Homemade Turkey Stock
Last updated on February 21st, 2026
When you make a turkey, you KNOW there’s a ton of ingredients you’ll need to make it! And that means you’ll have a ton of leftover turkey, herbs, and vegetables! It’s perfect! It’s the one time of year we can just mow down and not care ONE BIT! This Homemade Turkey Stock was incredibly easy to make and SO flavorful! The best part?! All you need is some turkey bones, aromatics, water, and seasonings! Just toss everything into a pot and watch it come to life within hours! Then you can use, refrigerate, or freeze your incredible homemade broth! It really doesn’t get any better than this!
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When did people first learn that they could make their own stock this way?
For thousands of years, people have been making their own stocks! The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans would simmer bones, herbs, and vegetables to create flavorful broths! The broths at this point were used for medicine and nutrition! Making your own stock was not only practical and a way to save on waste, but it was also said to be healing for the body and soul! There was a point tough, where people went from improvising stock recipes to actually intentionally making them within modern cuisine!
Did you know?
When making a stock, the collagen in the bone converts to gelatin which gives richness and depth to dishes! A homemade stock is like a complex little flavor bomb! And the cool thing? Almost every culture has their own version of it! You’ve got broth made from bones in Asia and from bouillons in Europe! In medieval Europe, communities would continuously add bones, water, and scraps to large cauldrons for DAYS! These were referred to “perpetual broths” or “perpetual stews!”
What ingredients do I need to make this?
Turkey Carcass and Bones
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Garlic
Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Bay Leaf
Salt
Black Pepper
Water
What equipment do I need?
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Large Stockpot
- Soup Ladle
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Large Freezer Safe Tupperware
How do I make it?
To prep the ingredients:
The first thing you’ll want to do is wash and prep your veggies! Give the celery and carrots a good scrub, but you don’t need to worry about peeling the carrots or anything. Peel and crush the garlic cloves. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Then give the carrots and celery a rough chop. Wash the herbs, but those can stay whole, no need to chop or mince those!
Take your turkey carcass and bones and get all of the meat off that you can. Reserve that to make other recipes with! The skin and all the other bits can stay on the carcass and bones though – that’s where the flavor comes from!
To make the homemade turkey stock:
Add all ingredients to a stockpot and cover with water. We need just enough water to cover everything in the pot.
Next, bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer the stock for several hours, stirring every once in a while. Your house is going to smell absolutely incredible! The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes, but we also don’t want to over simmer it!
After several hours, you will have the most incredible broth ever! Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the broth into a large Tupperware container, pushing down into the sieve with a ladle to get all those juices out! Discard the bones, veggies, bay leaf, and herbs – or reserve those for whatever else you want to use them for!
To store:
Allow the Homemade Turkey Stock to cool slightly, then refrigerate and incorporate it into soups, stews, casseroles, whatever you feel like having!
Tips:
- This stock will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen for 4-6 months without losing its quality!
- Simmering the homemade turkey stock with the lid on for the first hour helps to lock in those flavors! After that, leave the lid partially on to reduce the risk of too much of it evaporating. If you don’t want to have a TON of broth, you may want it to reduce more – the choice is yours!
- You could do this same thing with a chicken carcass and its bones too!
- Check out my Garlic Herb Roasted Turkey recipe and see how I made a stock and gravy with the turkey’s neck and innards for our early Thanksgiving dinner!
Homemade Turkey Stock
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey Carcass and Bones mine was 11 lbs.
- 4 Garlic Cloves peeled and crushed
- 2 Carrots roughly chopped
- 2 Celery Ribs roughly chopped
- 1 Yellow Onion peeled and quartered
- 5 Sage Leaves
- 5 Thyme Sprigs
- 1 Rosemary Sprig
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- ¾ tsp Black Pepper
- 12 cups Water or enough to cover ingredients in the pot
Instructions
To prep:
- Take your turkey carcass and bones and get all of the meat off that you can. Reserve that to make other recipes with! The skin and all the other bits can stay on the carcass and bones though – that’s where the flavor comes from!
To make the homemade turkey stock:
- Add all ingredients to a stockpot and cover with water. We need just enough water to cover everything in the pot.
- On medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Simmer the stock for 3-4 hours, stirring every once in a while. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes, but we also don't want to over simmer it!
- Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the broth into a large Tupperware container, pushing down into the sieve with a ladle to get all those juices out!
- Discard the bones, veggies, bay leaf, and herbs – or reserve those for whatever else you want to use them for!
To store:
- Allow the Homemade Turkey Stock to cool slightly, then refrigerate and incorporate it into soups, stews, casseroles, whatever you feel like having! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Please be aware that nutritional values are approximate and intended as a helpful guide
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