Crock Pot Turkey Stock
Once you use your crock pot to make stock, you'll never go back. It's super easy and makes cleaning up after a big Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner a breeze. Crock Pot Turkey Stock is where it's at!
Happy almost Christmas, friends! Today I have a recipe for the easiest turkey stock you will ever make. Once you make it this way, I swear you will never do it another way again.
The long and gently cooking keeps the stock clean (no bubbly gross gunk to spoon off the top) and extracts all the delicious flavor from the bones. Cooking the stock in your slow cooker also keeps your house from becoming a hot turkey steam room. Big bonus.
It also solves that whole annoying problem of what to do with the bones after your dinner. Seriously, who wants to store old bones? Not me. Not anymore.
Here's what Christmas dinner will look like when you're making crock pot turkey soup:
ā” Cook all day. Drink some wine. Cook some more. Drink some more wine. Nothing changes here.
ā” Put on your stretchy pants and go back for three servings more than you know you should.
ā” Stare at the kitchen and desperately try and will the dishes to do themselves.
ā” Accept that dishes don't wash themselves.
ā” Break up the turkey bones and put them in your crockpot. Pour in some water and press start.
ā” Slink back into the living room and cross your fingers someone else will do the dishes.
See how easy it was to make crock pot turkey soup? Ridiculous, right?
One of the things you might notice about the recipe is that all it calls for is turkey bones and water. Not much of a recipe, really!
The reason is that the long gently cooking process draws out so much flavor from the roasted bones that you don't need to add anything else to the pot. The first time I made it this way, it was out of laziness. I was amazed at the amount of flavor and now don't make it any other way.
The long cooking time also draws out all of the healthy and delicious gelatin. Once your stock is cold, it will turn thick and jiggly when you shake the bowl. Savory jello, anyone? š
The Crock Pot Turkey Stock Giggle:
Leftover Turkey Recipes:
- Healthy Creamy Turkey Mushroom Soup
- Easy Homemade Turkey Soup
- BBQ Pulled Turkey Pizza with Pineapple Salsa
- Crock Pot Leftover Turkey Bolognese
- Thai Coconut Turkey Soup
Crock Pot Turkey Stock
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- Bones from your roast turkey
- Enough water to fill the slow cooker
Instructions
- If you've stuffed your bird, remove all of the stuffing. Remove the meat from the bones and put aside for sandwiches or soup. Discard any skin.Bones from your roast turkey, Enough water to fill the slow cooker
- Break the bones into pieces that will fit in your crock pot. Fill your crock pot with as many of the bones as you can. Add water to the fill line on your crock pot. Set the timer to cook on low for 10 hours.
- Set a colander over a large bowl. Carefully pour the turkey stock through the colander into the bowl. Take a second large bowl and place a fine-mesh sieve over it. Pour the stock through the fine-mesh sieve into the second bowl. You can use it right away to make soup, or store it for later.
- If I'm storing the stock, I like to put the bowl outside to cool quickly, and then transfer it to my fridge. Let the turkey stock cool completely. Once it is cold, you can place it in freezer bags and store in your freezer.
Do you leave the lid off?
No, the lid stays on.
This is the perfect way to make turkey stock. Ā Less mess than the the stovetop method and endless straining
Thank you for sharing
I took your advice and just put all the turkey bones after Christmas dinner into the crockpot and started the stock right away. Made clean up so much easier! And the stock the next day made delicious soup. This is the way I’ll be making it from now on!
Very easy! However, when I got to the point where I was to put on stretchy pants, I was stumped. I asked my wife if I could borrow hers. She laughed and said not unless she could post a picture of me on Facebook. I skipped the stretchy pant part and just drank more wine.
I want to make this but all I have is Turkey legs! Can I still make the broth?
Absolutely you can! Just put all the legs into your slow cooker and cover them with water. It will turn out great. We do the same thing with our leftover chicken bones, too. š
There is nothing in here about skimming the fat. My mother used to do it but I never paid close enough attention. Do I skim the fat then add all other ingredients?
If there is a lot of fat on top you can definitely skim it off. š