Last night I simmered the turkey carcass for a couple of hours with a couple of bay leaves, some thyme sprigs, some onion, and some celery. I didn’t add any salt, and I was out of parsley. I saved about half a gallon of it, but had to toss the rest because there’s no room to keep it. I tasted it, and it’s a little ‘watery’. Some salt may help.
So… Now what?
Reduce it! I’m actually surprised that you didn’t reduce it instead of throwing some out. Simmer it down until it’s like a think paste and freeze it in ice cube trays (or any other container) for later use.
I threw our turkey carcass into the Crock-Pot overnight with a couple of carrots, celery seed, onion, peppercorns and dill stems (the celery and parsley were past their prime and got tossed). It’s cooling right now and I haven’t decided what to do with it. Probably a round of Mexican turkey soup and maybe a round of mole with some mole paste made by the little store a couple of blocks from our house. They make probably 15 different types of mole paste that you can buy by weight. Maybe we’ll try a kind that we haven’t tried before.
Just reduce.
And if you didn’t, next time you should break the carcass up, toss it with some oil, spread it out on a baking sheet, and roast it at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes before the actual stock-making. It does make a difference.
As everyone said, just reduce. If it’s too watery, then, well, you want to get rid of some of that water and concentrate the flavors. Just let it simmer for several more hours, and taste at intervals. Be careful not to salt too much now, because as it reduces, the salinity increases . You definitely will need salt to bring out all the flavor, but lay off of it until you the stock is reduced and meaty enough for your liking, then adjust.
And you can reduce the hell out of it, if you’re so inclined. Back when I went through stocks more slowly, and didn’t have as much refrigerator room, I would make a big pot and basically save some for the day’s meal, and then reduce the rest to basically a syrup Maybe end up with a cup of it in the end (a glace de viande.) Then, you basically have your own super concentrated stock, even better than Better than Bouillon! (ETA: :smack: I didn’t read the entirety of Eva Luna’s first paragraph, where she mentions exactly this in the end.)
You need to add some salt. While you’re reducing it, add some carrots. Carrots, onion and celery are the basics that go into turkey stock. But it won’t be any good without some salt.
Absolutely. I find most people a bit too shy on the salt when they cook (and I’m not somebody who is a salt junkie.) But it’s good to remember to be careful with the salt when you have significant reduction/concentration of the stock in mind. Start with a little bit of salt, get it down to the body/concentration you desire, then salt it to taste.
Disagree; I never salt stock as I make it. Rather, I salt it as I use it; who knows how much I’m going to reduce it later on? Salting for, say, soup is a whole different beast than salting for sauces.
Yes, if you’re planning to reduce it later on, salt it less. My main point is that it needs salt, and to salt it at the end, because if you reduce it, it’ll be too salty. Perhaps I wasn’t very clear. Salt it conservatively until you are at the point of serving your final product, where you do need to adjust for salt. I like my stock medium salty (since I almost always just use it as a soup base), and my glace or concentrated stocks at a much lower salt level (since I am using them for sauces or possible reconstituting into a stock.)
Now, on the other hand, you may be right that it’s completely unnecessary, and only to salt when finishing the final product your stock is going into. I’ve always thought that some amount of salt was necessary to extract all the flavor, but that might be an old wive’s tale. But when people complain about their stock or broth tasting weak, I’ve found it’s often a matter of them undersalting it, or not compensating for that factor.
I don’t think a couple hours is enough time to properly render a stock. I simmer it for 4-5 hours and I’ve always gotten great results. Pro tip, add a capful or two of apple cider vinegar or some lemon juice at the start-- the acid will help get the collagen out of the bones, which really adds richness to the stock.
I’m not an expert, and I haven’t tested this scientifically, but it seems to me that “salt when you use it” does not impart the same flavor as “salt when you make it”. But yes, if you are going to reduce significantly take that into account. Still, you aren’t going to use it reduced-- you are going to add water and “un-reduce” it when you use it, so over-salting isn’t as much of an issue as it might seem. Just be cognizant of what you are planning to do.
Why not just pour it all into Ziplock freezer bags and put it in the freezer? It keeps for months. Take it out as you need it. Next week you’ll need some to make the last scraps of the roast into Turkey Tetrazzini, the best leftover Thanksgiving dish ever.
I’ve never found that I needed to add salt while making stock to extract all the flavor; my stock turns out just fine without it. That said, I agree that under salting before serving is a big problem. Another problem: it’s extremely hard IMO to make good stock with nothing but bones. I always end up adding some wings or backs or drumsticks along with the carcasses I have saved up.
Another point: almost all commercial poultry has some kind of salt or brine added to it. You’re gonna get salt even without adding it unless you’re lucky enough to be making stock from local chickens.
And a complete aside: speaking of luck, if you are lucky enough to get enough chicken necks to make stock mostly out of them, they make the best stock. I managed to talk a local farmer from whom I buy whole chickens (for eating, not stock, alas! Though I do save the carcasses when I can) to give me all the necks from all the chickens folks bought from him. He said nobody wanted them. SCORE.
I agree with that for everything but stock. Maybe I’m wrong, but the point of salting-as-you-go is to allow the salt to penetrate into the food completely; you can’t do that by just adding some at the end.
Pure liquid like stock, however… there’s no penetration happening.
Of course now I’m curious. Sounds like a good Saturday research project.
My turkey stock is cooling in the fridge; tomorrow, turkey soup with rice!
I used to be intimidated by stock, because its devotees treat it like cast iron pan devotees treat their pans. At some point, though, I just said, “the hell with it, I’m not roasting my carcass and slow-cooking it for 48 hours, rotating the vegetables every 15 minutes and spritzing with spring water,” and I tossed the carcass in a giant pot with a helluva lot of water and random veggies from the fridge (a couple stalks celery, a couple carrots, a halved onion).
Leaving it on the stove for a couple hours, then cooling for an hour or so more before putting it in the fridge, then straining it the next day makes a perfectly delicious stock. Maybe not the nectar that others get with more work, but good enough for a tasty soup.
Which isn’t to say that all the advice here is bad; I’m sure you get a superior stock by following the advice. But if folks are intimidated, you should know that a minimal amount of work can still get you something very delicious.
Sell when it hits 50.
I used to be intimidated, too, until I tried it a few years ago. It’s actually one of the simplest things to make. Not a whole lot of prep time, and then you just let it simmer for a few hours. It’s a bit of a mess to clean up, but that’s grunt work.
And it’s sooooooo good!!
Even easier if you use a crock pot/slow cooker. Just add stuff, put it on low and forget about it for the day.
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I reduced the half-gallon of stock down to a quart. Today I made turkey tetrachloride ( 
)
I made stock for the first time last week. I used an Instant Pot (pressure cooker).
I had to crack the carcass (band name!) in order for it to fit into the pot. I added the neck, wing tips, and various bones with a decent amount of meat still attached. Also celery, carrots, onions, and a couple bay leaves.
Anyway, it was easy and it turned out delicious. The turkey noodle soup I made was very possibly the tastiest soup I’ve ever et.
mmm
But stock is not pure liquid when you’re making it. Again, I have not tested this scientifically or read anything about it, but I’m thinking that (maybe) the salt helps draw out more flavor from the stuff that the stock is made of-- the turkey meat, the carrots, the celery, the onions…
I’d be curious if anyone knows about this for sure.