Make Instant Pot Turkey Stock from your fresh or frozen leftover turkey carcass in an hour + prep time.
Do I Stay or Do I Go
When we cook a turkey dinner, a couple times a year, I am always wondering do I keep the carcass to make broth, or do I compost it. It’s a dilemma faced by many of us, or so I’m told, as to whether the carcass stays or whether it goes?!
In the end for me it comes down to time and how much time I will have available in the coming weeks since making stock can take several hours on the stove. Or at least it use to.
While I am neither for or against keeping the bones, I swing both ways depending on my mood. Some days I keep the carcass, other times I freeze that bad boy with good intentions, and there are days I’ve let him go fly into the compost and be done with it. No guilt whatsoever. This battle has been going on for 30 years that I’ve been roasting turkey and making stock.
New Instant Pot Blasts Out Turkey Stock
Having received a new Instant Pot for Christmas, I was more than willing to keep the carcass, and freeze it, until I had time to try turkey stock in my new small appliance. When the opportunity presented itself, it was only a matter of pulling out some leftover herbs, carrots, celery, onion and the frozen carcass. I had a couple wings leftover from the dinner so I gave them a chop or two and tossed them into the pot.
Sixty minutes later plus some time for the pressure to release and I’d suddenly made the best turkey stock I have quite possibly ever produced. Using the same recipe I tend to use when making stock in a pot on the stove. After this pleasant experience I feel the future of my new Instant Pot holds many more stock making sessions.
Pro Tips:
- Chop up the carcass into smaller pieces. If freezing it will be much easier to fit into freezer bags. When stock making it will be easier to make stock in a pot on the stove or Instant Pot.
- Do not add salt. You can salt all you like when you use the stock. It doesn’t need the salt until the stock is going to be used. Just like buying salt free stock in a box at the store!
Ingredients
- 1 turkey carcass cut into 4 pieces
- 1/2 onion rough chop
- 1 celery stalk rough chop
- 1 carrot rough chop
- 2 sprigs parsley
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 fresh sage leaves
- 2 cloves garlic lightly smashe
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 10 cups water or fill to line
Instructions
- Place carcass in Instant Pot.
- Add onion through peppercorns.
- Fill with water until the max line or approximately 10 cups.
- Put the lid on Instant Pot, make sure valve is set to sealing.
- Set to pressure cook for 60 minutes. The pot will take a few minutes to pressurize and it will be so eerily quiet you will wonder if it's working. As long as you have it plugged in and turned on it should be fine.
- Once the 60 minutes is up the pressure will start to release slowly. I didn't need to do a quick release and let it release on it's own for about 30-60 minutes as I had time. By then it was cool, pin had dropped and there was no pressure left.
- Prepare a large bowl with a strainer set over top. Remove the pot (with oven mitts if necessary) and poor the ingredients through the strainer into the bowl. The goods were still steaming a little so I set them aside to cool down before I composted.
- I let the broth cool down before pouring into freezable containers. If using right away mason jars are perfectly fine.
- This stock sets up nicely in the refrigerator thickening and forming a little jelly. Skim off fat before using.
- This recipe was made using a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Nutrition
Love making fresh stock! This is wonderful that you have made a turkey one in an instant pot!! I usually make chicken and beef but love try making this turkey stock some time…great share Wanda!
I love how easy it is!
The Instant Pot makes the BEST bone broth! I often use a chicken carcass. I also add a little apple cider vinegar to break down the collagen. Thanks for sharing this great way to use ALL of a turkey!
It really does and is my favourite way to make stock! Thanks for the ACV tip, I may try it myself!
I haven’t made broth in instant pot yet. Thank you so much for the idea, Wanda! Sounds like an easy and efficient way to make some really good use of the turkey bones after thanksgiving and Christmas!
Efficient and easy!
I have to agree that the Instant Pot is tailor-made for homemade stock. I have used it for chicken stock but am looking forward to trying this recipe with my turkey bones!
Yes!! Hooray for the Instant Pot and stock-making! Like you, we struggled with timing and freezer space and all that when it came to using leftover scraps, but now everything goes into the IP, and BAM – tasty stock in no time. We’ve started freezing carrot peels and onion scraps for the same reason. Love the herb blend you use here – it’s a perfect, balanced set of flavours for rounding out the broth flavour. Cheers!
Feels so good to make your own stock at home!
This is an awesome idea, especially if using the instant pot! It makes the job so much easier and of course, the result is an amazing concentrate of goodness. Nothing like homemade broth!
I just love the IP for home made broth, so good!
Now I really have a reason to get an instant pot! I have gone through the exact same carcass issues (wait- that sounds wrong haha) as you and for as many years!! I find old turkey bones every time I clean out the freezer! This solves the problem!!