Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
This Slow Cooker Turkey Stock is seriously easy. Not only does it yield an amazing stock that is so full of flavor and beats anything you can buy in the grocery store, it’s done in the slow cooker so you don’t have to think twice. Save this recipe, save your Thanksgiving carcass and get on the slow cooker stock train- I promise you’ll thank me.
I know I preach homemade cooking a lot on Mountain Mama Cooks (I really do think it’s the answer to just about anything) but bare with me as I shout loud from my soap box, STOCK MADE FROM SCRATCH CAN NOT BE REPLICATED IN A CARTON FROM THE GROCERY STORE. Convenient, yes, but a subpar product. It doesn’t taste the same (read: bland and full of additives), it doesn’t yield the same health benefits (homemade stock is a healing power house) and in the end, homemade stock is a trillion times cheaper to make at home.
If you’ve ever had homemade stock then you know that it doesn’t even compare to that which you get in the grocery store. I don’t care if it’s organic, all natural etc, etc.- it just won’t taste as good as homemade. ‘Tis the case with most items that are homemade vs. store bought but I can’t think of another item where this is a truer statement. And I’m not sure if you know this but homemade stock, or bone broth, is a nutrient powerhouse. Bone broth has so many health benefits. It contains oodles of absorbable minerals, it contains broken down material from the cartilage and tendons that is ultra supportive for joints, it can heal guts, decrease inflammation, promote healthy bones, and decrease the duration of various viruses. Seriously you guys- nutrient powerhouse.
With Thanksgiving just a few days away, now is your chance to give it a whirl if you’ve never made your own stock before. Save your carcass and pull out the slow cooker. I’ve made stock on the stove top and in the slow cooker oodles of times and the slow cooker is my go to strictly for ease. It’s a no brainer and once I turn the slow cooker on, I don’t have to think about the stock again. I let my stock simmer for about 24 hours. I know it might seem excessive but go with me on this one. The result is a stock that has depth, is rich and chocked full of flavor.
What are you waiting for? Get your stock on.
PrintSlow Cooker Turkey Stock
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- carcass of cooked turkey (12-13 lb bird), meat and skin removed
- 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 large carrots, washed and cut into thirds
- 3 ribs of celery, cut into thirds
- 6–8 cloves garlic
- 2–3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon peppercorn
- cold, GOOD water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place carcass, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, vinegar and peppercorn in the base of a slow cooker. Fill with cold water to the top. Cook on low for 24 hours.
- Let cool and strain stock.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle stock into glass jars, leaving 1-inch headspace to allow for expansion if freezing.
- Freeze stock and use for any recipe calling for stock or warm up one serving at a time an sip on the warm stock- I promise it’s delicious!!
50 Comments
I am a fanatic about not throwing away my veggie scraps or poultry bones. The result? I have a perpetual rotating library of stock and broth in my freezer. I love ingredients that rise again as something new.
I’ve made homemade turkey soup from the (roasted) carcass many times with wonderful results. Can you still use a carcass that has been cooked in a smoker?
Yes! I’ve done that many times. If you like your soup to have a smokey rich flavor, then try it. The hubby loves smoked turkey broth.
Nice recipe to keep on hand. Thanks so much Kelley.
Will it keep in a sealed jar without freezing it?
I haven’t tried canning this so I can’t recommend it for safety reasons.
I’d consult a canning recipe book to be sure. But I think if you want to just seal it in a mason jar, you’d need to process the jars in a boiling water bath. Try this link:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/stock_broth.html
It’d need to be in a pressure canner. A boiling water bath is insufficient to process any low acid foods included all meat products.
I don’t recommend canning this. I freeze the leftovers and defrost as needed.
Rather than freezing, can this just be canned and stored in the cupboard?
I haven’t tried canning this so I can’t recommend it for safety reasons.
This is brilliant! Will definitely be making stock this weekend, love the idea of using a slow cooker.
How long will a jar of it last in the fridge?
In the fridge up to a week. In the freezer up to 6 months.
Thank you!
Can you use a carcass that has been smoked???
Any carcass will work!
I love homemade stocks! So much better than store bought. This recipe looks fantastic.
xoxo
I had bookmarked this recipe until today and finally made it! It’s cooling in fridge now, but I gave some to my boxer who thought it was divine! It looks and smells divine and I’m planning on a hot mug of it first thing tomorrow after I skim the fat. Thanks for posting such a great recipe!
I love me some homemade stock and am eager to try the slow cooker method.
Word of caution: When you choose jars for freezing, use wide mouth jars. The ones with shoulders have a tendency to break in the freezer, even when you leave enough head room for expansion.
Thanks for the tip. I used a mixture of both wide mouth and regular and haven’t had a problem as long as I leave enough space for expansion.
Just made this and the smell while it cooked was amazing. It kept waking me up in the night! 🙂 Gonna make turkey noodle soup for dinner tomorrow night and I’m pretty darned excited about it.
I used your recipe and it turned out delicious!! I have used the stock as just soup, as is. It was great! I have also tried it in a Turkey Tetrizinni recipe with fantastic results. This recipe is a keeper!!
It couldn’t be an easier recipe! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!!
Permalink
I’m 9 months prego and having the baby any day now. We pulled out he turkey in the freezer to make more room for meals from family and friends once baby comes, plus get a lot of leftovers too! We’ve been waiting for a cooler day for a couple of months to roast our turkey, lol.
I am really excited to try this recipe. I’ve never made stock before, and yes, I have always thrown out the carcass in the past. But no more! Especially when you’ve shared some of the health benefits of having stock, I’m hoping it will help with postnatal healing.
I do have a couple of questions.
1. Should I put the giblets in the mix as well, since I have them on hand?
2. Would it be okay to throw in the odds and ends from my veggies that I prepped for the original turkey meal? (Like carrot peels, celery ends, potatoe peels, etc?), as well as some new fresh ones?
3. Is it okay to store in plastic containers, rather than glass, once it’s cooled? I don’t know if I will have time to go grab glass mason jars at the moment.
4. Is dried rosemary okay to use?
5. Do I need to skim far off, as one reviewer commented?
You could put it all in! I would strain it before you let it cool and then you can remove the fat once it hardens. I usually let it cool, skim the fat, and then freeze. Congrats on the baby and good luck!!
Permalink
Just curious…why meat and skin removed?
I’ll usually get as much meat off as I can because we either eat it right away or freeze it. The skin makes the broth super fatty and I don’t think it adds any extra flavor so I remove as much as I can!
Permalink
Could I make the stock with raw turkey? I asked the butcher to cut the bird in pieces so I am cooking all but the back, giblets and neck. I thought I could put them in the slow cooker for the 24 hours, but don’t know if can use raw, uncooked turkey parts…
Thanks!!
For sure!!!
Hi Kelley: Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ve tried making stock several times, but it was never flavorful enough. I followed this recipe and it was amazing! I think the garlic, rosemary and garlic cloves really add an amazing depth of flavor. I removed all of skin on a turkey breast before adding it to the crock pot and found that there was very little fat in the resulting stock – I wonder if that is usual.
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe and the fact that it’s so much healthier than store bought stock. I knew homemade stock would contain less sodium and no preservatives, but I didn’t realize all of the other health benefits.
You’re so welcome and I’m glad that worked out for you!
I’m on hour 30 with my plain carcass now, I didn’t add the extras since I didn’t have much so I thought I’d just do plain and it’s amazing! Tip for storage, strain broth then measure in cups until you have any number less than the number of ice cube compartments in your tray. Boil it to condense to very little and pour it into how ever many cups you started with, so that one cube equals one cup, pop into freezer bag when frozen solid. Then when you need a cup of broth, put one cube into the measuring cup and add water to measure one full cup. Next time I’m adding the extra ingredients you’ve provided in your recipe…sounds delish and ready to just add pasta!
Awesome!
I’d really love to make this once I have the time. I’m currently drinking Au Bon Broth and I’m liking it so far. It said that it’s made of chicken, beef and turkey bones. I love its taste and it’s just the right one for me. It has also helped me with my sleeping issues.
DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE TO MAKE SOUP WITH THE STOCK AFTER? PLEASE REPLY TO MY EMAIL AS I AM NOT GREAT WITH COMPUTERS, I AM A SENIOR AND HAVE A HARD TIME WITH SUCH THINGS , I HAVE MADE THE STOCK AND LOVE IT.
Lots of soup recipes on the blog!
Permalink
I have a huge turkey carcass (20lbs). Can I use this size or should I break it down so it isn’t as big?
You’ll likely need to break it down. You need it to fit into your slow cooker and cover it completely with water.
I appreciate your work. Thanks.
I made this last year and totally loved it. My slow cooker gave out on me and I got a new one. However, I didn’t realize all the extra safety features on it. With my new one there is an automatic shot off after 12 hours. Do you think I can do it on high for 12 hours?
Sure! And then restart it again!
So, so good. Can’t wait to roast another turkey and do it again!
This turkey bone broth was seriously the most delicious broth I have ever tasted! It was the first time I have made broth, actually, and I will be making this from recipe now on. However, I did add 2 small bay leave and a sprig of thyme. Last night upon tasting the broth midway, it was soooo delicious, I could not resist a second cup! 5 stars!
FYI: If you vacuum seal your broth, you can get a few days extra in the fridge, but I would freeze leftovers nit being use soon. To store it on the shelf, it MUST be processed in a pressure canner. Unfortunately, pressure canning breaks down the gelatin rich in protein, thus changing it’s properties, whereas freezing does not. It still tastes good, but you loose one of the huge benefits of making a gelatinous broth.
WOW!!!!!!!! I unfroze our turkey carcass from Thanksgiving yesterday and made this this stock – it just reached 24 hours in the slow cooker and it’s DELICIOUS!! I’ve been working on perfecting my chicken stock and chicken soup but this is by far the most delicious stock I have ever made. I had fresh parsley so added that also, but did everything else exactly as written. Turkey is not always my favorite but I am going to buy more and experiment with some recipes, just so I can make more stock! Thank you!!!!!!!!
Every year I’ve vowed to make stock with my turkey carcass but inevitably ended up tossing it. This year I found your crock pot recipe and gave it a try—fantastic! I wish I’d known about this years ago. I used all the aromatics we had in the bird (which we smoked this year) as well as your veggies and fresh rosemary.
Having never made stock, I was surprised by how gelatinous it is, although considering how gelatin is made I guess I shouldn’t have been. But now I have two quarts of fresh, delicious stock in the freezer ready to go!