Roasting Turkey Backs: Extra Flavor for Your Gravy (and a Splatchcocked Turkey!)

If roasting turkey is labor then making Turkey Bone Broth is the glorious afterbirth. Shall we get into it?.

Turkey Bone Broth Recipe

• turkey carcass including skin
• any juices collected from the serving platter
• 2-3 quarts filtered water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 carrots washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2-3 celery stalks washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• One large onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, or one leek
• 1 head garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• optional: 5-6 shiitake mushrooms

• Put the skin and fat from the turkey carcass into a large stock pot. Reserve the accumulated juices for later use. Divide the carcass into smaller pieces if it doesn’t fit. Once the corpse is submerged and covered by one inch of water, cover with more water.
• Bring pot to a boil over medium heat. Turn down heat to low and simmer for 7 hours. Add the chopped celery, onion, carrots, and garlic after 7 hours. Simmer for an additional 1 hour.
• For the Stovetop and Slow Cooker methods, skip to Cool Stock, Chill, and Remove Fat below.

• Put the skin and fat from the turkey carcass in the slow cooker; reserve the juices to add later. Divide the carcass into smaller pieces if it doesn’t fit. Once the corpse is submerged and covered by one inch of water, cover with more water.
• Select 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low when turning on the slow cooker. The chopped carrots, celery, onion, and garlic should be added when the slow cooker has two hours remaining.

• Remove large portions of the vegetables and bones from the pot using a pair of tongs. You can discard the bones, but I always allow it to cool on a plate before removing all of the meat and cartilage that is edible. I am not kidding. I might never eat it or do anything with those minuscule flesh fibers, but dammit if I don’t get my $3 99/pounds worth from that turkey. You can throw the veggies because they are almost ready to be used as baby food, but why not let them cool off, season with salt, and enjoy my small reward for being so frugal? But the vegetables have very little, if any, nutritional value left in them at this point.
• Gently transfer the stock using a strainer into a larger pot or basin. To quickly cool the hot stock, place it in another bowl filled with ice water. After the ice melts, remove a portion of the water and replenish with more ice. Repeat a few times until the stock becomes sufficiently cool to handle.
• Transfer the chilled stock to storage receptacles and leave them chilled for the entire night to enable the fat to separate and solidify on top. After fat has solidified, remove, discard.
• Before you refrigerate, take out the liquid turkey fat from the stock using any kind of liquid fat separator that you may have.
• I own a fat separator. However, I enjoy nothing more than to patiently wait for the fat in turkey (or any other animal) stock to rise to the top, cool in the refrigerator for the entire night, and solidify into a thick layer that covers the top of the container. Then, I enjoy using a large spoon to lift the disc of solid fat off the stock’s surface in a single, smooth motion.
• Stock should be kept chilled or frozen for up to three months. It might safely last longer, but it wont actually. Simmering turkey stock with extra ginger and garlic, some herbs, and salt is really delicious on a cold winter’s night.

What is Turkey Bone Broth

The basic recipe for turkey bone broth is to simmer roasted turkey bones in water for eight to ten hours, or even longer! Toward the end, flavor-enhancing aromatic vegetables like garlic and onions are added to boost the broth’s nutritional value.

The bone broth works well as a foundation for stews and soups, as well as in any recipe that calls for “stock.” As many people do, you can drink a steaming mug of bone broth straight up to support a variety of health aspects.

You’ll Never Go Back To Your Old Turkey Method After This