If roasting turkey is labor then making Turkey Bone Broth is the glorious afterbirth. Shall we get into it?
After spending time preparing a beautiful roasted turkey, it seems a shame to waste the bones and scraps leftover. Transforming them into rich, homemade turkey bone broth captures all that delicious flavor and allows you to get the most out of your holiday bird
Turkey bone broth is incredibly versatile. From soups and stews to gravies and risottos, it can elevate a variety of dishes. Here are 18 delicious recipes to make using your turkey broth:
Soups and Stews
Warm, fragrant soups and stews are a perfect way to use turkey bone broth. It adds a savory depth of flavor that takes classics to the next level.
-
Turkey Noodle Soup – Egg noodles or rice noodles swimming in broth with carrots, celery, onion, and shredded turkey meat. Pure comfort food.
-
Turkey and Wild Rice Soup – The nuttiness of wild rice combined with the savoriness of the broth. Cook rice right in the broth for maximum flavor infusion.
-
Turkey Tortilla Soup – Onion, garlic and chili powder provide a Mexican-inspired base. Simmer with tomatoes corn, beans, and cilantro. Top with crispy tortilla strips, avocado, and lime.
-
Turkey Chili – Cook ground turkey and veggies like onion, peppers, and corn in the broth. Add beans and tomatoes and simmer until thickened. Top with cheese, sour cream, or avocado.
-
Turkey and Dumplings – Make fluffy dumplings to float in the savory broth along with cooked carrots, celery, onion, and turkey. The ultimate comfort food.
-
Turkey Vegetable Stew – Simmer broth with potatoes, carrots peas, corn and diced turkey. Ladle piping hot stew into bread bowls.
Gravies and Sauces
The richness of turkey bone broth lends itself perfectly to silky gravies and flavorful pan sauces:
-
Classic Turkey Gravy – Melt butter in the roasting pan, whisk in flour, then slowly whisk in turkey broth until thickened. Drizzle over turkey, dressing, or leftovers.
-
Pan Sauce for Chicken – Deglaze the skillet chicken was cooked in with broth to make an easy sauce. Finish with lemon and capers.
-
Mushroom Gravy – Saute mushrooms and make a roux with broth to create an earthy, robust gravy.
-
Turkey Pot Pie – Thicken broth into a creamy sauce with carrots, peas, onion and turkey to fill a pie crust.
Risottos
Slow-simmered turkey bone broth is perfect for making rich, creamy risottos as the rice absorbs the flavorful liquid.
-
Butternut Squash Risotto – Puree squash with broth for a creamy orange base. Finish with Parmesan, sage, and walnuts.
-
Turkey and Mushroom Risotto – Saute mushrooms before adding rice and turkey stock. Fold in turkey, parsley, lemon zest, and Parmesan.
-
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto – Cook shrimp and asparagus in garlic and chili flakes then make risotto with turkey broth. Garnish with lemon and extra asparagus.
Savory Braises
Braised dishes become fall-apart tender and full of flavor when cooked low and slow in turkey bone broth:
-
Brisket – Braise beef brisket in broth with onions, garlic, herbs and vinegar until ultra tender. Make gravy from the braising liquid.
-
Chicken Cacciatore – Braise chicken thighs in broth with mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and wine. Serve over polenta or pasta.
-
Vegetarian Lentil Stew – Simmer lentils and vegetables in broth with Moroccan spices. Finish with lemon and cilantro.
-
Turkey White Bean Chili – Saute onion, garlic, and spices then add broth, beans, corn, turkey, and lime juice. Garnish with cilantro.
Sipping Broth
Enjoy turkey bone broth unembellished as a soothing hot drink. It’s packed with collagen, protein, and minerals that support gut health.
-
Sip as a tea – Reheat and drink broth solo or flavored with herbs, lemon, or hot sauce.
-
Make Congee – Simmer rice in broth until creamy for this comforting Chinese porridge.
The possibilities are endless for using turkey bone broth in nourishing, flavorful recipes. With a little planning after your holiday feast, you can create homemade broth and enjoy these delicious ideas. Get the most out of your turkey this season!
Afterthoughts on Leftover Turkey and Making Stock
As much as I love all the planning weeks in advance, prepping the night before, cooking on the day, strategically positioning ourselves around our parents enormous, ancient dining room table that they’ve had so long that it’s petrified wood now, and finally enjoying the fruits and vegetables of our labor, I find myself in a strange mental space as we eat our Thanksgiving dinner. I’m nodding and smiling and laughing through the dinner conversation, truly thankful for being there with my family, but deep down inside, all I can do is think about the clean-up.
I know. The clean-up.
Most people dread the cleanup of a huge holiday dinner that required 4 days in the kitchen, 56 pots, pans, and casseroles to cook, another 78 platters, plates, bowls, forks, and glasses to serve, and 9 little sippy cups thrown in for the three nieces an nephews who cant seem to keep their cups straight so they have to be washed every time to prevent cross-cousin contamination.
I, however, totally look forward to the aftermath.
Pro Tips and Techniques for Turkey Bone Broth
- Prep in advance. You dont have to make a trip to the market for a whole new set of ingredients to make bone broth. As you prep for dinner, save an onion, a few carrots, and a couple of stalks of celery for your future turkey bone broth. If you plan to season the stock with herbs, save a few sprigs of thyme, too.
- Simmer, not boil. Except for the initial boil to get the pot up to temperature, maintain the temperature at a very gentle simmer. You simply cannot turn up the heat and boil it to make it faster. The whole point of a bone broth is using time to extract all the good stuff, i.e. collagen, nutrients, and of course, umami. A rough and rowdy boil will stir up to much junk and make the broth cloudy and emulsified with oil.
- Add vegetables later. Vegetables dont need to cook as long as bones do for flavor. In fact, simmering vegetables for too long changes their flavor, and not in a good way. Add the vegetables for the last hour of simmering.
- Add herbs very last. If you love the flavor of fresh herbs, add them last. Herbs need even less time than all those sturdy vegetables to cook. Toss them into the pot the last 20-30 minutes of the cook time, if at all.
- Skip the herbs. I leave herbs, spices, and seasonings out completely, so that the bone broth is a neutral flavor base to which I can add herbs and spices at the time I plan to consume it. Broths and stocks cross cuisines and the flavor of rosemary in the stock now, which is great for an all-American pot pie, might taste weird in an Indian curry later.
- Use a coffee filter. For crystal clear bone broth, pour the cooled bone broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
- DO NOT PUT HOT STOCK IN THE REFRIGERATOR to cool down. The stock will make it too warm in the refrigerator, compromising the safety of the foods in there.
JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content.
How to Make Roast Turkey Bone Broth on the Stove Top – Turkey Bone Broth Recipe
FAQ
What to use turkey bone broth for?
… chicken or beef broth in any of my soup or stew recipes, including Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, or Hearty Beef and Barley SoupOct 25, 2023
Is drinking turkey bone broth good for you?
So, if you drink bone broth, you’re increasing bone health, since it contains many bone-building nutrients. (Turkey, for example, is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, and other trace minerals.) According to Ayurveda, the nails and hair are end products of the production of bone.
What can you do with bone broth?
Using as a base for soups & stews Bone broth is great for quick chicken noodle soup! I keep bone broth on hand in the freezer or fridge. I also try and keep pre-cooked chunked or shredded chicken on hand as well leftover from a roast chicken. Then it’s easy to throw together a quick soup!
Is turkey bone broth as good as chicken bone broth?
Can I replace chicken broth with turkey broth? Yes, absolutely. You can substitute turkey broth in any recipe that uses chicken broth.