Homemade Turkey/Chicken Stock
This stock is so good that it can be enjoyed all on its own, or added to another recipe.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 chicken carcasses
- 3-4 celery stalks, per carcass
- 3-4 large carrots, per carcass
- 1 onion, per carcass, skin included
- 1 garlic head, 1 head of garlic has around 10-15 cloves
- 2 T. black peppercorns
- rosemary, a few sprigs, optional
- 1 c. leeks, optional
- salt, to taste, optional
- 2 T. allspice berries, whole
- 2 T. cloves, whole
- ¼ c. apple cider vinegar
- water, enough to fill whatever pot you are using
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your pot and bring to a boil, if possible.*See note below
- Once the stock has been at its highest possible temperature for about an hour, boiling if you can get it there, reduce heat to simmer for an additional 8-10 hours, or if using a crock pot or roaster, low setting or lower temp. I often leave it in the roaster overnight to continue cooking.
- Use a mesh strainer to separate the liquid from the other ingredients used to make the stock. I recommend straining a second time with a fine-mesh strainer to further filter out any remaining particles that went through the first strain.
- Allow the stock to cool completely before storing.
Notes
You can make this a vegetarian broth by omitting the chicken (or turkey) carcass and adding in more vegetables.
The onion skin: This is kept in the stock to give the resulting product a deep, amber color. It does not affect the taste or texture at all. If you want a lighter colored stock, feel free to leave it out.
Boiling: If you are using a large pot on your stove, you will actually be able to get your stock up to boiling point and see bubbles. You want it to stay boiling for about an hour before you reduce the heat and let it simmer for 6-8 hours. If you have a crock pot or a roaster, you will just turn it to the highest setting and keep it at that setting for an hour. Then you will turn it down to a lower setting for 8-10 hours. I will leave my roaster on its lowest setting to continue cooking overnight.
Storage: No matter what storage method you choose, make sure to write the date on your jar. It can last a week in your fridge, 1 year in your freezer, and around 18 months, according to the jar manufacturer, if pressure canned.
Like everything else I have talked about storing, the stock will last longer if stored in a glass jar.
Freezing: If you choose to freeze it and use glass jars, use wide-mouth mason jars. The “shoulder” of the narrow-mouth jars will break under pressure and you will lose all of that amazing stock you just made. This unfortunately happened to me last year, since there was a canning lid shortage, believe it or not, and I didn’t have any extra wide-mouth canning lids. Learn from my mistake and just stick with the wide-mouth jars.
To make this Shelf-Stable: To make this shelf-stable, it would need to be pressure canned. I use the All American 921. I will create more videos and instructions in the coming months on how to can. In the meantime, if you are new to preserving food, then the freezer is the best place to start for longer term storage.
The Cross Legacy provides estimated nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is collected from the USDA database via Spoonacular, when available. If not available, nutrition information is pulled from other online calculators. Ingredients can vary and The Cross Legacy can make no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Calories: 7kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 0.2gFat: 0.03gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 31mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 1g