The day after Thanksgiving, many home cooks are faced with the same question – what should I do with this leftover turkey carcass? While some may be tempted to simply throw it away, a turkey carcass can be transformed into a delicious homemade broth or soup with a little planning and know-how.
Why Save the Turkey Carcass?
There are several excellent reasons to save your turkey carcass rather than sending it straight to the trash can:
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Flavor The bones cartilage and any clinging meat left on the carcass impart tremendous flavor. This can form the base for turkey broth, soup stock, or gravy.
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Nutrition: Simmering the carcass draws out nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium from the bones. This enhances the nutritional value of broth or soup made from the carcass.
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Frugality Getting extra use from the turkey carcass helps stretch your food dollars Homemade broth or soup from the carcass costs just pennies per serving
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Reduce Waste Finding uses for turkey leftovers like the carcass cuts down on food waste
How Long Does a Turkey Carcass Last?
To safely save a cooked turkey carcass for making broth or soup, it’s important to understand how long it will keep under refrigeration and freezing.
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Refrigerated: An uncooked turkey carcass can be refrigerated for 1-2 days. A cooked turkey carcass will keep refrigerated for 3-4 days.
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Frozen: Both raw and cooked turkey carcasses can be frozen for extended storage. Frozen, a turkey carcass will last for 4-6 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.
Always rely on your senses – if a turkey carcass smells unpleasant or appears slimy, it has spoiled and should be discarded. Do not taste questionable turkey to determine if it has gone bad.
Tips for Storing the Turkey Carcass
Follow these guidelines to safely store your turkey carcass:
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Refrigerate or freeze the carcass as soon as possible after removing the meat. Do not leave it sitting out.
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Wrap bones tightly in foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Place in a zip-top bag if freezing.
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Keep the carcass at the back of the fridge or bottom of the freezer where temperature is most constant.
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Label bags or containers with the date. Use oldest turkey carcasses first.
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If freezing, leave headspace in containers as liquids expand during freezing.
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Consume broth or soup made from the carcass within 4 days. Freeze for longer storage.
How to Make Turkey Broth from a Carcass
Making your own turkey broth from the leftover carcass is simple. Here’s a basic process:
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Place the turkey carcass in a large stockpot and add any vegetable scraps or herbs you have on hand. Cover with water by 2-3 inches.
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Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours or longer. Skim off and discard foam that rises to the top.
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Strain the broth through a mesh strainer. Pick off any edible meat to use in soup. Discard carcass and solids.
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Cool broth quickly, then refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the hardened fat layer and discard.
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Use broth immediately or portion into containers and freeze for later use.
For enhanced flavor, try adding a splash of apple cider vinegar or white wine while simmering. You can also roast the bones at 400°F for 30 minutes before making broth to draw out extra flavor.
How Long Does Homemade Turkey Broth Last?
The shelf life of your homemade turkey broth will vary based on ingredients and storage method:
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Turkey broth kept in the refrigerator will last for 3-4 days.
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If freezing broth, it will keep for 4-6 months in airtight containers.
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For longest shelf life, portion broth into ice cube trays and freeze. Transfer to freezer bags once solid. Use a few cubes at a time.
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If broth smells unpleasant or appears discolored, it has spoiled and should be discarded. Do not taste questionable broth.
Tips for Making Turkey Soup from a Carcass
Once you’ve extracted maximum flavor from the turkey carcass into broth, you can use the broth as the base for a hearty post-Thanksgiving turkey soup. Here are some tips:
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Focus on adding vegetables, greens, and small pasta or grains like rice, barley, or quinoa to your soup. The broth provides plenty of turkey flavor.
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Sauté aromatics like onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil first to enhance flavor.
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Shred any residual meat from the carcass and add to soup. Cook just until heated through.
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Too much turkey meat can make soup taste dry. Add more broth if needed.
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Freeze turkey soup in portion-sized containers to reheat for quick meals later.
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Add a squeeze of lemon juice right before serving. A sprinkle of fresh herbs adds brightness and color.
Food Safety Tips
When working with poultry products like turkey carcasses, food safety is essential. Keep these precautions in mind:
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Wash hands, utensils, sink, and anything else that touches raw turkey with hot soapy water to avoid cross contamination.
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Use separate cutting boards for raw poultry and other ingredients. Never place cooked foods on a board that touched raw meat.
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Refrigerate broth and soup within 2 hours of cooking. Do not leave at room temperature.
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Simmer soup and broth for at least 10 minutes before serving to destroy any bacteria.
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When reheating soup or broth, heat it to 165°F or hotter. Bring it just to a boil.
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Discard any turkey carcass, broth, or soup that smells unpleasant or looks spoiled. Do not taste questionable foods.
Getting the most use from your holiday turkey makes good economic and environmental sense. With proper storage and handling, a turkey carcass can be used to make broth and soup for several days after Thanksgiving. Follow these guidelines for how long you can keep a turkey carcass before making soup, plus tips for safety and maximizing flavor.
Stove Top – Slow Cooker – Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Methods
My favorite thing to do the morning after Thanksgiving is to make homemade turkey stock from the turkey carcass. It is so easy to do and so delicious!
Homemade turkey stock can be used in any application that you would normally use store bought stock. Of course, my favorite use of homemade stock is for making homemade Turkey Noodle Soup.
The turkey stock can be used for a delicious soup or frozen for future use. I love a good homemade turkey soup and after the heavy Thanksgiving meal, it is just what my family needs. Be sure and refrigerate your turkey carcass after Thanksgiving until you are ready to make your stock.
For this recipe instructions have been provided to cook turkey stock on the Stove top, Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.
For more great Low Fat Recipes, Low Calorie Recipes, Low Carbohydrate Recipes, and Diabetic Recipes, check out my Diet Recipe Index. Also check out my Nutritional Chart for fat grams, fiber grams, carbohydrate grams, and calories for all your favorite foods.
- 1 leftover Turkey Carcass*
- 10 to 12 cups cold water**
- 1/2 cup carrot slices
- 1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small whole chile pepper, dried (optional)
Instructions Stove Top Method:
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, place turkey carcass (take the remains of the turkey after it has been carved and break it into pieces so it will fit in your pot; cover with cold water by at least 1-inch). Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and red pepper (optional) to the soup pot. Add any other vegetables that you like, if desired.
- Cover pot and slowly bring to a simmer. As soon as you start to see boiling occur, immediatly reduce heat to low and skim off any scum on surface. Scum is the filmy layer of extraneous or impure matter that forms on or rises to the surface of a liquid or body of water. Cover pot and let slowly simmer approximately 3 hours.
- TIP: The key to a good stock is to bring the water to a boil just once at the beginning and then lower heat and cook at just barely a simmer for the remainder of the cooking time, as long slow cooking is best to extract all the subtle flavors. Do not let the stock reach a rolling boil!
- After cooking, remove from heat and discard all the turkey bones, meat, and vegetables (since your have cooked the mixture for a long time, there is no nutritional value left). Strain the remaining liquid to remove smaller particles in the stock (pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve placed over a large pot).
- Place strained stock into shallow containers and refrigerate immediately. Refrigerate soup stock overnight and skim any congealed fat from the surface in the morning. The juice will gel up after being refrigerated, but will dissolve when stock is reheated later. This is because of the natural gelatin in the turkey bones.
- The stock will last for about a week in the fridge. You can freeze the cooled stock and it should maintain taste and quality for about 4 to 6 months.
- You now have the most wonderful low-fat turkey stock to use in making a delicious turkey soup or to freeze for later use.
- How to keep homemade turkey stock from getting cloudy:
- Skimming the scum that comes to the surface during the first 30 minutes of simmering and not letting it boil seems to help prevent clouding. The rule is – Skim early and skim often.
- Always simmer your stock and do not let it boil. Not boiling also leads to a richer tasting stock. Furious bubbling breaks up particles and causes clouding also. Simmer for approximately 3 hours total. I also think that simmering the stock too long contributes to making it cloudy.
- Refrigerate stock overnight or until all the fat raises to the top. Then remove the fat.
- There is also the old egg white trick (I have never tried it). Add unbeaten egg whites to the stock and let it simmer slowly, so that the cloudy particles stick to the egg and you can strain it out.
Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Method:
- Place turkey carcass and vegetables in your slow cooker, add enough cold water to cover the ingredients. Turn heat on low, cover, and let cook approximately 10 to 12 hours (this time can vary).
- Once the stock is finished cooking, let it cool in the refrigerator. Skim off the fat if needed. Remove the carcass or bones. Strain the broth well.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Method:
- Once the cooked turkey has cooled, pick off the turkey meat from the bones and set aside. Remove the skin and eat or discard. You save some of the turkey meat to make a lovely Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup and save the rest of the turkey for another meal.
- Take a strainer basket or steamer rack and insert into the inner pot. Place the chopped vegetables,herbs and seasonings into the basket or strainer. Next layer the turkey bones and carcass over the top of the vegetables. Try to compact the bones close together.
- Pour cold water over the top of the vegetables and bones until the bones are just barely covered. Adjust the amount of water added to make sure the inner pot is no more than 2/3 full or it may have trouble coming to pressure. Note: the trick to making a good stock is to not add too much water. you only need just enough to cover the bones. If too much water is added, then the stock may not gel up after cooling. All the good nutrients are in the gelatin! If you run into that issue, then you may need to let your stock simmer on the stove uncovered until the contents cook down more.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and close to seal. Next, make sure the pressure valve is closed to the sealing position. Press the Manual button, with a high-pressure setting. Adjust the cooking time for 120 minutes. When the cooking time has finished, allow to Natural Pressure Release until you see the pressure pin drop down. (This may take 20-25 minutes since there is a lot of liquid in the pot.)
- Place silicon oven mitts on your hands to protect from the steam and heat. Lift out the colander or steamer basket and discard the turkey bones and vegetables. Next, pour the stock through a strainer into another large heat-proof bowl. You can repeat this step until the stock is nice and clear.
- Let the stock cool down. As the stock is cooling you can skim off visible fat floating to the top and discard.
- Once the stock has cooled down enough( about 2-3 hours) cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Serves many.
- The turkey stock can be refrigerated up to 3 days in advance of using. If not planning to use the turkey stock within 3 days, place in the freezer until ready to use. Whether the stock has been refrigerated until cold or stored in the freezer, there will be a thin layer of fat that has congealed on the top. Remove that by scraping it off with a spoon before you cook with the stock. Discard the congealed fat but be careful not to scrape off any clear gelatin. I usually refrigerate my turkey stock and skim off the fat before using in my soup making.
Recipe Notes
* Strip the turkey carcass of any large usable pieces of meat; set turkey meat aside and refrigerate until ready to use in your soup. Do not add the giblets.
** Enough cold water to cover all the ingredients in the pot by at least one (1) inch.
Turkey stock can be refrigerated up to 3 days in advance of using. If not planning to use the turkey stock within 3 days, place in the freezer until ready to use. Whether the stock has been refrigerated until cold or stored in the freezer, there will be a thin layer of fat that has congealed on the top. Remove fat layer by scraping it off with a spoon before you cook with the stock. Discard the congealed fat but be careful not to scrape off any clear gelatin. I usually refrigerate my turkey stock and skim off the fat before using in my soup making.
Question: I basically do the same thing as your turkey soup recipe but my stock always comes out cloudy and congealed after it sits. This year I used only the wings, drumsticks, and thighs and an onion. I’ve strained it and cooled it and skimmed off fat on top. L ast year the same thing happened. It tastes ok but doesn’t look too appetizing after it is stored in the fridge. – Dawn (11/29/98)
Answer: I also just finished making my turkey stock. If I try to hurry the process, that is when I have problems of clouding.
Skimming the scum that comes to the surface during the first 30 minutes of simmering and not letting it boil seems to help prevent clouding. The rule is: Skim early and skim often. Once your stock starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium low to get it down to a simmer for the rest of the cooking time. Do not let it reach a rolling boil. Simmering will lead to a richer tasting stock. Furious bubbling breaks up particles and causes clouding also. Simmer for approximately 3 hours total. I also think that simmering the stock too long contributes to making it cloudy.
Refrigerate stock overnight or until all the fat raises to the top. Then remove the fat.
Follow up: Thank you for responding so quickly. Two years in a row I’ve tried making stock and it always becomes cloudy. I thought I followed the recipe exactly but I guess I didn’t. I let it come to a rolling boil. That has to be the reason. My girlfriend made hers last night while I was there and hers came out clear but she let it simmer for about 2 hours without it ever boiling.
My Nanna told me about the egg white trick (didn’t try it either) and one using an ice cube. The ice cube helped skimming the fat quickly but didn’t help the cloudiness. Thanks again and Happy Holidays! – Dawn
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Turkey Carcass soup: developing frugal habits
FAQ
Can I make soup with 4 day old turkey?
How long can you keep turkey carcass in fridge before making stock with it?
Can I make turkey soup after 6 days?
Can you freeze a turkey carcass to make soup later?
How long to keep turkey carcass before making soup?
There are several factors to consider in determining how long to keep the carcass before making soup. The first factor to consider is how the turkey was stored prior to cooking. If the turkey was frozen, then it can be kept in the fridge for up to four days after cooking. However, if the turkey was fresh, it can only be kept for up to two days.
Can one have turkey and carrots?
Eating turkey and carrots is part of healthy habits. The turkey has meat like chicken and is another healthy poultry option. Carrots are rich in carotenoids, it is a source of vitamin A, fiber, potassium and vitamin B3.
Can you freeze turkey carcass soup?
Yes, you can freeze the leftover turkey carcass soup for later use. Once the soup has cooled down, transfer it to airtight containers or freezer bags, leaving some space for expansion. Label the containers with the date and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the soup in the refrigerator before reheating.
Can you make soup from a turkey carcass?
Celery, onion, and carrots are staples, but any vegetables you want can be added to make this turkey soup recipe exactly how you like it, like corn or peas. How long can you keep a turkey carcass to make soup? If properly stored in the refrigerator, a turkey carcass will last for up to 1 week. Perfect for making turkey soup from a carcass!