With all the food being made over the holidays you will find leftovers filling your fridge. Slow Cooker Turkey Stock is the perfect opportunity to clear some space in your fridge while warming your home with the beautiful aroma of turkey stock.
There is no time like right now to get your stock going. The slow cooker makes this recipe so simple to make and the final product is a great thing to have on hand for future cooking.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- Making Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker
- More Recipes You Will Love
- How to Store This Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
- How Can You Use with Turkey Stock
- Top Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions About Making Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker
- More Recipes You Will Love
- Slow Cooker Turkey Stock Recipe
This Turkey Stock recipe was inspired by our Herb Butter Turkey. We also use it as the base for our Turkey and Veg Soup recipe, and it enhances the flavors so much when you start with a homemade stock.
Why You Will Love This Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
- Hands-Off Cooking: Adding all ingredients to a slow cooker allows for a "set it and forget it" way to make a delicious, nutrient-dense stock. You can walk away and let the slow cooker make its magic without constant monitoring.
- Reduced Food Waste: This stock is the perfect way to use all of your turkey leftovers, so nothing goes to waste. Any meat, bones, and even vegetable scraps from your main meal are given a new purpose.
- Customizable: Not only does homemade stock taste better than store-bought, it's free of any additives, and by adding your preferred herbs and vegetables, you can tailor it to your tastes.
Ingredients
You will need your turkey carcass, onion, bay leaves, garlic cloves, kosher salt, pepper corns and water to create this flavor packed broth.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Roast Turkey Carcass: This is the base of the recipe and a great way to get maximum flavor out of the entire turkey.
- Onion: This adds to the delicious flavor.
- Bay Leaves: The freshness of the bay leaves adds aromatics to the dish.
- Garlic: A staple is any pantry, it’s also great to add to any soup base or stock.
- Kosher Salt: The least salty tasting of the salts, this is just to enhance the flavors of all other ingredients.
- Peppercorns: This is for a little burst of heat.
- Water: The base for building any stock.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand a slow cooker, strainer, and a slotted spoon.
Substitutions and Variations
Love this recipe but want to make it your own? Here are some helpful ideas for you to change this Slow Cooker Turkey Stock. These variations allow you to personalize your stock based on what you have on hand, and your flavor preferences.
- Herbs: If you don't have fresh herbs on hand, swap them out for dried herbs. Just be sure to use less, as their flavor is more concentrated.
- Vegetables: To further reduce food waste, use any scraps you have on hand such as carrot tops, celery leaves, and onion skins. You can also include root vegetables like parsnips and sweet potatoes for a more earthy stock.
- Spice: If you would like to add a little heat to your stock, feel free to add extra garlic, peppercorns, or fresh ginger.
- Increased Flavor: Depending on the size of your slow cooker you can add extra onions, garlic and seasonings.
Making Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker
Check out how easy it is to make Slow Cooker Turkey Stock in just a few simple steps.
Add all ingredients to a Crockpot. Cover with water, leaving half an inch of space from the top of your Crockpot. Cook on low for 12-20 hours. The longer the broth cooks, the richer the flavor will be.
Once finished, turn off heat and let the broth cool slightly before proceeding. With a slotted spoon scoop out all the large items, picking off any useable meat from the carcass if desired. Using a fine strainer, run the broth through to get any smaller particles, then pour into mason jars or use immediately.
Hint: To simplify the straining process, you can use cheesecloth to keep all your veggies contained. Just place the vegetables in a thin layer of cheesecloth, twist to keep closed and pile in the slow cooker with the twisted end under the lid to keep it accessible.
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How to Store This Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
Turkey Stock is easy to store as long as you have airtight containers.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, place in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: In a freezer safe, airtight container store for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Reheating: Warm up in a pot on the stove, bring to a boil and then adjust temperature according to the recipe you are using it with.
- Make Ahead: This is the ultimate make ahead recipe. Some people make stock to then just drink for nutritional benefits, but with it being so simple to store it is best to have this made in advance for any other uses.
How Can You Use with Turkey Stock
- Homemade Turkey Soup: This is a perfect base for any homemade soup. Try our Turkey and Veg Soup recipe!
- Stock Recipes: Any recipe that requires a beef or chicken broth.
- Bone Broth: Known for its nutritional benefits, try drinking homemade turkey stock as a bone broth.
Top Tips
Once you realize how easy it is to make stock, you will want to start playing around with simple dishes to increase their flavor. Stock can be used in place of water when cooking rice or potatoes. The stock will bring a beautiful turkey flavor to your rice or potatoes that will certainly impress anyone lucky enough to find themself at your dinner table.
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker
Do you have questions about how to make Turkey Stock? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about making Turkey Stock in a Slow Cooker.
No. You can skim it off to have a cleaner stock, but it will add some additional flavor.
The longer you simmer the stock the more flavourful it will be. Alternatively, you can add in more herbs to intensify the flavor.
It is not recommended to use a frozen carcass. It would be best to thaw it out before placing it in the slow cooker and then starting your recipe.
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Slow Cooker Turkey Stock Recipe
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Strainer
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 roasted turkey carcass about 14-16 pounds
- 2 yellow onions, medium quartered
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon whole peppercorns
- water to cover
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Crockpot. Cover with water, leaving half an inch of space from the top of your Crockpot.
- Cook on low for 12-20 hours. The longer the broth cooks, the richer the flavor. For this recipe, we did 20 hours.
- Once finished, turn off heat and let the broth cool slightly before proceeding.
- With a slotted spoon scoop out all the large items, picking off any useable meat from the carcass if desired.
- Using a fine strainer, run the broth through to get any smaller particles, then pour into mason jars or use immediately.
Notes
- Depending on the size of your slow cooker you can add extra onions, garlic and seasonings.
- Break down turkey bones into smaller pieces if necessary to fit into your Crockpot.
- If you wish to add extra aromatics, you can. Peeled and chopped carrots and celery, as well as your favorite fresh herbs like parsley and thyme will add additional depth of flavor.
- Once the stock is chilled, it is normal for some fat to solidify on the surface. This can be skimmed off or reserved for extra richness.
Nutrition
We would be so grateful for you to leave us a rating and review on any recipes you try. If you make any alterations, let us know how they turned out.
Seija says
It was my first time making my own stock, but putting it all together in the slow cooker made the process foolproof. Not only did it turn out super flavorful, but it made my kitchen smell amazing as it simmered all day. I’ll be trying it next with chicken!
Eva Filer says
Thank you for sharing this with us, we love hearing all the different ways our recipes can benefit you! Nothing beats a house that smells of home-cooking.