Make Instant Pot Turkey Stock from a leftover turkey carcass with this easy Instant Pot recipe for homemade turkey bone broth. A delicious way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers or turkey from Christmas dinner!
You’ll want to save this Instant Pot turkey stock recipe to make turkey carcass soup with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas turkey. It’s a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers or leftovers from any holiday dinner!
I used to make turkey soup from the turkey carcass in a large stock pot on the stove, but making turkey bone broth from a leftover turkey carcass in the electric pressure cooker is a game changer! I’ve been making this Instant Pot recipe for years now, and it’s much faster than using the stove or slow cooker.
To clarify, this turkey bone broth recipe is actually for turkey stock, or turkey bone broth. I found a great explanation on the difference between bone broth, stock and soup for ya! Once you make the stock, you can use that as a base for turkey soup. I have an Instant Pot turkey soup recipe you’ll love!
So, definitely save that leftover turkey meat and turkey carcass, including the turkey neck, after the turkey dinner! Just pick as much meat off of it as you can and save the turkey meat for leftovers or midnight snacks! I’m one of those people who prefers noshing on cold turkey over eating it at dinner!
You only need a few simple ingredients for this homemade bone broth recipe. You can find them in most grocery stores or online.
You will also need an electric pressure cooker — I use my 8 quart Instant Pot so I can fit a larger carcass from up to an 18-pound turkey.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the pressure is on for cooks to plan the perfect holiday meal with all the usual trimmings and traditional holiday tastes. One dish that too often falls by the wayside due to time constraints or lack of family tradition is homemade turkey stock. With an instant pot you can remedy that this year and have simple flavorful turkey stock ready to enhance every component of your Thanksgiving feast. I’ve found turkey stock to be a total game-changer for elevating stuffing, gravy, soup, and more.
In this article, I’ll explain exactly how you can make delicious instant pot turkey stock with little time or effort using leftovers from your main turkey With just a quick prep of aromatic vegetables, turkey bones, and seasonings, you’ll have turkey stock with deep layered flavors that have simmered for hours in mere minutes using the pressure settings on your electric multi-cooker
As an experienced cooking blogger and instant pot aficionado, I want to share how I’ve used this handy kitchen gadget to make turkey stock prep easier than ever. There’s no need to slave over bubbling stockpots for hours on your stovetop and constantly skim the surface. Let your instant pot do the work so you can enjoy holiday time with loved ones!
Benefits of Homemade Turkey Stock
Before we get into the step-by-step process for how to make turkey stock in an instant pot, let’s first cover why it’s so worth the minimal effort. Here are some key benefits to homemade turkey stock:
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Enhanced flavor – The stock will impart much richer, more complex turkey flavors compared to commercial broths and bouillon cubes. This takes gravy, stuffing, soups, and any other dishes made with the stock to the next level.
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Nutrition – Homemade stock made from the turkey carcass packs more nutrients like collagen, minerals from the bones, and antioxidants from fresh aromatics. This adds healthy value to any dish it’s used in.
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Cost savings – Rather than letting leftover turkey bones go to waste, you can transform them into money-saving homemade stock. Commercial stocks and broth can add up cost-wise.
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Reduced sodium – Making your own allows control over how much salt goes in. This results in a healthier stock than most canned and boxed versions.
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Custom flavors – Tailor the stock’s taste precisely to your preferences with the vegetable, herb, and spice additions you choose.
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Convenience – With an instant pot, preparing turkey stock is hands-off easy. Just toss in ingredients and turn it on!
With all those excellent benefits covered, let’s now dive into the easy process for how to make this tasty stock.
Ingredients Needed for Instant Pot Turkey Stock
The beauty of homemade turkey stock is that it requires very few ingredients – most of which you likely already have on hand!
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need:
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Turkey carcass and bones – The leftover bones, carcass, and scraps from your roasted turkey provide the base flavor and collagen. Using the whole carcass is ideal, but you can substitute with just drumsticks, thighs, and wings.
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Aromatic vegetables – Mirepoix veggies of onion, celery, and carrots plus garlic add savory depth.
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Herbs and spices – Basic herbs like parsley, thyme, and bay leaf complement the turkey flavor. Whole peppercorns round it out.
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Water – This helps extract flavors and collagen from the solids into the resulting broth.
That covers the simple ingredients that pack big flavor fast in your instant pot turkey stock. Now let’s get to the easy hands-off process.
Step-by-Step Instant Pot Turkey Stock Recipe
With your turkey ingredients prepped and instant pot ready, making turkey stock takes just 5 easy steps:
1. Prep the Turkey Bones and Vegetables
First up, prep your main components.
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If using a whole turkey carcass, cut or break it into several large pieces to fit in the instant pot. This exposes more surface area to the water for extracting flavors.
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Roughly chop the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic so they cook evenly.
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For herbs, parsley and thyme sprigs can go in whole. Crush the bay leaf slightly to release its flavors.
2. Add Everything to the Instant Pot
Next, add all the prepped ingredients to the metal insert pot of your instant pot:
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Turkey bones and carcass pieces
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Chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic
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Herb sprigs, crushed bay leaf
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Whole peppercorns
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Enough water to cover the solids, around 6-10 cups
Give everything a brief stir before securing the lid on your instant pot.
3. Pressure Cook on High for 30-60 Minutes
Here comes the hands-off easy part! Set your instant pot to cook at high pressure for 30-60 minutes, or follow the poultry setting if your model has that option.
The longer cooking time extracts more flavors from the bones, but even just 30 minutes makes a tasty broth.
4. Allow a Natural Release
Once the cook time completes, allow the pressure to naturally release in the sealed instant pot for at least 15 minutes.
This safely decompresses the pressurized chamber. An extended natural release of 30+ minutes allows the stock to develop even richer flavors.
5. Strain the Stock and Remove Fat
Lastly, unlock and remove the lid with caution once fully decompressed.
Strain the liquid through a mesh sieve or colander into a large bowl or pot, discarding the solids.
Refrigerate the stock overnight, then skim off the layer of fat that rises to the surface.
And that’s it – your rich instant pot turkey stock is ready for elevating stuffing, gravy, soup, and any other Thanksgiving side!
Extra Tips and Substitutions
Beyond that easy core process, there are some additional tips and ingredient tweaks to take your instant pot turkey stock to the next level:
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Roast the bones first at 400°F for added color and caramelized flavors.
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Simmer aromatics like the onions and carrots before pressure cooking for extra depth.
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Deglaze the instant pot with a bit of wine or broth to lift up browned bits.
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Use chicken parts like wings, legs, and necks if you don’t have turkey.
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Add other vegetables like celery root, parsnips, fennel, or mushrooms.
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Include fresh herbs like thyme sprigs, rosemary, parsley stems.
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Simmer before straining for a darker, richer result.
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Reduce the strained stock on the stove to concentrate flavors as needed.
With those tips in mind, you can customize the stock to create your own unique turkey soup base!
Delicious Ways to Use Instant Pot Turkey Stock
Now that you know how to easily make turkey stock in your instant pot, let’s look at all the delicious ways you can put this flavorful broth to use:
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Gravy – For the best from-scratch gravy, use turkey stock instead of plain water or broth.
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Stuffing – Infuse stuffing withnext-level flavors by replacing some liquid with turkey stock.
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Turkey soup – Turkey stock provides the perfect base for soups like turkey noodle.
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Risotto – Use as cooking liquid to make turkey risotto packed with flavor.
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Sauces – Deglaze pan sauces, reductions, and gravies with turkey stock.
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Mashed potatoes – For a Thanksgiving twist, make your mashed potatoes with turkey stock instead of regular milk and broth.
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Cooked grains – Cook rice, quinoa, and other grains in turkey stock for extra savory flavor.
With your homemade turkey stock on hand, you’ll find endless ways to incorporate its rich, aromatic flavor into holiday side dishes and beyond!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re new to making turkey stock in an instant pot, chances are you still have some questions. Here I’ll answer some of the most common FAQs:
How long does instant pot turkey stock last?
Properly stored, turkey stock lasts 3-4 days in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer. Freeze in batches to thaw as needed.
Is a pressure cooker necessary or can it be made on the stovetop?
You can simmer turkey stock on the stovetop, but it takes much longer, requires monitoring, and doesn’t extract as much collagen from the bones. A pressure cooker yields more flavor in less time.
Can you use a whole raw turkey instead of just the bones?
It’s best to use just the leftover cooked bones and carcass of a roasted turkey. The meat left on the bones adds plenty of turkey flavor.
What gives the stock more body and gelatin?
How to Use Turkey Stock
Use the stock to make turkey soup in the pressure cooker or stove top turkey soup. You can use the stock in any recipe that calls for turkey broth or chicken broth, including turkey noodle casserole or leftover turkey stuffing casserole.
Absolutely! If you don’t have time to make stock right away, just put the bones into a freezer bag and toss it into the freezer until you’re ready to use them.
Only if you cook the carcass for hours. 1 hour of pressure cooking is enough time to make homemade turkey stock that is collagen rich and very flavorful.
How to Make Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth from Leftover Turkey Carcass
The first step in making this Instant Pot bone broth recipe is to remove most of the meat from the carcass or as much meat as possible. Then, place the trivet into the electric pressure cooker. Place the turkey bones on the trivet.
Next, add in the cold water, salt, pepper, and a couple of celery stalks — leaves and all — for flavor. Add water up to the max fill line. There’s no need to fully cover the bones with water.
For extra flavorful stock, you can add some fresh parsley or bay leaves, but remember, you can always add more seasoning and fresh herbs and fresh vegetables when you make turkey noodle soup.
Cook the turkey carcass in the Instant Pot for 60 minutes on high pressure. This is long enough to get all those amazing nutrients from the bones.
When the pot beeps, allow for a 10 minute natural pressure release — at the minimum. Then do a quick release to release pressure fully.
You can let it go and do a full natural release, which takes around 30 minutes or longer.
When the pressure is fully released, remove the lid. Then, use a hot mitt to lift the trivet, including the carcass, out of the pressure cooker and into the sink or large bowl. It’s very hot, so don’t dump it into the trash bag yet.
Place a large mesh strainer over a large mixing bowl, and carefully pour the stock into the bowl. The strainer will catch any leftover turkey bones and anything else you don’t want going into your delicious stock.
Allow the stock to cool down for a little bit at room temperature. Then, you can refrigerate the stock or freeze it. The easiest way to remove fat from turkey stock is after it solidifies in the refrigerator.
Store homemade turkey stock in an airtight container, mason jars or several small containers in the fridge where it’ll last for up to five days.
It is total turkey jelly after spending time in the fridge, which is what you want for bone broth. Now, you can skim the layer of fat off! My kids are a little grossed out by the turkey jelly, but this stuff is liquid gold.
And the flavor is perfect!
To freeze the Instant Pot bone broth, place in a ziplock bag, ice cube trays or freezer-safe containers. I like to use freezer bags since you can stack them to save freezer space.
Homemade stock will last up to three months in the freezer, for best taste.