🦃 Turkey stock

Ingredients

• 2½ lb turkey necks or wings, the neck and giblets from your bird (not the liver) plus turkey wings or necks to make up the weight
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (soybean)
• 1 yellow onion, quartered, skin on
• 2 carrots, in chunks
• 2 stalk celery, in chunks
• 2 leaf bay leaves
• 4 sprig fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried
• ½ tsp ground black pepper, whole peppercorns if you have them
• 12 cup water, cold

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

How long it keeps

• Refrigerator: 1 to 2 days (the University of Minnesota’s figure for meat broth; NDSU allows 3 to 4), so freeze what you won’t use soon.
• Freezer: 2 to 3 months (University of Minnesota). Freeze it in 1- and 2-cup containers, leaving room for it to expand.

Nutrition

Steps

You’ll need: large heavy pot (8 quarts), fine strainer, shallow containers.

1. Pat the neck, giblets and wings dry. Leave out the liver: it turns stock bitter. Cook it separately or save it for another use.
2. Heat the oil in the pot over medium-high heat and brown the turkey pieces well on all sides, in batches if needed, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the onion, carrots and celery for the last 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the cold water and scrape up the browned bits. Bring it slowly just to a boil, turn it down to the barest simmer, and skim off the foam for the first 15 minutes.
4. Add the bay leaves, thyme and pepper. Simmer uncovered 2½ to 3 hours, with only a bubble or two breaking the surface.
5. Strain it, cool it quickly in shallow containers, and refrigerate within 2 hours. Lift off the fat once it hardens; a spoonful of it makes good gravy roux.
6. Leave it unsalted, and salt the gravy or stuffing you use it in.
7. After dinner, the roasted carcass makes a second batch: break it up, cover it with cold water, and simmer it the same way with fresh vegetables.