Don’t let a bit of your hard work on that turkey go to waste! Toss the leftovers in a slow cooker and make Slow Cooker Turkey Broth while you’re sleeping.
Slow Cooker Turkey Broth
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After you have spent all that time cooking an amazing turkey dinner, there are always leftovers. I don’t know about you, but I hate to waste leftovers. Even the bones from the turkey get put to good use at our house! I used to make broth from the turkey the day after Thanksgiving. Having the broth simmer on the stove all day made for such nice smells. But that meant another full day of turkey stuff.
Now I just toss everything in my slow cooker as I’m cleaning up the kitchen, let it cook overnight, and the turkey broth is ready when I get up the next morning!
Turkey broth is easy to make. If you have ever made chicken broth (or even thought about making broth), you can do this. Really. All you do is toss the leftover turkey bones (I also use the neck, but not the other giblets) in a big slow cooker. Use at least a 6 quart slow cooker. If you have an 8 quart slow cooker, that would be even better. Add in some vegetables and a few herbs, cover it all with water, turn it on, and walk away!
Even though most years we make an oven-roasted turkey and a fried turkey, I prefer to use the roasted turkey for broth. I have made broth with a fried turkey before, and the broth ends up a little too oily for my taste.
The next morning (or about 10-12 hours later), turn off the slow cooker, take off the lid, and let the broth cool down a bit. When it is cool enough to handle, strain it through a colander into a large bowl. Throw away the vegetables. You can pull off any meat that was left on the bones and use this for turkey soup or another leftover dish. If you want, you can strain the broth again through cheesecloth to remove any of the smaller bits of herbs and vegetables that are left.
When your broth simmers all night long, it is getting a lot of good nutrients and flavors out of the bones. You might notice that after you refrigerate the broth, it gets a sort of jelly-like consistency. Don’t worry, that’s normal! That just means that some of the collagen from the bones and cartilage were boiled out into the liquid. (Collagen is just a protein. It’s similar to what is used to make gelatin.) The broth will be a liquid again when it warms up. If you end up with “turkey Jell-O,” that just means you have a super-good (and very flavorful) broth!
You can freeze your turkey broth, or use it right away. I like to use homemade turkey broth to make Slow Cooker Turkey Soup and Quick Turkey & Dumplings to use up our leftover turkey. You can use turkey broth in any recipe that calls for chicken broth. Just know that if you’re using homemade broth, you may have to add a little more salt to the recipe.
More Recipes for Leftover Turkey
Are you looking for even more things to do with your leftover turkey? Check out this list of 17 Recipes for Turkey Leftovers!
Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe Card for Slow Cooker Turkey Broth
Slow Cooker Turkey Broth
Ingredients
- Bones and neck from one cooked turkey
- 2 carrots cut in large chunks
- 2 celery stalks with leaves cut in large chunks
- 1 onion quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 5-10 cups water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (except water) in a 6 quart slow cooker. Cover with water.
- Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours (overnight).
- Turn off slow cooker, remove lid, and allow broth to cool.
- Strain broth through a colander. Discard bones and vegetables. If desired, save meat.
- If desired, strain broth again through cheesecloth.
- If desired, let broth sit and remove fat from cooled broth (see this post for instructions).
- Refrigerate broth. Freeze in smaller portions, or use in place of chicken broth in any recipe.
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