Thanksgiving: Turkey Stock

There are a lot of things that need to happen in-order for you to escape from Thanksgiving holding your head high - pride in a job well done. Turkey stock is the first.

"Why first?"

First, because I said so. Second, because you will need the stock for the stuffing and the gravy. Also, turkey stock can be made weeks before (I'm making mine the weekend before), and will turn a one/two day cooking sprint into a week-long cooking marathon. Then you can proclaim to your health-conscious friends, "Yes, I did a marathon this year." (now fuck off!)

I've already published a turkey stock recipe as a part of the turkey gravy recipe, but let's give this special attention:

1.5 gallons of turkey stock. Ready for gravy and stuffing

Turkey Stock
Makes 1.5 gallons (should be enough for 1 Thanksgiving)

INGREDIENTS

• Various turkey parts (I use necks and wings)
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• salt
• 6-10 whole peppercorns

Carrot: don't bother peeling, just wash

Onion: peel and cut-off top and bottom

Celery: wash - you can leave-the tops on

INSTRUCTIONS

1. With your biggest and scariest kitchen knife, BEAT THE EVER-LOVING SHIT OUT OF THOSE TURKEY PARTS! The goal is to open-up the bones so the stock can take what it needs from them. It's all about the bones.
2. Put the turkey parts in a pan, coat with ~1 Tbs vegetable oil, sprinkle with some salt, and roast in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour. This will allow your stock to benefit from the roasty flavors you're about to drop all up in there.

Put into a roasting pan, cover with oil, sprinkle with salt, roast at 400 for 60 minutes

3. Meanwhile, halve 2 onions, 2 celery ribs, and 2 carrots, and drop into a large pot (your largest) with the whole peppercorns.
4. When the turkey parts are roasted, add them to the pot and then add 1.5 gallons or enough water to cover everything by an inch or two (whichever is more) and cover.

Dump the turkey from the roasting pan into the pot. Check-out all the left-over bits (fond) from the roasting pan. DON'T LOSE IT! Put a little water in the pan, use a spatula to scrape-up the bits, and add those to the stock. That's good flavor - it'll be a shame to lose it

5. Bring up to a boil, and then drop the heat to just under a simmer for 3 hours. "Skew" the lid -- which means to slide it open just a bit. This will retain the heat, but allow some steam to escape (prevent boil-overs). If the liquid drops below the ingredients, add enough water to cover by an inch or two.
6. Pour the stock through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and store it. You are ready for Thanksgiving success with homemade stock.

I used a measuring cup to transfer the stock from the pot to a large bowl - through a wire mesh strainer with a three-ply piece of cheesecloth. Make a clean stock!

FAQs

• Turkey parts, are you serious? >> Yeah, you can't make a stock without parts. I like the necks and wings because there's a good amount of bone and connective tissue there, and that's what will make you a good stock. BONUS FOR DOG: when the stock is complete, you can pull-off the meat from the neck and wings and use it to supplement the dog's dinner - he'll love you forever
• Roast the turkey, are you serious? >> Yeah, turkey gravy is dark. You won't have dark gravy without a dark stock. You won't have a dark stock unless you roast them parts. So get on it!
• Onion, carrots, celery, and peppercorns - is that it? I thought there'd be more things >> Nope, that's it. I have seen the addition of a bouquet garni (French for "garnished bouquet"), but didn't think you had it in you... If so, tie some parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and a few bay leaves together with some kitchen string, and drop it in the stock. Be sure to remove it at the end. It's a nice addition, but the stock will still be good without it.
• How do I store this and for how long? >> You can store this in the fridge for up to a week. So, if you make it the weekend before Thanksgiving, park it in the fridge. Otherwise, you can pour it into quart sized bags (2 cups of stock per bag) and lay them flat in the freezer. They will freeze flat like book, and can then be stored like a library of stocks in your freezer - awesome, no?
• How sober and attentive will I need to be to make the stock? >> Not very. I made while watching the Bears game.