A fantastic smokey complement to any recipe calling for chicken, beef, or veal stock, or a delectable base for a broth-based soup. very great when used in Thanksgiving mashed potatoes!
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 6 quarts |
Ingredients
- 2 smoked turkey legs
- 1 large red onion, cut in half
- 1 large Spanish onion, cut in half
- 1 large carrot, cut in thirds
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 7 quarts cold water
- 5 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- salt to taste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Brush the turkey legs, red onion, Spanish onion, carrot, and red bell pepper with olive oil; place into a roasting pan.
- Roast in the preheated oven until the turkey and vegetables turn brown, about 15 minutes.
- Pour 7 quarts water into a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the roasted turkey and vegetables, the garlic, and black peppercorns to the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Place the roasting pan over a stove burner (two burners, if it will fit) and heat until the drippings sizzle. Pour in 1 cup of water and scrape up and dissolve all the browned flavor bits from the roasting pan into the water. Pour the drippings mixture into the stock.
- Simmer for 6 hours, periodically skimming and discarding the foamy scum that forms on the top of the broth. Pour the stock through a strainer, discarding the turkey and vegetables (they have given up all their flavor). Cool and store in airtight containers. Can be frozen.
- I do not use the turkey meat as the soup meat. It has the tendency to develop a spongy mouth feel when boiled. In a pinch, however, feel free to remove the legs after 2 hours and pick the meat off. Return the bones to the broth for the duration of the cook time.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the soup ingredients. The actual amount of the meat and vegetables consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 39 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 23 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was excellent! The only thing I did differently is that we had smoked a turkey and I used the carcass instead of the legs. I turned around and made a turkey, wild rice, and gumbo soup with it and it was rich and delicious! This takes some time but is worth it.
I’m a little low on ingredients–the only substitute I made was using two sweet onions instead of one red/one Spanish onion. I also used a whole bulb of homemade roasted garlic. I actually made the broth in the slow cooker–after I roasted the turkey legs with the vegetables, I just added everything into the slow cooker and let it go for six hours, skimming the “foamy” scum off the top before ladling into 32 ounce Ball jars. Nice basic broth–very simple to make and it honestly cost a third of what I would have paid for pre-packaged broth and I was able to control what went into it! I’ll use this again.
I cooked our smoked turkey carcass and legs all day, adding more water as it cooked down. Made a ton of broth! Can’t wait to make some soup this next week using it. I think a Tex Mex or torilla soup will be fabulous!
This is a great basic broth-making recipe. I do it in the slow cooker-use any smoked meat/bones (even pork hocks). I like to add celery, mushroom stems, tops cut off green peppers and green chilis and many other fresh vegetables I didn’t get around to using that week, which I had frozen just in case I made broth! I wouldn’t suggest using cruciferous (sp?) vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage; it will really overpower the broth, but I also wouldn’t put in more carrots, unless you want a sweet tinge. Do not use potato or tomato either. One is starchy, the other will ruin the flavor of the veggie broth taste. I also use a lot more garlic, but I have a ton of it from the garden and we worship garlic. I simmer on LOW, VERY slowly WITH a lid (or else it will evaporate) and make sure you get that yucky foam off, for sure. It will look like dirty soap suds. When it is done, drain and toss anything that is not liquid, the recipe is correct; the meat, bones and veggies have all given up their best flavors! After it cools at room-temp, I put the whole broth in a plastic container overnight. The next morning, I pick and pull off any congealed fat on the top of the jelled broth. THEN I place it in 2 cup increments in freezer bags to use as homemade broth. It may last longer, but I choose to use within 3 months for gravies, meatball soup, chicken noodles, and cooking greens. Use a sharpie marker to put the date on the bag. Happy Eating! Thanks for posting this, you rock!