Turkey Stock

As I mentioned in my last post, I got a 15-pound turkey – just to have the entire bird as leftovers. I dry-brined the turkey with kosher salt, brown sugar, a couple of crumbled bay leaves, lots of black pepper, and a bit of orange zest. After about 26 hours in the dry brine, it was rubbed with olive oil and roasted at 325 degrees for just under 2 hours 45 minutes. And it was delicious. I may or may not have eaten an entire turkey leg as I was pulling the meat from the bones.

There are so many ways to use leftover turkey that isn’t simply in a sandwich. Although, I do enjoy a good turkey sandwich – you just won’t find that recipe here (for now!).

Step one to turkey leftovers is what to do with all those bones – a good, rich stock. It is super easy and almost completely hands-off. I cooked this on the stove because the bones didn’t fit in my slow cooker or Instapot. Feel free to do this in your slow cooker (on low for about 12 – 14 hours) or in the Instapot (high pressure for about 50 – 60 minutes, natural release) if you’d prefer.

I put every single turkey bone and extra piece of skin (for additional flavor) in the stockpot along with a quartered onion, a whole head of garlic, and a couple of bay leaves.

I then filled up the stockpot with water, put the lid on, and simmered it for a total of about 14 hours. The hard part was remembering to turn the stove off while I ran to pick Pax up from school and then again to the store.

The result was a deep, richly colored and flavored stock. I use this stock to make turkey noodle soup, pot pies, gravy, or simply to drink (especially when everyone here is fighting a cold). Use it wherever you normally use broth or stock. Enjoy!