(via: Ruhlman.com)
📖 Recipe Card
Turkey Stock Done Right (Ruhlman's Oven Method)
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 quarts 1x
Description
Michael Ruhlman's hands-off method for turkey stock - barely simmered in a low oven for hours, with the aromatics added at the end.
Ingredients
- Carcass from one turkey, broken into pieces that will fit in your pot
- 6 quarts cold water (or more to cover)
- 1 large onion, peeled, trimmed and halved
- 1 celery rib, cut in half (optional)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut in half (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, skin on, crushed (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- Stems from half a bunch of parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Turn the oven to 180°F (or as close as you can get it, if your oven doesn't go that low).
- Add the carcass and water: Put the carcass in the pot, and add cold water to cover the carcass by 1 inch.
- Bring to a simmer and skim: Put the pot over high heat, bring to a bare simmer, and skim off anything that rises to the top that you wouldn't want to eat in a soup. Do not let the stock boil!
- Cook in the oven: Put the pot in the 180°F oven for 5 hours (4 to 6 hours is OK).
- Add the aromatics: One hour before the cooking is done, add the aromatics (all the other ingredients), and continue cooking in the oven for another hour.
- Strain and chill: Strain the stock into a large pot, let it cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the fat cap from the stock. Use it right away, refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze.
Notes
Equipment: A 12 quart stock pot, or the largest pot you have that fits in your oven. I use an All-Clad Stainless 12-Quart Multi Cooker.
Timing: About 6 ½ hours end to end - 5 minutes to get the pot on the stove, about 1 hour to come to a simmer, 5 hours in the oven, and 15 to 20 minutes to strain.
Ruhlman now recommends 8 to 16 hours in the oven; 5 hours has been working well for me.
You can cook this on the stovetop instead of in the oven, but it's easier to hold such a low temperature in the oven. Make sure your pot fits in the oven before you start - I had to remove all but one rack and put it on the lowest level.
To scale up, keep the ratio of one turkey carcass plus aromatics to about 4 quarts of water.
This is a very hands-off recipe, especially with a probe thermometer set to alert you at 180°F, so you don't have to watch the pot come to a simmer.
See my stock straining setup here.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments, below.
Thanksgiving: THE best time to make stock. [ruhlman.com] Thanks, Mr. Ruhlman!
[Update 11/30/09] - and Turkey Stock: Oven Method [ruhlman.com]
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Oh! I missed that I didn't miss it. (I think. Now I'm confused.)
As you can probably tell, I never tried it....
Chris Lukowski says
No you didn't, look at step 4. :o)
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
No, I missed that recommendation.
Chris Lukowski says
Did you ever get around to trying Ruhlman's new guideline of 8-16 hour stock?
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@vicki:"GREAT" isn't very descriptive, is it....Check out the "And the winner is..." section of my turkey stock shootout post https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/turkey-stock-shootout/ for a better description of the differences.The Ruhlman stock does not gel anywhere near as much as the pressure cooker method. It is more of a light broth than the pressure cooker stock. But it does taste great. (Sorry, there I go again.) It is a lighter, fresher taste than the pressure cooker stock.That said, I still make all my stock in the pressure cooker. The convenience outweighs the slightly better taste of the Ruhlman method. Both methods make stock that is light years better than store bought.I think my current PC stock technique https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-turkey-stock-revisited/ is just about as good as the Ruhlman method, even if it takes a little more effort.But, again - pressure cooker stock made with a leftover turkey carcass, an onion, a bay leaf, covered with water is darned tasty, and worth the effort. These differences are matters of finesse.
vicki says
"*Oh, and the results are GREAT!" That's it for the summation of all this work??? Lol. In what way is it great? What I really want to know is how does the jelling compare to the pressure cooker method?
Thanks! Love your blog!