By Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- 4(275)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You won’t regret having this turkey stock at hand, for dressings, stuffings, soups and more during the holiday season. A stint in a 400-degree oven draws out flavor from the turkey parts, and a long simmer concentrates them. Plan ahead: Make it when you have time, as the temperature starts to drop, and keep it in the freezer.
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Ingredients
Yield:At least 2 quarts
- 2turkey drumsticks
- 2turkey wings
- 2large Spanish onions, peeled and cut in half
- 2large carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces
- 2ribs celery, cut into large pieces
- 2bay leaves
- 3sprigs fresh thyme
- 1tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)
69 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 8 grams protein; 37 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat oven to 400. Place turkey parts in a large pan and cook in the oven until they are golden, with the skin beginning to separate from the end of the drumsticks, approximately 30 minutes.
Step
2
Transfer turkey parts and all fat and juices to a large stockpot. Cover turkey with water and place pot over high heat and bring water to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for as long as you can manage, even overnight.
Step
3
Add vegetables, bay leaves, thyme and pepper and continue to cook another hour, then strain stock into a clean container. Cover and refrigerate. When cool, pull off the layer of fat on top and discard. Reheat for use.
Ratings
4
out of 5
275
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Danielle
Don't listen to the part about discarding the layer of fat after refrigeration--you can save that fat and use it in roux for gravy! No need for butter. I freeze my fat layer every time. Much more flavor.
John L.
Turkey necks work well also.
wendy q.
Pour the stock into clean old- fashioned ice cube trays and freeze. When fully frozen, pop the stock cubes from the trays
into a plastic freezer bag and access small quantities of your beautiful stock as needed.
Sandy
I’ve been doing this for a long time. I use six pounds or so of thighs/legs/wings and roast them for an hour or an hour and a half. I lift them out of the roasting pan and put them into the stock pot with onion, celery, etc. The real trick is to then deglaze the roasting pan with water, scraping up all, I mean all, brown bits. But don’t put that into the stock pot. Save it, frozen or not, depending on the time frame, to stir into the gravy!
Brennan
Hands down the best way to make any type of stock is to do so in the pressure cooker. 5+ hours of simmering? How about 30 minutes and done? Invest in a heavy-duty pressure cooker. It's worth having around.
Highly recommend roasting the parts in the oven and deglazing the pan with wine to get all the bits off and into the stock; however, like the recipe (below) says, you can cook the parts in the pot first.
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7537-pressure-cooker-chicken-broth
Jan B.
Can I do this in the crock pot?
dimmerswitch
Roasting turkey parts delivers rich flavor & great color broth. Used 4# turkey wings, parsley in place of thyme & 'some' whole black peppercorns instead of ground. Roasted turkey in roughly 12"w x 8"h stockpot (took 1 hr to get golden), just moving it from oven to stove top at step 2. Added onions, bay leaves & peppercorns in step 2, simmered 1 hr then added rest of the veg at step 3 & simmered 1 1/2 hr more. Yield after straining = @ 2qt +3C.
Sharon
This came out fantastic! Substituted yellow onions for Spanish and peppercorns instead of ground pepper as I like the flexibility of adding the pepper in the gravy etc directly, otherwise used the ingredients outlined in the recipe. Pressure cooked it in the Instantpot for 45 minutes and let cool naturally to give it extra time to simmer. Moved it to the stovetop and boiled it for10 minutes after straining to intensify the turkey flavor. Delicious!
Jonathan
Has anyone ever "cheated" and added some vegetable broth or stock to the water covering the turkey? With what result? I'd expect it to be more concentrated and flavorful....
Laura
How large is a large stockpot? I don't want to go too big and have too much liquid evaporate. "enough water to cover the turkey" will vary a lot depending on the pot.
Kerry Mueller
Helpful yes, but once a guest helped himself to ice for his drink and looked with dismay into his glass as the fat globules floated off. I was laughing too hard to tell him what was actually happening!
Van S.
Love the suggestions to pour into ice cube and reuse fat. Good flavor. Waiting for guest to help him/herself to ice for a drink.
Elizabeth
I never peel the onions - the skins add color to stock and do not affect flavor
kathycookstoo
This broth recipe for made delicious gravy!
Camelbackgirl
One tablespoon of ground pepper, beware! Way too much. Add one teaspoon at a time and allow to penetrate the stock, then taste. If you need more, add more. Sadly, my six hour broth can’t be enjoyed. It’s too peppery. (And I love pepper by the way).
Dulce
make it in a crock pot rather than on the stove so it can run all night.
Bon note
My mom made stock for Thanksgiving this way & I've been doing it for yrs w/turkey wings, necks & backs. I add a quartered onion, celery leaves along with the stems, & rosemary and/or dill to the pot. I make a few weeks before Thanksgiving & freeze it. There's plenty to use for gravy (w/added giblets & pan drippings) & a couple of soups later on. I used it to make a NYT Italian wedding soup recipe this year and it was amazing. Makes a super rich, flavorful stock.
Laura
It's not a good idea to put hot stock in the refrigerator covered--- keeps it in the danger zone longer.
Laura
How large is a large stockpot? I don't want to go too big and have too much liquid evaporate. "enough water to cover the turkey" will vary a lot depending on the pot.
Jamie
Does it really matter to add the vegetables, bay leaves, thyme and pepper for the last half hour only? Can't I just put it all in together?
Elizabeth
I never peel the onions - the skins add color to stock and do not affect flavor
BLC
This made a very tasty stock. Per other reviewers' suggestions, I saved and pureed the vegetables, some of which was used to flavor Bittman's Make-Ahead Gravy, along with the fat use for the roux.
Jonathan
Has anyone ever "cheated" and added some vegetable broth or stock to the water covering the turkey? With what result? I'd expect it to be more concentrated and flavorful....
David
Could I roast the parts in a big oval dutch oven, then put it right onto the stove, without transferring pans? Or do I absolutely need to simmer it in a more vertical stockpot?
Christa
Wow--this really IS "serious turkey stock," and it's easy to make and well worth it. I let it simmer all night, and I'm glad I did. This recipe's a keeper and is going to make some glorious soup this winter. Shredded the meat to make Martha Rose Shulman's Turkey and Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry. Filled my home with a warming aroma on a cold, overcast November day. Wonderful weekend project--threw it in the pot Friday evening. Meat just falls off the bone after simmering all night.
Van S.
Love the suggestions to pour into ice cube and reuse fat. Good flavor. Waiting for guest to help him/herself to ice for a drink.
dimmerswitch
Roasting turkey parts delivers rich flavor & great color broth. Used 4# turkey wings, parsley in place of thyme & 'some' whole black peppercorns instead of ground. Roasted turkey in roughly 12"w x 8"h stockpot (took 1 hr to get golden), just moving it from oven to stove top at step 2. Added onions, bay leaves & peppercorns in step 2, simmered 1 hr then added rest of the veg at step 3 & simmered 1 1/2 hr more. Yield after straining = @ 2qt +3C.
Margaret Rothaus
Had a marvelous Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday, but I didn't do the cooking. Our son-in-law, as always, did it all - a gourmet's Thanksgiving - including the most flavorful gravy! He uses 10 lbs. of turkey necks for the stock. That's right -10 lbs!
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