MAKE-AHEAD TURKEY DAY STOCK
Get as much brown into the bones and bits from your turkey carcass; it enriches the stock that you make with it.
RECIPE: Concentrated Make-ahead Turkey or Chicken Stock
Makes 4-5 quarts. Best if prepared several days ahead of use in other recipes.
Ingredients
5 pounds chicken or turkey parts, raw or previously cooked (see note)
2 medium onions, unpeeled but sliced along their “equators”
4 stalks celery (leaves OK), cut in halves
4 medium carrots, peeled, cut in halves
6-8 cloves garlic, to taste, peeled, lightly crushed
8-10 parsley stems, leaves OK but not necessary
1 bouquet garni (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 heaping teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
Directions
Rinse well the pieces of turkey or chicken and remove any excessive pieces of fat. Set aside. Heat a very large stock pot over medium-high heat and place the 4 onion halves, sliced sides down, on the bottom and let them char to a light brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove, set aside, and do the same with the carrot and celery pieces, another 10-15 minutes. Set these aside.
Add 8-9 quarts of water to the pot and the reserved pieces of fowl. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes, skimming off any white or grey scum that rises.
Add the reserved and browned vegetables, the garlic and all the seasonings and return to a simmer and cook, the pot’s lid ajar, for 2-4 hours or until the level of the liquid in the pot is about half as much as when started.
Cool enough to strain the stock of its large solids, then let cool in a refrigerated (or cold outdoor and secure) space overnight. Remove and discard the congealed fat that has risen to the surface. Strain further, if desired, of any other fine solids and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen, in conveniently sized blocks or portions, for up to 3 months.
Note: If using chicken, go heavy on wing sections, thighs or drumsticks. If using turkey, same pieces. In either case, and if using leftover, previously cooked fowl (say, rotisserie chickens), use only bone-in parts and with the skin on. Additionally, all pieces may be roasted in the oven, in high heat, so that they render many browned bits and fond. Along with the stock, these latter may be used as the basis for a make-ahead gravy for Thanksgiving Day dinner that you will freeze and reheat day-of.