Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth (Turkey Carcass Broth). What do I do with this leftover turkey carcass? Stock up! It’s time to make a big batch of turkey broth.
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Here's another basic technique recipe, leftover from Thanksgiving. Which is appropriate, because I'm using up Thanksgiving leftovers.
Years ago, food writer Michael Ruhlman told me Thanksgiving is THE best time to make stock. He’s absolutely right. When else am I going to have a turkey's worth of leftover roasted bones? Make broth! Broth is culinary magic - liquid gold from nothing but scraps - and it freezes beautifully. I don’t feel like I’m ready for the holidays unless I have a freezer full of 2-cup containers of frozen broth.
What do I do with all that broth? I make soup, like my Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup, Turkey Carcass Southwestern Soup, or Turkey Carcass, Lentil and Macaroni Soup.
I also use this broth to make Turkey Gravy, replacing the giblet broth in that recipe.
Ingredients
- Carcass from a roast turkey
- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Bay Leaf
- Fine Sea Salt
How to make Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth
Everything in the pot: Break up the turkey carcass so it fits below the max fill line in your pressure cooker. Add the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, salt, and 3 quarts water (or to the max fill line on your pot.)
High Pressure for 1 Hour with a Natural Pressure Release: Lock the lid and set the pot to cook at high pressure for 1 hour. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 40 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release the remaining pressure after 20 minutes.)
Strain and Save: Unlock the lid, and scoop the solids out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Use immediately, refrigerate for a couple of days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Equipment
An 8-quart pressure cooker (a 6-quart pressure cooker will work in a pinch) and a fine mesh strainer.
Scaling
Turkey broth works in a 6-quart Instant Pot, but the carcass has to be broken up a lot to make it fit. (I pull the backbone away from the ribcage - it’s quite a wrestling match.) An 8-Quart Instant Pot makes it easier to fit the carcass, and has extra room below the max fill line, so I can make more broth.
If there is more than one turkey - I have a large family, so I usually have at least two turkeys - I make one batch of broth and freeze the second carcass in a 2 gallon zip-top bag. Then I can make a second batch of broth whenever I have the time.
Storage
I portion the broth into 2 cup containers, let them cool for an hour, then transfer them to the freezer, where the broth keeps for up to 6 months.
Top Tip
Use a second Instant Pot inner pot for straining the broth. It's the perfect size - just rest the fine mesh strainer across the top, and pour the broth through the strainer into the second pot.
FAQ
There is a blurry line between broth and stock. Broth is made with meat and bones, and stock is made with mostly bones...with some meat on them. Stock is often reduced to thicken it up, and concentrate the gelatin, but broth usually has a lot of gelatin, too. (I switched to using "Broth" as a catch-all for my stock and broth recipes, since I'm usually making them as a broth for soup or gravy.)
Inspired by: Thanksgiving Is the Best Time to Make Broth, Michael Ruhlman, Ruhlman.com
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Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth (Turkey Carcass Broth)
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups of broth 1x
Description
Instant Pot Turkey Bone Broth (Turkey Carcass Broth). What do I do with this leftover turkey carcass? Stock up! It’s time to make a big batch of turkey broth.
Ingredients
- Carcass from 1 roasted turkey, with clinging meat on bones (From a 12- to 16- pound turkey)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 1 stalk celery, broken into pieces
- 1 carrot, scrubbed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 quarts of water (or to cover, or to the max fill line of the PC)
Instructions
- Everything in the pot: Break up the turkey carcass so it fits below the max fill line of your Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. (Max fill is ⅔ of the way up the pot if you don't have a line). Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and salt to the pressure cooker pot, then add water to cover by 1 inch, or to the max fill line on the pressure cooker. (About 3 quarts of water)
- Pressure cook for 1 hour with a Natural Release: Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an electric or stovetop PC. (Use "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" or "Pressure Cook-Custom" mode in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally – at least 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.)
- Strain and save the broth: Scoop the bones and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Refrigerate the broth for up to 3 days, or freeze in 2-cup containers for up to 6 months.
Notes
Saving the broth: I freeze any broth I’m not going to use immediately in 2-cup and 4-cup containers, usually canning jars.
8-Quart Instant Pot: Add 4 quarts of water (or to the max fill line), and an extra onion, stalk of celery, and carrot.
If you want to defat the broth, refrigerate overnight. The fat will rise to the top and solidify into a fat cap. Lift the fat cap off of the broth and discard, and what's left is your defatted broth.
What do I use the broth for? See below for some Day-After-Thanksgiving soup suggestions.
Tools
6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker, but larger is better for this recipe. I recommend an 8-Quart Instant Pot.)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Building Blocks
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
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My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Therese Burch says
Can you make gravy from this stock? How? And what is the difference between broth and stock??
Mike Vrobel says
Yes! Substitute the broth from this recipe for the broth in my: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-giblet-gravy/
Sherri says
I was wondering why you have to discard the solids, ie., meat scraps, carrots, celery, onion, etc. I was thinking it would be good for gravy.
Mike Vrobel says
They have given all of their flavor to the broth.
Karisse says
Do the bones have to be roasted alone before using this recipe- or can I put them in the instant pot right after I pick the carcass?
Mike Vrobel says
Right after you pick the carcass
Ginger says
I’m so glad I found your recipe today! We had bone in turkey breast for Thanksgiving and I wanted to use the carcass to make a broth. Thanks for the clear, easy instructions! It came out great! Excited that I have some homemade bone broth. 🙂
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
San says
For some reason, I always add half a dozen whole black peppercorns when making stock (broth). No idea if it actually makes a difference 🙂
Mike Vrobel says
I do too - when I think of it. It can't hurt, right? 🙂