Homemde Turkey Stock

 from Teri Turner of No Crumbs Left.  Visit her blog here for more great recipes! 

Ingredients

3 1/2  lbs turkey wings
1 turkey neck
1 large onions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
4 whole sprigs of parsley
4 whole sprigs of thyme
6 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
12 cups of water, separated into 10 cups and 2 cups

1 tbsp kosher salt (optional) *See Note

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Place the turkey wings and turkey neck in a rimmed roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast the turkeys until golden brown all over, about 45 – 60 minutes. All ovens are different, so the cooking time may vary. You just want to be sure that all sides of the turkey pieces are golden brown. While they’re cooking, check every 25 or 30 minutes and flip, roasting till everything is nice and brown.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil. Then, once the turkey is done, remove from the oven, rip the wings apart, and place all turkey pieces and the chopped vegetables into the stock pot and add salt (if using). Clean the grease out of the pan. Then pour the remaining two cups of water into the pan, scraping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Pour this liquid from the pans into the stock pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for about 4 hours, or until the stock reduces by at least 1/3. Tip – be mindful that you are simmering slowly, as opposed to boiling. If you find it’s reducing too quickly, then turn down the heat and reduce slower.

Begin to empty everything out of the pot. Large pieces with good meat, stick in one bowl for later and everything else that isn’t stock, you’ll put in a strainer inside of a bowl that will be tossed.   You should have 6 cups. If you have more than 6 cups, simmer on medium heat until reduced to 6 cups. Pour stock into airtight containers and chill.

Note: Traditionally stock does not contain any salt (if so, it would technically be a broth), but in this case Teri has found (after many years of perfecting this recipe) that adding a bit of salt really helps to improve the final flavor.  If you were making a stock that you planned to really reduce down into a glaze or thick pan sauce, it would be best to leave the salt out of the stock and season as you go.