Homemade Turkey Broth... put the remnants of the bird to good use!

The party has wound down, the cleanup has begun.  You've probably picked the carcass clean of all the meat that you can and are about to throw the remnants of the turkey away... STOP!!!  You can make something extremely good with those leftovers.  Instead of having to buy can after can of chicken or turkey broths for soups, you can make your own broth from all these leftovers.

Now I know, some of you don't want to touch all that skin and fat and bone and other... stuff.  But that's where a good deal of the nutrients of the bird are located.  Also, if you cook down the carcass, you get all of the yummy fat out that thickens up the broth of a good soup, so it doesn't just take like chicken water.

This doesn't need to be made directly after the dinner.  You can place the bird parts in a large bag and store them in the fridge until the next morning, maybe even the day after that.  It takes a little time for everything to cook down, but you don't have to constantly monitor it.  Maybe you hit the after-thanksgiving sales in the morning, come home and let this simmer on the stove as you recover.  And it will make the whole house smell great for a second straight day.

Homemade Turkey Broth
Makes 3-4 quarts

The bones, skin, meaty remnants and leftover non-meat pieces of the turkey
1 medium onion
2 large carrots
3 celery stalks, leaves and all
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 bay leaves
4-6 cloves garlic

Place the turkey bits into a large stock pot. Break it up as much as you feel comfortable doing, it doesn't need to be in small parts  Chop the onion in to large half moons, the carrots into inch long chunks, and the celery into large chunks and add to the pot.  Add enough water to completely cover the turkey parts and turn to high.  Cut the garlic cloves into quarters and then add them to the pot, along with all the other spices.

Bring to a boil and let boil for about 30 minutes.  Then bring down the heat to a simmer and let it simmer on the stove for 3-6 hours, depending on the time yo have.  If the water evaporates away, add more hot water to the pot to cover the bones again.  When cooking is complete, strain the mixture through a fine strainer to remove all the solid ingredients.  This should leave you with a nutritious and delicious broth.

Now there are two different ways to handle the broth from this point.  If you like a little fat (and extra flavor) in your broth, then just place them in 2-4 cup containers and place in the fridge if you plan to use it in the next couple of days, or in the freezer to store for later.  There will be some clumps of fat that solidify and float to the top.  That's OK, because they are flavorful when they melt into the recipes.

If the congealing fat grosses you out, then pour the entire batch of broth in a large bowl and place in the fridge for 4 hours.  The fat will float to the top and solidify into a single,large layer.  Skim the fat off the top, then scoop the broth into 2 or 4 cup containers for storage in the fridge (up to 4 days) or in the freezer (3-5 months).

So use the whole bird and then make some of the best chicken/turkey soup of your life.