A leftover turkey is not a waste management challenge—it’s an opportunity. Here’s how to wring deliciousness out of every bit of your bird, lay the foundation for more meals, reduce waste, and amplify your attitude of gratitude.
For many of us, the turkey carcass in the fridge is the elephant in the room: enormous, smelly, and there, no matter how hard we pretend it isn’t. Unlike elephants in the room, however, most turkey carcasses do get addressed—directly to the garbage, taking with them the potential for so many delicious eating opportunities. To avoid that fate and get everything you can out of your bird, follow these simple steps.
Don’t Park That Carcass
It’s best to conquer and divide the beast immediately after the Thanksgiving meal. The amount of effort and plastic wrap that goes into wrapping a greasy tangle of flesh and bones for cold storage is great enough to discourage even the stout-hearted from revisiting it the next day. Or ever again. It helps to have a couple of recipes in mind as you begin this process. Even with a belly full of pumpkin pie, dreams of, say, a spicy turkey gumbo can motivate you to roll up your sleeves and get down to work.
Remove the meat from the bones. Use a cleaver or high-quality kitchen shears to break up the bird so you can access all the meat. Set the bones and skin aside to make a stock. If the wishbone is intact, pick it very clean—you can even run it through the dishwasher—and let it dry in a well-ventilated spot for several days until it’s brittle enough to snap apart in the traditional holiday game of good fortune. Whoever gets the big half wins.
Sort the meat for various purposes, e.g., white meat for sandwiches, dark meat for sandwiches/turkey enchiladas/casseroles, mixed meat for soup. Store it in separate bags, like these reusable silicone numbers from Stasher, and freeze what you don’t intend to use within a couple of days.
If you start out with a large turkey, you may end up with a lot of stock. Freeze some of the stock in an ice cube tray to add small amounts of broth to recipes for extra flavor or moisture in a pinch.
Make Stock
Once the meat is organized and stored, things get interesting. The pile of skin and bones and parts you can’t name will render quarts of this rich turkey stock that you can use in a soup over the long Thanksgiving weekend and/or freeze for soups of the future.
Simmer your stock in a high-quality stockpot like this stainless steel model from SALT. It has a heavy base, which helps avoid scorching, and the glass lid is a bonus for monitoring long-simmering preparations like soups and stews. Don’t worry if bits of meat and vegetables make their way into the stockpot—they’ll add to the flavor, as will pan juices—but avoid an excess of grease. A fine strainer will catch any flotsam once the stock is cooked—or you can put everything in a soup sock at the beginning, saving straining efforts at the end.
If you start out with a large turkey, you may end up with a lot of stock. These glass storage containers from Rubbermaid will help you organize your stock according to its intended use: The 9.6-cup size could store the base for a family-size soup, whereas the smaller ones could store quantities for smaller recipes. You could also freeze some of the stock in an ice cube tray to add small amounts of broth to recipes for extra flavor or moisture in a pinch. Option C: Put some in a Thermos and sip strengthening bone broth on a chilly day.
Take Stock
Speaking of sipping, with your turkey bones taken care of, it’s a great time to rest your own bones. Curl up with a cozy pillow, blanket, cup of tea, and cookbook, and start planning what you’ll do with your delicious golden stock.
Happy holidays!