Learn how to make a quick, easy and flavoursome basic turkey stock recipe made from roasted turkey neck bones and a leftover turkey carcass. This recipe is instant pot friendly which saves a ton of time and doesn't compromise the flavour.

Overhead shot of the turkey with vegetables

When it comes to the holiday season, there are some universal must haves. Whether you are from the islands, live in North America or even Europe.

One thing is for certain, turkey is ALWAYS on the agenda. The great thing about turkey is that this bird yields a great 2 for 1 offer.

What I mean is you get a meal from the meat and the carcass doubles up for many leftover recipes, in this case we are referring to turkey stock.

Turkey stock is the backbone to lots of tasty recipes during the holiday season. We like to use the stock for many of our dishes.

Stock preparation

We are very serious about our turkey stock game, so we like to be ahead of the holiday season by always having some bones in the freezer.

We like to use both the turkey neck bones and the carcass (if possible) because it is very easy to get hold of throughout the entire year and is very cheap.

Thankfully we have never run out of stock nor the neck bones. If there is one piece of advice that I can give, I wouldn't recommend waiting until Thanksgiving or Christmas is over to prepare your stock.

Instead if you are fortunate enough to have access to, for example neck bones then keep them in the freezer on an annual basis.

That way you can make some of your favourite recipes with the stock BEFORE the big day rather than wait until AFTER the day is over.

Sounds like the most obvious advice, but I hear so many people complaining about wanting to make a dish that contains turkey stock and not having the main ingredient to make the dish.

Homemade vs Storebought stock

What's the difference? Is there a difference? That's what many people want to know. In short the answer is yes.

However, the overall choice comes down to you. It's so easy to pick up some ready made stock from the grocery aisle and not give it a second thought.

It's convienient and hassle free after all, however, if you take a quick look at the ingredients list, you will see a ton of fillers, additives and preservatives.

Some of these ingredients can be harmful to our health and most of us don't even know the meaning behind half of these ingredients.

Making your own stock from scratch isn't expensive, most of the ingredients that you are using are already in your kitchen.

The only real cost is the amount of time that you will need to invest in making the actual stock.

Once you start making your own stock, you will soon realise that nothing compares to that homemade robust turkey flavour from having complete control over what goes into your stock.

The nutritional value is superior to the store bought kind due to the fact that there are no extras added.

Ways to use the stock

You can use stock in a number of different ways;

To make gravy or sauces
Soups
Stews
Rice and grain dishes
Curries

The list is endless but the above are just some ways that you can use the stock.

The health benefits

Similar to bone broth, turkey stock contains some important minerals and vitamins. You reap the most of these benefits in neat (i.e drinking), but regardless these are some of the benefits;

The connective tissue from the carcass adds collagen which can be beneficial for joint health and mobility.
The bone marrow is rich in iron, vitamins A, K and minerals such as zinc and selenium.
Helps to promote weight loss.
Optimises the immune system.
Contains calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.
Supports and maintains a healthy digestive system.
Eradicates inflammation (source)

The difference between stock, broth and bone broth

Bone broth - Is made from simmering high collagen bones (typically these bones are roasted first) for a long period of time, anything from 12-18 hours depending on the cooking method (pressure cooker, stovetop, IP etc..). The slow cooking process releases the gelatin which results in a gel consistency.

Stock - Is made from the bones, many people add herbs and vegetables to their stock. Although the cooking time is a lot shorter than bone broth, the texture of the stock can vary depending on the type of bones used but the end result is rich in colour.

Broth - is made from boiling the meat, it uses bones with a lot less marrow (if at all) hence the reason why the texture is quite thin and watery. Herbs and vegetables can be used in both versions of stock and broth.

Reasons to use the instant pot to make stock

You don't need to babysit the pot
Save times
Easy cleanup
Most of the work is done for you
Yields rich stock in a less amount of time

The steps

Preheat the oven at 200C/400F or gas mark 6.
Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Add the neck bones and carcass to a large pot with water and bring to the boil for 10 minutes. This is an optional step but helps to yield clear stock.
Drain the water through a colander then blot them dry.
Lay out the turkey neck bones and carcass on the roasting pan.
Roast the bones for roughly 20-30 minutes or until brown.

Step 7-12 sauteing the vegetables and making the turkey stock

While the bones are roasting switch your instant pot on and select the "saute" button and wait for it to display "hot" before adding your olive oil, onion and garlic then proceed to saute until soft and translucent for one minute.
Quickly add the celery and carrots then press the "cancel" button and continue to cook the vegetables for 2-3 minutes with the residual heat.
Add the apple cidar vinegar, sprigs of thyme, parsley, black peppercorns and bay leaves.
Add the carcass and neck bones along with the water.
Place the lid on and flick the knob to "sealling" then set to pressure cook on high and adjust +/- to 45 minutes.
Once the cooking time is over do a natural release (this should take 10-15 minutes).
Remove the IP lid and then use a fine mesh strainer to strain the stock.
Pour the stock into mason jars or make ice cubes.
Use accordingly.

Notes and tips

You can fast track the process by setting the stock to cook for 30 minutes with a quick release instead.
Make sure to wash the bones off before blanching them as this will get rid of all the bad stuff. I rinsed mine with lime/vinegar first as that is my Caribbean custom, if you don't do this in your culture then omit this step.
You should get roughly 3 mason jars of stock in total.
Don't use too much black pepper as this is likely to ruin the taste of the stock.
If you plan on freezing your stock make sure to use plastic/freezer friendly containers.
Alternatively, you can store the stock in mason jars and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
The shelf life for the stock is 3-6 months when frozen.
You may want to store this stock in an ice cube tray.

More stock recipes to try

Mutton Stock
Vegetable Stock

Recipes to use the stock in

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Instant Pot Turkey Stock