Turkey Stock Making/Question

[Steve Kroll]

Sounds like you have things under control now. All I was going to add (which you found out yourself) is that once the carcass has been cooking for a while, the cartilage and connective tissues tend to break down, at which time you should be able to break it into pieces.

I simmer stock for a long time, anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. In fact, "simmer" might be too strong of an adjective. Just faint, occasional bubbling is better. The last 2-3 hours I like to take the lid off to get some evaporation and concentration of flavors.

[taxlady]

I strain stock in a colander and then I strain it again with a clean tea towel over the colander. I boil the tea towel before and after. I find that too much particulate matter gets through cheese cloth. I concentrate the strained stock.

I find the most convenient way to store stock is to put it in my silicone muffin form and freeze it. I also freeze some in an ice cube tray, so I have different sizes of frozen stock chunks. I keep the chunks in large, plastic Hellman's mayo jars in the freezer. I imagine zip lock bags would work well too.

I don't think you ever get a really clear stock from cooked bones. I think you have to use raw bones to get a really clear stock.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by taxlady

...I don't think you ever get a really clear stock from cooked bones. I think you have to use raw bones to get a really clear stock.

You're right, but you can clarify stock to make a clear consummé using egg whites and ground beef.