The smell of Thanksgiving is probably what I love more than the food. Yes, I love planning the menu, foraging for the right (and best) ingredients and, of course, I love cooking. But, really, it’s the smells of the food cooking that take me right back to my childhood.
The savory and herbacious turkey roasting in the oven, tart cranberry relish, my now famous roasted sweet potato and banana mash, perfectly caramelized vegetables, yeasty Parker House rolls baking away, creamy gravy and roasted pumpkin dessert with freshly grated nutmeg topped with slightly sweetened homemade whipped cream.
When all of the dishes have been washed and the food has been put away, the guests have returned to their own homes and another holiday has come and gone, then it’s time to take all of the meat off the turkey carcass and make soup! It’s what my grandmother did. She was always so proud of how she “never wasted anything.”
Taking Stock
This year, we were fortunate enough to purchase one of a select few locally-raised turkeys from Travis of Parker Creek Ranch. It browned beautifully with crispy skin, lots of moist white meat and barely any dark meat on the bird. David said this was possibly the best turkey we have ever had and since I don’t eat fowl, I trust his assessment.
We treated this bird with respect and used every last bit of it. The dogs got the heart and liver mixed in with their dinner one night and we stewed the neck and the giblets to make a luscious stock for the gravy. After we removed all of the meat from the carcass, I placed the carcass in a large soup pot, covered it with water and added lots of vegetables and herbs and simmered it ever so gently for eight hours until the stock was rich and tasted like Thanksgiving all over again.
Before you toss that carcass into the garbage, use it to make a succulent stock so you can make turkey soup for the soul. It will make your house smell amazing, your spirit will be rejuvenated, your grandmother will be proud of you and after a few days of a bit too much stuffing–your belly will thank you.
Buen provecho!
Turkey Stock
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass
- Water to cover
- 1/2 big yellow onion roughly chopped
- 3 carrots organic, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 4 celery ribs outer ribs not the tender inner ribs, organic, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 handful Italian flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 1 lemon cut in half
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 sage sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
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Place the turkey carcass in a large soup pot and cover with water. Some of the carcass may stick out of the top and that's perfectly fine. As it cooks, the bones will eventually break down. Add the chopped onion, carrots, celery, black peppercorns and herbs. Squeeze both halves of the lemon into the soup pot and drop the lemons in the stock.
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Place over medium high heat for about 10 minutes. Once the water warms up, turn it to medium-low and let it simmer gently for 4-12 hours. The longer you cook it, the deeper and richer the flavors will be. Stir the stock occasionally, but you can mostly leave it alone, merely adding more hot water if needed.
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Once it's ready, strain the bones and veggies from the stock and toss. Reserve the stock to make soup or freeze it. Once you make soup, be sure to taste the stock and add salt, as needed.
I was shocked to learn a few years ago how easy it is to make homemade stock. But I've honestly never thought of making turkey stock 🙂 Thanks for sharing!