelatinous layer forming on the top of the stock, this is normal. The collagen breaks down while cooking and becomes gelatin, so it forms that layer when cold.
For longer storage, turkey stock can be frozen for 6 months. If freezing in a canning jar, leave an inch of headspace to allow for expansion as it freezes. You can also use other containers or freezer bags to portion in premeasured amounts for recipes you plan on using it in.
📋 Recipe
Homemade Turkey Stock
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds turkey parts, carcass, bones, wings, etc.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, quartered
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 3-4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 2 sprigs sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 16 cups water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C.
- On a sheet pan, add the turkey parts and drizzle with some oil. If using a carcass, chop into manageable pieces. If you still have the turkey neck, add that as well. Roast for about an hour, turning about every 20 minutes.
- While roasting the turkey, prep the vegetables. Simply quarter 2 onion and chop 2 ribs of celery and 2 carrots into chunks. You don’t even need to remove the onion skins or peel the carrots and use the leafy parts of the celery as well.
- Once roasted, add the turkey pieces into a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped vegetables, 3-4 parsley sprigs, 2-3 thyme sprigs, 1-2 sprigs of sage, 2-3 smashed cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, and 1-2 bay leaves. Cover with water by an inch or two (will probably take 14-16 cups of water) and bring to almost boiling.
- Once almost boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any obvious solids or debris from the top. If too much water evaporates, add a little more and slightly lower the heat if need be. Cover, and continue cooking over low heat for another 2 to 2 ½ hours until reduced a bit more.
- Once reduced, remove some of the larger pieces and then pour through a fine mesh strainer into another pot. Repeat once or twice if you still have solids you’d like to remove, or strain through cheesecloth if you want it even cleaner.
- Once cooled, portion the stock into canning jars or other airtight containers and store, refrigerated, for up to 4-5 days.
Equipment Used
Notes
- Turkey – Whatever parts of a turkey you use, you’ll want about 3-4 pounds. In this recipe I used the leftover turkey carcass, as well as the turkey bones from drumsticks, thighs, wing tips, and the turkey neck. The bones don’t need to be 100% scraped clean, as a bit of meat and skin add to the flavor.
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