How to Make Healing Turkey Bone Broth

November 30, 2010 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

Mmmm wasn't Thanksgiving dinner delicious? I have to say that I stuffed myself thoroughly and enjoyed every minute. Mashed potatoes and gravy are usually my favorite dish but this year my new sister-in-law made the best stuffing I have ever tasted. I had 3 helpings!

Even with how good the Thanksgiving meal is, I still can't eat the same dish day in and day out. But there is always so much food left over.

Being provident means to put all of your resources to use and let nothing go to waste. One of the things I wanted to try this Thanksgivng was to make my own turkey stock and can it for my food storage. Since it is a low acid food it needs to be pressure canned.



Any kind of stock is easy to make but pretty time intensive. Get started early in the morning and you will enjoy the delicious aroma that fills your house all day.

Ingredients
Turkey Carcass- body, wings and legs,
3 Celery stalk ribs with leaves still attached
3 Carrots, unpeeled but with the tops cut off
1 Onion, quartered with the skin still on
3 Cloves of garlic, whole
6-8 Peppercorns
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1 bay leaf

Directions
1. 
Gather your left over turkey carcass, wings and legs. Strip all the good meat off and save it for later. Throw the carcass in a stock pot with all your vegetables. You may want to break or chop your carrots and celery in thirds to help them fit better. Make sure they are washed really well but not peeled.


 Sometimes I just use the ends of my celery instead of the long ribs. That way you can use the ribs for something else and the ends don't go to waste. Be sure to add the leaves too. They add great flavor.

2. Fill the stockpot with enough water to cover everything. Turn stove on to med-high heat.

3.

Gather your seasonings and make a bouquet garni (boo-Kay gahr-NEE). That is just a fancy word for a little bundle of herbs and spices tied in cheese cloth. I didn't have cheese cloth but I did have a ton of coffee filters laying around so I used one of those instead. Make sure that it is tied well before tossing it in the pot. The herbs are kept separate so that your broth will stay clear.


TIPS for clear broth:

• Watch your broth. As it heats, scum/ foam will start floating to the top. It's not bad if you leave it in, but it will make your broth cloudy. If you want, skim it out of your broth as it floats to the surface. Sometimes I care and sometimes I don't.
• If you want clear broth, DO NOT LET YOUR BROTH BOIL. If your broth is allowed to boil then the scum and fat that floats to the top will get reincorporated into the stock before you have a chance to skim it.

4. Let your stock simmer between 4-8 hrs skimming the fat off as it rises to the surface. The longer you let it simmer, the more flavor will come out of the bones and the better it will taste.

When it is done simmering, remove all the bones, vegetables, bouquet garni and strain your broth. You can either use it right away, freeze it or can it.

I kept a jar out to use right away for turkey soup and decided to can the rest.

Pressure Canning Directions

• Fill clean, quart-size mason jars to within a 1/2 inch of the lid with broth.
• Screw on some heated lids and bands.
• Arrange jars in pressure canner so that none of the jars are touching.
• Fill canner to water line
• Put on lid and process according to your canner's directions with venting, pounds of pressure for altitude and time. For me it was 13 lbs of pressure for 75 minutes since I was using quart jars.
• Once processed, set jars aside to cool before dating your lids. Use your stock within 1 year.

Now you have an awesome stock to make turkey soup. If you don't want to make soup, you can use it when you make rice or other grains instead of water. Bone broth has so many healing properties, some like to just drink it plain. I would add more salt though to taste. Click here for my Beef Bone Broth recipe.