Each year, I save my turkey bones and use them to make turkey stock in a slow cooker.
On Thanksgiving day my husband cleans the meat off the turkey and I put the bones in a large Crock Pot and make turkey stock. I use the turkey stock along with the other leftovers to make dinner for several days after Thanksgiving, including:
Making turkey stock in a slow cooker is very easy. It is also extremely frugal since you already have the bones.
How to Make Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker:
Remove as much of the meat as you can from the turkey and place in a slow cooker. If you don’t have a large oval Crock Pot, you will need to break the bones to get them to fit.
Then I add the equivalent of:
4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
I say the equivalent because I save up the carrot peeling, celery tops, and odd pieces of onion from making dinner and use those. All of the veggies are going to end up in your compost bin, they are just used to add nutrients and flavor to the broth, so they don’t need to be pretty:
Fill the Crock Pot with water. Cook on high for 1 hour. Then reduce heat and cook on low for 12 – 15 hours: 
Strain the liquid. Save any bits of meat to use later in soup, but discard the bones and vegetables. 
Refrigerate the stock. After the stock has cooled, you can skim the fat off the top: 
I save the fat and use it to sauté the veggies in place of oil. If you are trying to go super low fat, you can sauté your veggies in broth instead of fat or oil.
The stock will be somewhat congealed when cold, but it becomes “watery” again once heated. And it is absolutely delicious used in recipes like Turkey and Rice Soup.
- turkey bones
- 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- water
- Remove as much of the meat as you can from the turkey and then place the carcass in a slow cooker.
- Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and apple cider vinegar.
- Fill the slow cooker with water.
- Cook on high for 1 hour. Then reduce heat and cook on low for 12 – 15 hours: Strain the liquid. Save any bits of meat to use later in soup, but discard the bones and veggies.
- Place the stock in a lidded bowl in the refrigerator.
- After the stock has cooled, you can skim the fat off the top.
- Divide the stock up into usable portions and refrigerate for up to a week, freeze, or can using a pressure canner.
More Recipes to Use Up Thanksgiving Leftovers:
10 Tasty Recipes to Use Up Leftover Turkey
Pattie says
How long can this stock be kept refrigerated and can it be frozen?
Alea says
I keep it in the refrigerator for up to one week. If I can’t use it in that time, I freeze it. Just make sure you leave room for expansion when freezing. The turkey and rice soup freezes well too.
Pam says
Absolutely the best way to make turkey stock!