Ultimate Turkey Stock Recipes

Steps:

• Combine turkey carcass, onions, carrots, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, chicken bouillon cubes, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a stockpot; pour in enough water to cover. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors blend, about 1 hour. Remove stockpot from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain stock through a cheese cloth and discard solids.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Using a sturdy knife or your hands, cut or tear turkey carcass into large pieces. Arrange in a single layer in a roasting pan and roast until brown and sizzling, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from oven and transfer pieces to a stockpot.
• Add onions, carrots and celery to the empty roasting pan and place over medium heat. Sauté briefly, just to loosen the crusty turkey bits from bottom of pan.
• Return pan to oven and cook until vegetables are browned around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and place it over medium heat. Add white wine and cook, stirring, until wine is reduced to a syrup, about 3 minutes.
• Add wine-vegetable mixture to stockpot. Add garlic, thyme, bay leaves, black peppercorns and chile. Add 6 quarts water and place over medium-high heat just until mixture comes to a boil.
• Immediately reduce heat to low, skim any foam floating on top and simmer, skimming as needed, for 3 hours. Add 1 teaspoon salt and taste. If stock tastes watery, keep simmering until stock is flavorful. Taste for salt again and add more if needed.
• Strain stock through a sieve into a large container or containers. Discard solids. Let stock cool slightly, then refrigerate. Skim off any fat from the top of the stock. Use within 4 days or freeze.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.
• Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey.
• Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• The day before serving, prepare the turkey for brining. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Set the neck aside for the stock. Cut off the wing tips and set aside with the neck.
• Butcher the turkey into 8 pieces: 2 breasts, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 wings. Set aside the carcass for the stock.
• Combine the salt, brown sugar, pepper, and granulated garlic in a small bowl.
• Set a wire rack inside a baking sheet. Place the turkey parts skin-side up on the rack and generously sprinkle with the seasoning blend. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Make the stock: Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C).
• Place the turkey carcass, wing tips, and neck on a baking sheet with the onion, carrots, and celery. Season lightly with salt and drizzle with oil.
• Roast for 30-45 minutes, or until the carcass and vegetables are deep brown.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables, turkey carcass, and other parts to a large stock pot.
• From the still-warm baking sheet from roasting the carcass, pour any rendered fat into a small bowl. Add about 1 cup (240 ml) of water to the pan and scrape off any browned bits from roasting process, then pour into a separate bowl. Reserve for the gravy.
• Strain the stock, discarding the solids. The stock will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator or for 3 months in the freezer.
• Cover the carcass with cold water. Add the bay leaves and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer (don't boil!) for 3 hours.
• Make the gravy: Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the turkey fat and flour, stirring to combine. Cook the fat and flour together, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. This is a roux--you are cooking out the raw flour taste and deepening the flavor.
• Gradually add the stock to the roux, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, continuing to stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator until ready to warm for serving with the turkey. The gravy will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• 2 hours before you are ready to serve the turkey, preheat the oven to 425°F (220˚C).
• Remove the turkey parts from the fridge and drizzle with oil before placing in the hot oven.
• Roast for 30 minutes, then rotate the baking sheet to ensure even browning. Reduce the oven temperature to 400˚F (200˚C).
• Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast registers 160°F (70˚C).
• Or when the thigh registers 170˚F (77˚C). Start checking after about 20 minutes, removing any parts from the oven as they reach proper temperature so that they don't overcook.
• Once all parts are done, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes while you warm the gravy.
• Add the gravy and sage, if using, to a medium saucepan over low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed.
• Serve the turkey with the gravy and your favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot or your biggest saucepan, and top up with 2 litres water. Add more water to cover all the ingredients if needed.
• Bring to a simmer over a high heat, skimming off any foam that appears on top of the liquid with a spoon. Reduce to a medium heat, then simmer, half covered, for 3 hrs - the stock will have reduced and concentrated its flavours. Or, if you prefer a lighter stock, cover fully while simmering.
• Turn off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes, then carefully strain into a container or bowl to cool completely. Will keep in the fridge for a week and for three months in the freezer.

Steps:

• Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 450°F.
• Using heavy cleaver, chop wings into 2-inch pieces. (See Test-Kitchen Tips, below.) Spread wings in roasting pan and roast, turning with tongs after 20 minutes, until deeply browned, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in 6-quart stock pot over moderate heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add wings and any pan juices and reduce heat to low.
• Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners on high heat and cook until browned bits are sizzling, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups cold water and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits with flat wooden spatula or spoon. Pour liquid into pot and add enough cold water to cover ingredients by 1 inch, about 14 cups.
• Raise heat to high and bring to boil, skimming foam from surface. Add parsley, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 3 hours, adding water as needed to keep wings covered.
• Pour stock through fine-mesh sieve into large bowl, discarding solids. If using immediately, let stand until yellow fat rises to surface, 1 to 2 minutes, then skim off and discard fat. If not using immediately, place bowl in larger bowl of iced water. Let stand, changing ice water as it warms, until stock is tepid, at least 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, then scrape off and discard fat. (Stock can be made ahead and refrigerated in airtight container up to 2 days or frozen up to 6 months. Reheat in saucepan over low heat before using for stuffing and turkey.)