Turkey carcass is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 9 recipes to get you started.

What are turkey carcass?

A turkey carcass is the stripped frame of a roasted bird: the bones, the skin, and the odd scraps of meat left after carving. It looks like garbage, but it is the single best thing you can simmer for stock.

Roasting has already done half the work. The browned bones and clinging bits carry deep, savory flavor that raw bones cannot match, so a carcass makes a richer broth than fresh poultry parts.

Do not toss it. One frame turns into quarts of golden stock that become soup all week.

Putting It to Work

The carcass has one main job: stock. Break it into pieces so it fits the pot, cover with cold water, add an onion, carrot, celery, and a bay leaf, and simmer gently for two to four hours. Strain, and you have the base for almost any turkey soup.

That stock is what carries a Hearty Turkey Soup with Wild Rice & Herbs, a Turkey & Cranberry Chowder, or the well-named Turkey Revenge Soup (for leftovers). For a one-pot route, a Classic Turkey Carcass Soup with White Wine simmers the frame and builds the soup in the same pot.

Pick off any clinging meat after simmering and stir it back into the soup. A Leftover Turkey Dumpling Stew puts both the broth and that salvaged meat to use.

Getting the Most From It

Keep the simmer low and lazy. A hard boil churns fat and stray proteins back into the liquid and turns the stock cloudy and greasy, while a bare simmer keeps it clear and clean.

Skim the gray foam that rises in the first half hour.

Hold the salt until the end. The stock concentrates as it reduces, so an early hand oversalts it.

The real mistake is rushing. Pull the pot after thirty minutes and you get pale, thin water; the gelatin and flavor only come out over a couple of hours of slow heat.

Substitutes

No turkey carcass? A chicken carcass works the same way and tastes nearly identical, just a touch lighter. Roasted turkey wings or necks build a similar deep stock when you have no whole frame.

In a hurry, a good boxed turkey or chicken broth stands in for the soup base, though it will not gel or taste as round as the real thing.

Buying and Storing

You rarely buy a carcass; it is what is left after a roast turkey dinner. If you are not making stock right away, bag the picked frame and freeze it, where it keeps several months until you have time.

Finished stock keeps four to five days in the fridge at or below 40°F (4°C). Freeze it in measured portions for up to six months; a layer of fat on top acts as a seal in the fridge and can be lifted off before use.

Quick facts

In Chinese

火鸡胴体

British (UK) term

Turkey carcass

en français

carcasse de dinde

en español

pavo en canal

Recipes using turkey carcass

There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 9 recipes