Tis the season, so we’re reposting this homemade turkey stock recipe. It’s good and will serve you well on freezing cold days in December and January!

Since a roasted turkey is generally seasoned with sage, thyme, and rosemary, all those seasonings fill the air when you’re simmering a pot of turkey stock. That aroma is the ultimate comfort smell. There’s nothing quite like it.

We’re making a stock with this recipe. The difference between making stock and broth comes down to ingredients used. One results in a richer, more flavorful liquid. Stock is made with bones that still have some meat attached, along with carrots, onion, celery, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Simmered for many hours, you end up with a rich, healthy stock that can be used for a number of dishes, such as soups, sauces, gravies, or in place of water for rice or potatoes. According to Food & Wine magazine, broth is thought of as the liquid that the meat was cooked in. Generally, vegetables, the meat from the cook and other ingredients are added afterwards.

Here’s our old fashioned recipe for turkey stock.

Makes approximately 4 quarts

• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 head of garlic, split head in half, skins can stay on
• 5 stalks of organic celery, cut in half
• 4-5 large organic carrots, peel ON / cut in quarters
• 1 T black peppercorns, whole
• 5 bay leaves, whole
• 1 cooked carcass of turkey, with some meat still on bones (cut into manageable sections)
• 4-5 springs of fresh organic thyme
• 12 C water

In a large stock pot on medium heat, add olive oil, onions, garlic (cut side down in oil), celery, carrots, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Sauce for about 5 minutes and add in cut turkey carcass and thyme.  Cover ingredients with about 12 cups of water.  The ingredients should be covered, so if you need to add more water you can.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Slow simmer for about 4 hours.  At the end of the simmer, set a mesh-strainer over another stock pot.  Remove bones and vegetables with a pair of tongs and discard. Carefully begin pouring stock through strainer and into your second stock pot until all stock has been strained. You may have tiny bits of meat and vegetables in your stock.  If so, you can strain a second time through a finer sieve for a clearer broth. Transfer broth into sterilized quart and/or pint jars, cover with lids and refrigerate for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 6 months.  If freezing, leave about a 1-1/2 inch of space from lid for stock to expand in your quart jars and about 3/4″ for your pint jars.