This is the base of so many of our Thanksgiving Feast dishes as well as the soup which inevitably follows.  We actually make this twice each holiday- once the day before Thanksgiving with the neck and giblets (not the liver) and any leftover chicken bones we store every time we roast a chicken (which is weekly in our house) and again after Thanksgiving Day with the bones from the carved bird.

Turkey Bone Broth

Makes about 6 cups

Place in a stock pot:

1- Turkey neck and giblets (if you have them, our bird did not and it was fine- don’t use the liver though)

Leftover chicken bones (we had a gallon ziplock full in our freezer- if you don’t have them don’t worry, the neck is enough for a nice broth)

1 large yellow onion, cut in pieces

2 large celery stalks, cut into large pieces

2 large carrots, cut into large pieces

4-6 garlic cloves, rough chop

1 bay leaf

6 thyme sprigs

1-2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper corns

4-6 sprigs of parsley

About 10-12 cups water (enough to cover by about 1 inch)

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 hours.  Strain and refrigerate in a large bowl.  Once it is cooled and congealed, skim off the fat and store.  Use the broth in the bottom of the roasting pan when roasting your turkey and in the gravy.

After Thanksgiving, use the bones from the carved turkey in place of the neck and chicken bones and same aromatics and method to create a broth for soup.  We freeze the broth in quart containers to use for soup in the winter months.