For many home cooks, dealing with the entire turkey after Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can be daunting. Once the breast meat, legs and wings are gone, you’re often left with a pile of bony backs. But don’t toss those turkey backs just yet! They contain a treasure trove of flavor waiting to be unlocked.
In this article, we’ll explore 7 delicious ways to transform your turkey backs into culinary gold. From stocks and soups to main dishes and even pet food, these underrated cuts offer versatility and richness perfect for any leftovers plan
Before diving into usage ideas, let’s quickly cover what turkey backs actually are. Turkey backs are the bone-in back portion of the bird, typically including the spine, rib bones, small amounts of meat, and skin. They don’t offer much in the way of tender muscle meat, but make up for it with concentrated turkey flavor imprisoned in the bones, meat, fat and skin.
Due to their high collagen content courtesy of connective tissues turkey backs require slow moist cooking methods to break down and become tender. But the effort pays off in flavor dividends.
7 Clever Uses for Turkey Backs
Ready to unlock the potential of those turkey backs? Here are 7 great options
1. Make a Rich Turkey Stock
One of the most popular uses for turkey backs is to make an ultra-flavored turkey stock. Simmer the backs for 4-6 hours to extract delicious collagen and turkey essence from the bones. Use as the base for soups, stews, gravies, risottos, and more – anytime a savory stock would add flavor.
2. Enhance the Flavor of Soups
Too much work to make an entire stock? Simply toss turkey backs right into your favorite soup recipes. Let them simmer alongside the other ingredients to infuse the broth with more “turkey goodness” and body.
3. Boost Gravy with Extra Drippings
Don’t discard the drippings from roasted turkey backs! Use them to enhance the flavor, texture and color of your gravy or sauce with turkey-y richness.
4. Make Your Own Ground Turkey
Grind up the meat from turkey backs to make your own fresh ground turkey at home. Use in recipes like burgers, meatballs, tacos, etc. Lean yet flavorful!
5. Create Hearty Turkey Soup
Transform turkey backs into a meal by making turkey soup! Simmer the backs until tender, remove meat, then combine with veggies, noodles or rice. Frugal and comforting.
6. Craft Nutritious Bone Broth
For an immune-boosting elixir, simmer turkey backs for 12-24 hours to extract their nutrients and make a collagen-rich, mineral-dense bone broth. Sip straight up or use in recipes.
7. Produce DIY Pet Food
Grind or finely chop turkey backs to produce homemade food for your furry friends. Ensure proper pet nutrition guidelines are followed.
With some creativity, you can get multiple meals out of underutilized turkey backs. Don’t let them go to waste!
Turkey Back Tips and FAQs
To use turkey backs successfully, keep these tips and answers to frequently asked questions in mind:
- Store turkey backs in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freezer for several months.
- Season with aromatics like onions, garlic, peppercorns, herbs and spices.
- Simmer for at least 1 hour for flavor extraction, 4+ for tender meat.
- Roast at 400°F to 450°F for 30 min for extra crispy, flavorful skin.
- Eat the skin! It’s full of collagen and great flavor. Just be sure to cook thoroughly.
- Make broth first, then pick remaining meat off to use in other dishes.
- The collagen is great for gut and joint health – love your leftovers!
- For pet food, consult your vet and always cook thoroughly to kill bacteria.
With the right handling, storage, seasoning and cooking methods, you can get the most out of those turkey backs. Transform them from wasted scraps into culinary gold.
Satisfying and Sustainable Turkey Back Recipes
Here are 3 delicious recipe ideas to inspire you to use every bit of your turkey:
Hearty Turkey Noodle Soup
Simmer turkey backs for 4 hours in water with onions, carrots, celery and spices. Remove backs, pick off meat and return meat to pot. Add egg noodles, chopped kale and shreds of leftover turkey. Simmer until noodles are tender for a complete meal in one pot.
Smoky Turkey Stock
Roast turkey backs coated in a spice rub at 450°F for 30 minutes until browned. Transfer to a pot and cover with water. Add roasted garlic cloves, chopped onion, bay leaves and smoked paprika. Simmer for 6 hours and strain.
Fido’s Turkey & Rice
Pressure cook chopped turkey backs with brown rice, carrots, peas and broth for your dog. Consult your vet first and ensure meat is fully cooked. Let cool before serving.
With a bit of creativity, turkey backs can become a delicious and nutritious kitchen staple. Transform this often discarded part of the turkey into soups, stocks, main dishes and more this holiday season. You’ll get the most out of your turkey and reduce waste at the same time.
Turkey Talk: The Benefits of Roasting Turkey in Parts
Separating the dark meat from the white is the only way to nail the 20-degree temperature differential between properly cooked thighs and breasts. As a delicious added plus, separated legs can be slow-cooked to break down their connective tissue and provide a wonderfully silky mouthfeel.
As for the reasons to tie the breast into a cylindrical roast, look no further than Kenjis post on turkey-stuffed turkey from last year:
The butchery itself is actually pretty simple. Just remember to use a very sharp knife and to use your hands as much as possible.
After separating the appendages and deboning the breasts, I assemble the roast by stacking the breast halves on top of each other smooth-side-out, making sure the thin end of each half is aligned with the thick end of the other half. This guarantees relatively even thickness throughout its length. I wrap the cylinder back up in the skin and truss it with a series of half-hitch knots or. If thats not your bag, you can use several simple granny knots all along the length of the roast.
Roast Turkey in Parts Recipe
- 1 whole turkey, 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8kg)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 large ribs celery, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 whole black peppercorns
- 1 quart (900ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock, divided
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 teaspoon marmite
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce
- Using a sharp knife, remove legs from turkey and set aside. Using a large cleaver or heavy chefs knife, cut backbone and carcass away from the turkey breast. Separate turkey wings from breast. Chop backbone and carcass into rough pieces with the cleaver. Season liberally with salt and pepper. For best results, transfer turkey parts to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and let rest, uncovered, overnight in refrigerator (see notes).
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Spread onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns evenly across a rimmed baking sheet. Pour 1 cup (240ml) stock into baking sheet; reserve remaining stock. Place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet. (It may rest directly on top of vegetables—this is okay.) Set aside. Place turkey on top of rack on top of vegetables, trying to leave a little space between the turkey pieces.
- Roast turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a breast piece registers 150°F (66°C), 2 to 3 hours total. Remove breast and set aside. Continue roasting legs until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (77°C) when inserted into leg, about 30 minutes longer. (Depending on the pieces arrangement, the legs might finish at the same time as the breasts.) The turkey pieces will not be browned. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Strain vegetables from tray. Reserve liquid and discard vegetables.
- While Turkey Is Roasting, Make the Gravy: Roughly chop carcass and neck into 1-inch chunks. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add turkey carcass and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned on all surfaces, about 10 minutes. Add remaining stock. Add water until turkey pieces are barely covered. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and allow to simmer while turkey roasts.
- While turkey is resting, pour stock through the same strainer and add to reserved stock from strained vegetables. Discard solids. If desired, cut giblets into 1/4-inch pieces. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until melted. Add giblets and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is light blond in color. Slowly whisk in reserved stock, Marmite, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until desired consistency is reached, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- 30 Minutes Before Serving Turkey: Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Place turkey in oven and cook until crisp and browned, turning breast once during cooking. Serve immediately with gravy.