Get the last bit of nutrition and flavor out of your turkey
As sure as there is a post-meal nap and a just-one-more bite of pie, the question arises every Thanksgiving: What to do with the leftover turkey? There may be turkey sandwiches, turkey chili, turkey soup or turkey pot pie (More pie!). But even if that noble bird had given its last ounce of meat at Thanksgiving dinner, it still has one more gift to offer — turkey stock from the carcass. Making turkey stock may be a good activity to replace Black Friday craziness this year. The process starts with removing almost all remaining meat from the bones and breaking the carcass into medium-sized (2- to 3-inch) pieces. After that, there are endless variations depending on individual tastes.
You can store the stock in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for about three months. You can use the stock for a healthy turkey vegetable soup (especially if you have leftover turkey meat in the freezer) to balance out the December holiday sweets.
Chef Gregory León of Amilinda, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave., says he makes stock with the turkey carcass every year.
“I don't have a set recipe. I start with the carcass that's chopped up in large pieces, add six parsnips, four large yellow onions, one celery bunch, sage, thyme, four carrots — all the vegetables are washed but not peeled and just cut into chunks.
“I fill the large stock pot with cold water, bring to a boil on high and then lower to a simmer and let it go for at least four hours.”
Then he freezes it in Mason jars and defrosts a jar or two at a time. “It's the base for my turkey pot pie, which I make after Thanksgiving.”
Van Luu, chef at Buckley's, 801 N. Cass St., says his family Thanksgiving doesn't typically include traditional fare, but when they have turkey, he makes turkey broth by roasting it.
Luu says because his son loves miso soup with
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