Nana's Turkey Broth

Nana's Turkey Broth

Ingredients
1 turkey carcass
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion
4 springs of rosemary
5 leaves of sage
1/2 cup parsley
celery greens (cut from 1 rib of celery)
1 chicken bouillon cube
water

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A few days before Thanksgiving, I was listening to Lynn Rosetta Casper describe how to make easy turkey broth after the big day on MPR's "The Splendid Table." As a 10 year veteran vegetarian, I usually turn the dial or flip the page when I come across recipes involving meat. But, the bike ride I took this summer made me think more critically about my decisions (not) to eat feathered friends. And, Lynn makes everything sound SO simple and delicious that I lingered long enough to hear her turkey broth recipe. Afterwards, I called my mom, who hosted Thanksgiving this year, to ask about her plans for the bird.

I was excited when she told me she ordered the turkey from Ferndale Market! The farm, located in Cannon Valley, MN, raises free range turkeys fed a non-GMO, antibiotic-free diet. I chose to eat turkey for the first time in 10 years, because I think it's important to support our local economy by purchasing from famers who provide healthy, environmentally sustainable food.

Thanksgiving Turkey 2013, Affectionately named "Mr. Tots"

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Getting down from my soap box...I was also excited to use as much of our turkey as possible, so today I'm using the carcass for a turkey broth. The great thing about turkey broth is that you probably have enough ingredients on hand from your feast that you shouldn't have to head out (on Black Friday and risk getting punched in the face) for more groceries. I told my Nana about The Splendid Table broth recipe I had heard, and I'm sharing her adaptations to it (mainly--fresh herbs!).

Immediately after the Thanksgiving meal, cover the turkey carcass and store in a cold place like the freezer or in our below-freezing-at-night case in Minnesota, the garage. When you're ready to make the broth, either find a pot the carcass can fit in, or tear the carcass so you can fill a large soup pot with the pieces.

Chop the onion into quarters and slice the carrots, celery greens, and herbs.  The great thing about broth is that the ingredients will be strained out at the end, so don't worry about how things look. Just cut them small enough to disperse a tasty flavor throughout the broth.

Add the turkey, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and bouillon cube to the pot. Cover the ingredients with water.

Simmer the broth for 4-6 hours. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Strain out the solids from the broth.

Straining out the broth just before the end. 

I saved most of the broth for my family and used some to make a bean soup. I added a cup each of brown rice, white beans, celery, carrots and cooked for 30 more minutes. This is a great passive recipe to take on if you're home and don't want to do too much work after a big day of cooking. Enjoy!