How To Make Turkey Or Chicken Broth

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Photo shows a large bowl of turkey broth
Turkey Broth

One of the basic building blocks of so many recipes is a good broth and nothing beats homemade broth. Turkey Broth can be substituted for Chicken Broth and you can substitute chicken bones for the turkey bones in this recipe. We use one turkey or two chicken carcasses.

This recipe is naturally gluten free.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making turkey broth:

Ingredients For Turkey Broth

  • 1 Turkey Carcass
  • 1 Onion
  • 2 Celery Ribs
  • 3 Carrots
  • 2 Star Anise
  • 10 Black Peppercorns
  • 2 Gallons Water plus

Using the Whole Turkey

We cook a turkey a couple times a year to get shredded meat for tacos, taco salads, enchiladas, etc and to get the bones for turkey broth. We use a lot of broth! Since there are only 2 of us eating the turkey we get a lot of leftovers to freeze for later. We take all the meat off the bones and put them right into a stock pot.

Photo shows turkey meat and all the bones in a stock pot
Pick the Meat Off the Bones

The Turkey Bones

Be sure to save all the turkey bones when cleaning up after your feast. These are a valuable resource that can become the best broth for use in making sauces, soups and many other fabulous recipes. It is so easy to make your own broth and freeze it for future use. Simply put all the bones in a stock pot with onions, carrots, celery and a few spices of your choice and let it simmer for 24 hours. Strain it off and you have the most delicious broth for all your needs.

Roughly Chop Onion, Carrots and Celery

We roughly chop an onion, some carrots and some celery to add to the pot. This gives the broth a nice, rounded flavor. You don’t even needs to peel the onion, just toss it in peels and all.

Add Star Anise and Black Peppercorns

We like to add a couple Star Anise and some Black peppercorns when we make this broth. You can play with flavors to add to your broth, but be careful that nothing will overpower the flavors of whatever you make with the broth.

Photo shows onion, carrot and celery in the pot with the bones
Put Everything In the Pot

Cover With Water and Simmer 24 Hours

We cover the ingredients with water, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat until the pot is simmering. Let it simmer for 24 hours. You will want to add some water to keep the pot topped up.

Photo shows turkey broth bubbling in the pot.
Let the Broth Simmer For 24 Hours

Strain the Broth

Now we strain off the broth and discard the solids. We let the broth cool just a bit before we strain it so it’s easier to deal with.

Photo shows the broth being poured into a colander placed in a large bowl
Strain the Broth

With our stock pot we get about 2 gallons of turkey broth. We put this in Souper Cubes to freeze and then into freezer bags for long term storage. We are constantly making dishes that call for Turkey or Chicken Broth and it is so handy to have measured cubes in the freezer.

Photo shows broth in silicone trays
Freeze in Souper Cubes

Saving Bones and Vegetables For Broth

One last tip. When you have some bones you can save them in the freezer until you have enough to make broth. When you are cutting vegetables you can save the parts you would normally discard in the freezer to use when making broth.

We have a lot of recipes that call for turkey or chicken broth including many of our molé recipes:

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Turkey Broth

It is easy to make your own broth from the leftover turkey bones and freeze it for future use.

  • Author: 2 Cooks in the Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 24 hours
  • Total Time: 24 hours
  • Yield: 2 gallons 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 Turkey Carcass
  • 1 Onion
  • 2 Celery Ribs
  • 3 Carrots
  • 2 Star Anise
  • 10 Black Peppercorns
  • 2 gallons Water plus

Instructions

  1. Roughly chop the unpeeled onion, carrots and celery.
  2. Put the turkey bones in a stock pot and add the vegetables.
  3. Add the Star Anise and Black Peppercorns.
  4. Fill the pot with water.
  5. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 24 hours.
  6. Add water to top up the pot, let cool, and strain through a colander.
  7. Freeze in 1 cup or 1/2 cup portions for later use.

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