Turn your leftover turkey carcass into delicious broth. This easy and classic turkey carcass broth is loaded with healing benefits. Drink it as your bone broth or use it as stock in a variety of dishes.
I have come across many people who think bone broths and stocks are hard to make. Some asked me what bones to buy to make bone broths. Others wonder what to do with their leftover carcasses of turkey and chicken after the meats are consumed. I will strive to answer these questions as best as I can. The short answer is this leftover turkey carcass broth – one of the simplest you can make and a tasty one for the broth beginners. The slightly longer answer is below.
Bone Broth vs. Stock
In my world, bone broth and stock are practically the same thing. Although there are differences in the context they appear in and what they are utilized for, many bone broth and stock recipes are very similar. This leftover turkey carcass broth will serve both purposes.
Bone broth often appears in the context of nourishing traditional foods and generally thought of as:
- Supports overall immune functions and fights illness
- Heals gut lining due to being a rich source of glutamine and collagen
- Builds strong bones due to being a rich source of minerals
- Many people drink it by itself as a health elixir
- Usually made from boiling animal bones but other parts can be included too (more on this in the next section)
Stock often appears in the context as a soup base and thought of as:
- Adds body and flavour to a dish
- A liquid made from boiling either animal parts or vegetables
- Can be made opaque or clarified by removing all sediments
Although I love vegetables, I haven’t made vegetable broth myself. Because I want to incorporate as much benefits of the bone broth that my family otherwise wouldn’t consume, every time I make a recipe requiring broth, I use my bone broth. Plus, there is usually vegetables in my bone broth anyways.
I no longer make clear stock (i.e. consommé) after experimented on it once, for I don’t feel removing the food particles dissolved into the broth, such as protein and fibre, is beneficial to our health.
How to build a great broth
The most commonly used bones for bone broth are beef bones and chicken bones in western cooking. Where I come from, in China, broths are made from many more animals and their bones, including goats, ducks, fish, quails and even snakes and more. Duck bone soup is one of my all time favourites, while I consumed snake soup once for a particular medicinal purpose – but those are stories and recipes for another day.
Traditional broth doesn’t include just bones either. In traditional Chinese cooking that I grew up with, other nutritious parts of the animals, like tendons, feet, joints, skins, meats and even organs are used just as frequently as bones in nourishing soups and broths. Why not? Bones are not the only parts of animals that provide key nourishments requiring a bit of boiling to be extracted.
I am telling you this, to hope that you know me a little better, and understand why I use the word “bone broth” loosely sometimes in dialogues, including broths that are made from all parts of the animals.
The best broths are made with a balanced mix of cuts: some large bones and cartilages for minerals; some joints, tendons and skins for gelatine (that’s what makes the broth gel); and some optional meats for additional protein (especially for those with weakened digestion who can’t digest meats consumed directly).
Lastly, additional aromatics can greatly enhance the flavour of the broth. Every culture has their own flavour combination. What aromatics you choose will give your broth its own characters. Try this shiitake ginger chicken bone broth (all purpose Asian stock). Keep in mind that if you don’t add any aromatics, your broth will be super versatile as add-ins to take on flavours of the next dish.
A broth made from leftover carcass after meats are consumed, like this turkey carcass broth, is one of the easiest to make. There is no work in dealing with raw bones, plus the joints and skins can all be part of the broth making.
More nourishing soups and broths you will love:
- Turkey Quinoa Pumpkin Soup (with a Bone Broth Base)
- Chinese Herbal Healing Oxtail Soup
- Adrenal Support Chinese Herbs and Pig Stomach Soup
Leftover Turkey Carcass Broth
Ingredients
- 1 roasted turkey carcass, approx. 2.5 lb after meats are removed (see recipe notes below)
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 3 bay leaf
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 quarts filtered water (see recipe notes below)
- 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar (see recipe notes below)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 6 to 8 hours. If your flame is set on too high, you will need to add a little water along the way.
- Once done, filter out only the broth, which should be reduced to roughly 2 quarts. Discard the bones and aromatics.
- Store in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Trim off all the meats from the roasted turkey. The meats can be saved for other dishes.
- 3 quarts filtered water equals 12 cups.
- Apple cider vinegar helps to extract minerals from the bones, while adding depth of flavour to the broth. The finished product will not taste acidic.
- Feel free to add other aromatics of your choice, such as parsley, leeks, peppercorns. I keep a ziplock bag of accumulated food scraps like parsley stems, fennel tops in my freezer for soup and broth.
- Calorie calculation is based on the whole recipe.
Nutrition
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I made a 20 pound turkey for the first time this year and decided to make this bone broth to freeze for the upcoming soups I will be making this winter. I followed the above recipe but used my large crock pot which perfectly fit the turkey carcus. The only difference is that I added a couple more cups of water to make sure there was enough. I set my crock pot on low to cook through the entire night, the house smelled so good when I got up in the morning! Strained it in the AM and put in fridge until later when I divided into freezer quart size containers. Looking forward to using it this winter.
Diana, thank you so much for sharing!! This is going to be so helpful for those using a crock pot. Yay to the bone broth supply all winter. So exciting!
Is there a subsitute for the apple cider vinegar? Is there another vinegar or acid I can use, or is it somewhat optional?
A little acid helps to draw out the minerals from the bones. You can use another vinegar, like white vinegar, or lemon juice. And of course, if you don’t have any of those, you can skip it.
With the upcoming holiday season, this will be a very useful recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Yes! I do this every year after Thanksgiving. Your photos for this post are beautiful!
Looks amazing! Such a great way to use leftover turkey and I love how packed with nutrients this is!
Homemade broth is the best! These photos are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing about your culture and the broths that you consumed … so neat to learn about medicinal broths too, I never would have known about snake broth 🙂
Amazing! And so thick!
Ohh this looks good! Must try!
That gel! Swoon! I always get so excited to see posts like this that utilize the ENTIRE animal!