So I have NOT been good about keeping to the food budget this fall. With being so sick for so long, I had to resort to quicker (and more expensive) meal options, and more eating or ordering out than in our previous six years of marriage combined. But when turkeys went on sale for $0.29/lb last week, I decided it was time to embrace my thrifty side again.=) I picked up a 10 lb, 15 lb, and 20 lb turkey, and my freezer is nice and full. Last week we had friends over for dinner to use the 10 pounder, and I was able to feed nine people roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans for under $8 total. (Jenny brought the dessert.) Then I spent half an hour the next afternoon picking apart the carcass and came up with five cups of chopped turkey which became turkey-rice burritos and turkey tortilla soup later in the week. (Both recipes made plenty for leftovers.) Then, totally inspired by Kristen (who told me even I could do this), I simmered the bones and scraps overnight in my crockpot to make homemade turkey broth. I’ll go Pioneer Woman and show the step-by-step:
First I pulled apart the carcass and dumped it all into the crockpot, covered it with water, and turned the crockpot on overnight. I hate the smell of simmering carcasses (I beg my dad to wait ’til we’re gone when he does them at home), but since it was on the back porch overnight, I didn’t have to smell it! Here’s how it looked after about 11 hours:
Then I lined my colander with cheesecloth and set it in another bowl and dumped everything into it. The cheesecloth caught all the bones and the ooky stuff. How does Pioneer Woman do those action shots of pouring? Imagine me pouring.
Then I lifted out the colander and had nice, fragrant broth with no ooky stuff in it. I skimmed off part of the fat that immediately congealed on top, but I was too impatient to do a thorough job.
I think I got about 8 cups of broth out of it–since we’re out of town this week, I just packed them up and stuck them in the freezer. I’ll pull them out when I have a recipe that calls for chicken broth! No added salt or anything, just pure broth. =)
So that’s a meal for 9, enough leftover turkey to create two more meals plus leftovers from each, and 8 cups of broth.
Have I mentioned that this is all with a $3 turkey???
Since we’re not spending Thanksgiving or Christmas at home, I’ll roast up the remaining turkeys in our freezer whenever I feel like turkey and company this winter. I’ve been intimidated by the whole “cooking a turkey” thing and especially the making broth part, but it was actually easier than I thought. Why have I not been doing this all along? Now I’m trying to plan ahead for other dishes we like with cooked chicken/turkey. I’m thinking of turkey pot pie, turkey enchiladas, white chili, and turkey noodle soup. What other precooked chicken/turkey dishes should I be making this winter? Help me keep this frugal streak going! =)
I’m super impressed!!! We love white chili and turkey melts. That is amazing to get so many meals and meal starters with a 3 dollar turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!
The “fat” that congealed on top is a combination of fat and bone goodness (marrow?). Very good for you. No need to strain it off. It congeals partly because of the gelatin in the bones. That’s actually what makes chicken (turkey) broth medicinal (everyone knows chicken soup is good for what ails you… but it’s really true!).
And you should be able to use the broth in smaller quantities because you cooked it for 12 hours. I add about 2 cups of broth and then 2 cups water to my soups and they are great. It makes it last so much longer, too. I am so glad I know to cook the carcass for so much longer. It really makes a difference!!!
I love chicken (turkey) pot pie with left over turkey, use some of your wonderful broth to make a simple white sauce (flour, butter and broth) then add vegies (pees, carrots, a little onion, etc.) some bacon or ham if you want (totally optional) and your chopped turkey. If you want to make it even easier, you can make it in a casarole dish and just put pastry (puff or regular) on top. Also, we often add oninon, pepper and whole garlic cloves when making the broth which adds a little more flavor. ALso, I totally hate the smell of the broth cooking, my mother-in-law does it and it makes me slightly neausious (sp? how do you spell that word?) in the morning, so we do it all day. Okay, I think I have rambled enough. Hope you guys have a wonderful thanksgiving.
But what about the turkey tetrazzini? Post-holiday menus are simply incomplete with it. As are trashcans.